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 ...finished the second tree, pumpkin carving, Halloween Specials, counselors... updates coming soon...

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 ...more tree work, VisionQuest, framed picture, start of new virtual race... updates coming soon...

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We'll have updates in a bit.  There was "Klaus" tonight, a bit of Scrooge, plus more decorating of a tree, back at Braselton to help with a class there, props, 

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More Highland Cows

Yeah, I'm already working on tree number two today.  Just brought the tree up and got lights on, but that's a big deal considering it's October.  Mom's just ready for Christmas, and that's okay - we were even listening some instrumental stuff with a slight December theme to it, sort of our "bridge" music to the holidays.  Nevertheless, all but two strands of the Christmas lights were not working.  This meant an extra trip to Gainesville, which meant I wouldn't finish the tree.  White there at Hobby Lobby, there it is again, an excessive amount of pictures of highland cows.

What's up with all the highland cows?  I'm not sure who has these objects with pictures of highland cows in their house, but there are so many out there right now.  And it's Christmas time, so there's a Christmas slant to it too. 

Of course, it's still October.  And there are a few movies left to watch for October, like tonight's feature presentation, "Coco."  We actually had hot cocoa while watching cocoa, because that just seemed like a fun idea.  Also, the cocoa was delicious!  And so was a chocolate pumpkin Snicker I picked up on the way back from Gainesville.  There are these, and those other Little Debbie pumpkin brownies too.  So much chocolate to end the year!

Maddie had school and taekwondo too.  As she gets older, she's having this fun internal dialogue about Mr. Cornett, her instructor that she sees occasionally outside of the martial arts studio.  He had told her it's okay to call him by his first name - Nate too - but it feels weird to them!

So Aldi's has this pumpkin spice tea that I have each morning, and it is really good.  It just smells delicious and strong, something you can sniff a long time before it gets close to you.  I'm starting to take my tea without cream, and this is just a really nice one, seasonal too!

Tonight we finished "The Thief of Time."  It's a nice book with a happy ending for most of the characters, unless you're an evil Auditor.  But Maddie and I enjoyed it.  Maddie likes Susan's character quite a bit, and that being said, yes, we're going back to "Hogfather" next, starting tomorrow.  So yes, the Christmas season is certainly upon us with DEATH and the Hogfather back for another round.  This will be the third time we've read this together, I think?  It's becoming a Christmas tradition!

Speaking of Christmas, I'm about to finish up with the Niagara Falls virtual walk - it's about 70 miles, I think.  Anyway, the new one - about sixty miles - is themed to "Nightmare Before Christmas."  As you can imagine, I'm super excited about this one, the pathway, the postcards, and of course the medal at the end.  Here's my racing bib that I got a little early!

After reading, of course we prayed, and then got the Plush Entourage back down the hall and tucked in nicely.  Good night!

Creepy Coupe

We had small groups this morning, and I made this massive board game with different squares for trivia, for memory verse recital, for wacky challenges, for Bible races, and for trouble if Dastardly was there.  It was a Wacky Races game, and I came up with that theme because we have the racing theme this month - but also because I just loved those Wacky Racers.  

I think the Creepy Coupe was my favorite car, just because it's so amazingly impractical.  Although that one car with buzz saws for wheels was a close second.  I loved all those racers so much, so it was really fun to visit that theme.  Sure, the kids weren't quite sure what was going on with the theme, but they had a great time.  In the first service, the boys won, and in the second the girls won.  Pretty fun!

This afternoon, we're slowly incorporating Christmas into the house - I got the Nativity set up, and it's completely there now on October 25th.  Even more startling is the fact that in the piano room there, we'll probably start on the Christmas tree in there this week.  Mom's ready for the holidays!

Of course, there's still one at the end of this month to go.  That being said, we watched one of Maddie's favorite movies, "Coraline."  It's a fun movie for sure, and I just today learned that one of the songs that didn't make it into the movie is on the most recent They Might Be Giants album, "The World is to Dig."  The song is "What You Get," and it's actually one of my favorites on the new release.  It's interesting to think what might have been with that movie completely a different vibe, a musical with all kinds of songs from They Might Be Giants.  What a project that would have been.

Anyway, it was a nice fall day.  Beautiful weather outside.  Nice, long Sunday nap.  Tonight we read some more, getting super close to the end of this book, "The Thief of Time."  We should wrap up in a couple days - it's been good.  Time for some prayers, and for some sleep!

Wacky Races small groups, beautiful day, Sunday nap, Nativity Set... updates coming soon...

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2026 Pumpkin Carving Party

We had our annual Pumpkin Carving Party today and it was so wonderful.  We had many friends showing up with pumpkins and some food too!  Here are some pictures we took of today's fun and pumpkins, a fantastic time together.

Josh's pumpkin!

Maddie took one of Ansley's designs and carved it:  a duck cooling off by a house fan!

Nate did a carving of Oogie Boogie!

Ansley's older sister Olivia did a great version of "Emily" from "The Corpse Bride."

Maddie's "No Internet" game pumpkin was still in good shape!

Nate did the Toy Story alien at the bottom.

Ansley's working on her pumpkin that has the theme of "Up."

Ansley's pumpkin glowing in the dark!

Hannah did the kitty pumpkin, and Pastor Lance's children did the others on the bottom row.

Mom did so much for us.  We had all this great food and things looked so nice.  The weather was gorgeous outside, a perfect fall day.  It was a really nice time with so many good friends over.

This morning we were skating at Skate Country, part of an event with the kids of KidPak.  I was taking photos this morning, and getting things ready there early.  It was a great time too.  

But it made for a pretty long day!  We read tonight, and we said our prayers - we have a big day at church tomorrow, so it's time to get some rest.  Goodnight!