Something Strange in the Neighborhood

First of all, Mommy's sweater in this picture is AMAZING.  It's like an ugly Christmas sweater, but with a Halloween theme.  It's so perfect!  Daddy is David S Pumpkins one more time, and of course Madison looks lovely as Uma once again.  It looks like we're ready for the big night, October 31st!

But first, as soon as Madison got home, it was time to carve some pumpkins!  We watched an Addams Family movie, and a Scooby Doo one as well, all while drawing and carving away at our pumpkins.

First, here's Madison's pumpkin.  If you've been reading this lately, you know this has been a theme for her. She loves the song, and can't get the Ghostbusters theme out of her head this month.  She's asked for it on the way to school each day.

Next, here's Daddy's pumpkin:

This was an attempt at Totoro, and although not perfect, it came out pretty good.  Yes, Daddy used his new tools to make this creation.  It turned out pretty well, especially sitting there next to that Japanese lighting there on the porch.

One more pumpkin:

This was done to look like the pumpkin from the Addams Family movie.  I actually really like this design a lot, as it is so simple and hilarious for some reason.  It might just be me though!

So with the house decorated on the porch, we set out for our trick-or-treating adventure.  We met with  the neighbors across the street, and together walked down the street, following the same path we've done the last few years.  The weather was so incredibly perfect too:  not too hot, not too cold (like Sunday).  It was amazing!

The houses in the neighborhood were, of course, decorated like it was Christmas time - just with Halloween decorations.  One neighbor actually built a small pirate ship for their front yard.  It was a perfect time for a pirate picture, right?

Madison ran into three of four friends from school as well.  She'd stop and talk for a bit - all of them ride the same bus, of course.

We ran into Dawn and her family, just like last year, and got a free ride on a trailer up and down the streets, stopping frequently to rush out from home to home to say trick-or-treat.

The candy was amazing.  We had so much by evening's end.  As always, there was that one family that gave out full-sized candy bars, although many others gave a lot of candy out to the kids.  And the decorations and music were just fantastic.

It's so great to see a neighborhood go this all out each year for any of the holidays.  The kids were everywhere, running up and down lawns with their bags filled to the brim with lots of candy.  Mommy was on the porch, meanwhile, giving out her share of candy as well.  We didn't quite give it all away by evening's end, but we certainly did see a lot of the kids.

There came a point early on - earlier than last year - where Madison was just ready to swing back home.  She wanted to see more of the houses that were closer to ours on our street, as we were on the bigger stretch along the main section of the neighborhood.

Part of that was a desire to go see Mommy again, and help hand out candy to visiting trick-or-treaters.  So we started to head back, and the timing was probably just right.  Madison has gotten so much free candy lately, especially when you consider she started trick-or-treating in September.  It's not so much about the candy as it is the experience, and she was ready to head back to see Mommy.

So once again, we said goodbye to Halloween and the decorations and lights and candy.  The houses really went all out this year.  Just behind us, there were a few places that looked more like the Haunted Mansion than a regular suburban home.

Our house was a little more reserved, of course.  Daddy sat on the porch when we got home, with Madison helping to hand out candy from time to time.  But she was counting her loot, and sharing Peppermint Patties with Mommy inside.

Quietly sitting on the porch in between trick-or-treaters, it's a time for reflection on the end of the day itself.  It's this big build-up all month long to this day, and it's been a great month, hasn't it?  We've done so much, and have been so blessed.  Sitting on the porch there, it was easy to take a deep breath and just be thankful for all the blessings we have.

We read more to Madison tonight - almost done with this latest mystery!  We said our prayers, and then it was time for Mommy and Daddy to head to bed as well.  Although we were there to wrap up the last two episodes of season one of "Stranger Things."  It's a creepy science fiction mystery story that seems to have everyone talking lately.  Mommy and Daddy have been binge watching season one this last week, and we wrapped it up appropriately enough on this evening.  We'll get to season two next - it's pretty good.  It's also not necessarily anything for Madison yet.  Some parts would be pretty scary for her, for sure.

