A busy life, but what can you expect with four children!!!Enjoying the sun, loving the rain when it comes and so happy to be receiving visitors in Austin.
So this year, we held a cove Halloween party, there are 7 houses in our cove, and we had a lot of fun. normally there is not a lot of trick or treating as the houses are quiet a distance from each other, so people tend to go to other neighbour hoods, but this year I organised us doing something together and inviting people to us. it was a lot of fun.and although i was really quiet ill running up to it, it still came together..and the neighbors really enjoyed the kids being around..so next year we will do the same and be better organised..
It does mean that i did not take photo's, as I was not just sitting around waiting for trick and treaters , Allan was dressed as a pirate again..and managed to do the 'voice' for about 4 hours..now that needs a round of applause..and for those of us listening..a lot of alcohol.
So the photo of Cara and Jamie ( Ben best friend) and his sister Bonnie, were taken by my friend, Jo Ann..so thank you Jo Ann for actually being on the ball and taking some photo's.
So once again Halloween has come around..we know it has been coming as the shops, banks, schools, houses, stores have all been decorated since the start of October..it is still a surprise to me how many people decorate up for Halloween...next year i will be more organised with our new home..but this year they were lucky i remembered to put out pumpkins and stickers in the window and my flag...they all went up on the 31st...very poor I know.
now they are decorating for thanksgiving...I am far too far behind!!!!
As you can see Allan dressed up again, and took teh children around the neighbour hood, He went with some friends, Will, Steve and Matt with there children so it was a large noisy group that went out..you should see the candy that came back.
Victoria and I stayed at home and welcomed the trick or treaters to our door, we sat in the door way with it open, I tried to remember to take photo's but it actually depends how quickly they come...once again an excellent turn out..
This is Alex with his bag of candy...absolutely obscene really..but as you can see the kids all thought this was great..
the weather was great for them again, they all came back so happy I ended up offering to let loads of kids sleep over, so in the morning my house had 10 people in it..i might have to confess the two adults had drunk slightly more than is good to deal with that many kids...but waffles did the trick...and before you know it, they are gone and although we had a waffle syrup panick, but our wonderful neighbours came to our rescue..and all children ate and ate and ate...waffles are a good one to make as my waffle maker does 6 at a time..and my mixer did a huge batch...we worked as a team that morning..hangover aside.
i have taken a sample of pictures for you to see what turns up at my door..and all ages for sure...it was a fun night...enjoy
This afternoon I went down to the school to help in Ben's class with Fall centres-Centres are where the children learn through constructive play, they have them for 45 minutes everyday. Today was obviously themed and parents came in to help and generally have a good time helping the Kinders. I had baked sugar cookies( getting in to the lingo) cut them in pumpkin shapes and took a load of frosting( know to us as butter icing) down in piping bags and sparkling gels , sprinkles etc, It was messy but the Kinders all loved it, I might add many of them could not finish the cookies they put somuch icing on them, but that was what it was all about. The other activites were, pumpkin rolloing, decorating a pumpkin( the one they chose on Wednesday at the Pumpkin Patch), necklace making( all beads in Fall colours, face painting, spooky hands( see through plastic gloves with candy corn as the nails and popcorn as the main hand tied together at the wrist) bobbing for Apples. Then the kids went to there normal Friday joint sing-a-long with all the kinder classes( there are six of them). Bens teacher leads this as she can play the guitar and enjoys the 'over the top' actions and costums etc. It was great, i was called up to wear a hat along with six other parents, each hat was an animal and they children sang Old MacDonald, and we had to do our animal sound- I was act so that was just fine. They then sang The five days of hallowe'en, and five chioldren held up A3 posters with 1 owl in a dead tree, 2 trick and treaters, 3 skeletons, 4 pumpkins and 5 scary ghosts. They have been practicing very well. All sorts of songs had been adapted and it was great to see. I have included our crossing gaurd Karen, as she had a bowl of Candy for each child that crossed with her this afternoon and had dressed up. Everyone is saying'Happy Hallowe'en', it is contagious as I found myself saying the same in reply!
Alex and Ben's school are having a pyjama day today, and this includes all the teachers. The boys cycled to school in their PJ's and dressing gowns but since the temperature was 60F it was a bit warm, but they loved getting dressed from PJ's into PJ's. We have struggled to get them up in the mornings this week, Ben's birthday weekend had obviously worn them out, but not this morning! Ben was up before I went in to their room, all because it was pyjama day!! The school needs to hold of these they work wonders on motivating the children to get moving in the morning. even the principal, Linda Purvis was in PJ's so I took a picture of the boys with her and then bumped in to Ben's teacher, Mrs. Zapp and took a picture of her as well. It was quiet a sight this morning with everyone in pyjama's, some teachers even had rollers in there hair etc, the spirit of hallowe'en was definetly at Baranoff this morning.
We started noticing that Hallowe'en was a bigger holiday here, as it was appearing on front lawns and trees in the neighbour hood were being decorated, everyday at school the theme was pumpkins and Fall, word searches and pictures from 1/10/08( or as now i should write 10/1/08) have all been about halloween. I am ready with candy galore, and we now have many pumpkins to join in this madness, but yesterday I went to the bank. Well what can I say, the pictures do not do it justice, everywhere was decorated. I will start taking pictures around the neighbourhood and putting them on my blog, but I had not expected the bank to among my pictures!!