We went to sleep tonight after a long day, and in fact a long month filled with fun.  It's been a grea, hasn't it?

Costume Night at Ballet

Madison and the girls got to dress up for ballet tonight, which is always fun to see.  They're all dancing around in their costumes, which is cute.  Although I don't think one of them could dress up like this:

The t-rex costume has been really popular this year.  Here's a kid in one as they come up to the President and the First Lady.  Today was a trick-or-treat event at the White House, with all the kids lined up to get candy.  We were taking a peek at this, and one of the kids decided to dress up in the inflatable t-rex costume.  Which was hilarious.

We did some work today, between writing and cleaning up the house.  Daddy and Mommy drove south to our dentist's office in Alpharetta, amazed that we used to drive that every day.  On the way back, Cracker Barrel for some early Christmas shopping, and oh yeah, they have food there too.  We weren't shopping too long afterwards, but for some reason, they assumed we left without paying.  We went up to pay, and our ticket had been voided.  Again, we shopped for something like ten minutes, something we always do.  For some reason, they assumed we left without paying!  I hope we don't wind up on Cracker Barrel's most wanted list.  Somewhere at the Cracker Barrel Headquarters in Tennessee, there is facial recognition technology at work to identify us via all the security cameras in place amongst the other random objects hanging on their walls.  You don't want the Cracker Barrel guys after you, I'll tell you that.

Anyway, we actually voted today as well.  There's one minor office to be filled.  Well, compared to last year's voting, it's minor.  Someone left an office to get into another office, which left the previous office empty.  There are three people running for that, so we dropped by a place in Cumming to do some early voting, and to get our little Georgia "I Voted" stickers.  Civic duty done for the year!

At least unless there's a run-off, which seems possible given three candidates.

During ballet today, Daddy started the latest book he got for his birthday, part of the "Lock and Key" series.  Sherlock Holmes - a younger version - is ready to solve mysteries again.  This book just came out - all while we're doing this series.  Mommy ordered a signed version, one with Daddy's name on it.  It came with about eight "Lock and Key" keychains, advertising for the book.  I think I'll put all of them on my current keychain!

Anyway, it's funny how these themes follow you around.  We'll be watching "The Great Mouse Detective" shortly too.  It is inevitable.

Tonight, we got a little further into the Nancy Drew book we've been in.  There are coded messages, exploding oranges, wild animals, and NASA locations like the Vehicle Assembly Building.  There are a lot of different things going on at once, but it's still a decent read.  Madison keeps asking for one more chapter, but sometimes it gets late - got to go to sleep some time, right?  Especially when you consider that we might be up a little later tomorrow night...!

The Baker Street Irregulars

This morning Madison returned to the stage as Constance Cutpurse, a sneaky little street urchin that just so happens to be a member of the Baker Street Irregulars.  She's on hand to help us solve the case, and this morning found a valuable clue.  She loves being on stage quite a bit, and is quite comfortable up there!

It was a good morning, followed by a bit of rest, and then a journey to Gwinnett's KidPak Fall Festival.  Here we are inside, just before heading out there again to the inflatables and rides:

As you can see here, Madison was Wednesday Addams once again.  There was a huge reason that Madison was not Wonder Woman or anything like that today.  The reason?  The wind chill factor currently makes it feel like 33 degrees out there!  That's a sudden drop in temperature, and the wind was so brutal that it was difficult for us to enjoy the evening.  It was more like some sort of winter festival instead of a Fall Festival.  Still, there were some highlights, including this moment here:

Madison met some old friends, Rachel and Abbie.  They too were adopted, from Russia, a few years before Madison was.  We remember the process it took to bring them here, and all the other struggles back then, and it's just amazing how grown up they look already.  Kids grow up so fast.  Anyway, Madison was excited to see them again tonight, and they were happy to see her as well.  We took this picture inside, because Daddy has a key fob to get into the building, and by gum, it was cold out there.

Seriously, Madison did about three things:  an obstacle course, and a mini-ferris wheel too.  She didn't do the hamster ball thing this time around, just because it was so cold.  In fact, we left a little early to get home, where we warmed up and saw Mommy.  Together, we watched a movie:  "The Corpse Bride," under lots of blankets and snuggles.  And popcorn too.

Daddy opened up some birthday presents early, one of which was a deluxe pumpkin carving kit.  Wow, this thing is pretty smooth - we'll get to try it out on Tuesday when we carve one more pumpkin.  Also, I got "Spider-man:  Homecoming," some gift cards, and a copy of the latest Ridley Pearson book series, "Lock and Key."  It just came out, and this one is signed by the author and personally addressed to me, believe it or not.  And just because everything goes with themes around here, what is it that this book series is all about?  The adventures of a younger Sherlock Holmes.  Get a clue, indeed!

Any Questions?

We had heavy rain all day, just an amazing thing in regards to timing with all the outdoor events for the kids lately.  Tomorrow we have a Fall Festival in Gwinnett, and yesterday there was the Trunk or Treat.  It just worked out really well - for us.  The Moonshine Festival is going on currently in Dawsonville, so it is clearly not working out for them.  Vendors and booths are closed up today due to the downpours all day long.

We never got out of our pajamas today.  Even when getting the mail today, the pajamas stayed on.  Daddy just put a jacket on, and grabbed an umbrella.  That was certainly needed today.

So staying indoors was the plan, and from the onset we described today as a "stay indoors and watch a bunch of movies" kind of day.  And we stuck to that game plan quite well!  Madison was so anxious to see two movies she hadn't seen before, "Ghostbusters" and "Ghostbusters II."  We did a bit of creative diverting for one part of the movie, a little bit of old fashioned parent censorship (hey, it's bathroom break time!).  But otherwise, things went well, and she liked the movies a whole lot.  We played the game a bit again, "The Sanctum of Slime," and here is where we got livid.  Level 10 is not impossible, but it is highly improbable.  We struggled with this mightily, and were happy to learn the online there were many others that had trouble, and more still who simply gave up.  I'm not sure if we'll give up here, but one of the important rules that I tell Madison is that if a game is no longer fun to play, it's not worth playing.  As an example of this, Daddy used to be one of those that had to collect every item of every game, or do every feat.  And then Rare came along with games like "Goldeneye" and "Banjo Kazooie."  The latter is the one I remember the most - it was there that I realized it's not worth it.  I saw the last honeycomb of the game, something that would complete the game 100%.  And then I saw what had to be done in order to get it.  I muttered, "You got to be kidding," and pretty much turned my back on all that.  If you're that frustrated with a game, it's not worth it.

By the way, the bleached pumpkin trick is working fine:  our pumpkins are still okay.  They are experiencing a little bit of decay on the edges, but there's no mold.  And there aren't any places that are sunk in.  Still, we'll get some more pumpkins to carve on Halloween.  We love doing that, and I already have a new idea.

There's another tropical storm down there near Florida.  I don't know the name, but it's notable because of this relentless sort of season.  Meanwhile, the rain here keeps coming down all day long.

We did some reading tonight from our devotional, and from the latest Nancy Drew book.  It appears as if Mr. Scarlet is not telling the truth for some reason.  But who is responsible for exploding oranges.  And more importantly, how do you make an exploding orange?  Because that sounds like something fun to lob around.  Or, at least it sounds like a cool rock band name:  "The Exploding Oranges."  Or TEO, for short.

Tonight, we had one more movie, "The Haunted Mansion."  We spent a long time watching movies today, I know.  But that was the plan, to be lazy and not do anything.  In that regard we failed a little bit:  Mommy was doing laundry, meals, and Daddy was writing a few entries with the Christmas devotional, as well as doing some other cleaning up.

But overall, it was a quiet, restful day tonight.  We did our reading, said our prayers, and then there was that one more thing to do tonight:

Any questions?

Trunks or Treats

Tonight was our yearly visit to Edge ATA Karate for their Trunk or Treat event!  You can see Madison above in her Jasmine costume.  She wore that because she knew she'd be doing a bit of kicking and punching!

It's a fun night!  To begin with, the kids go into the building for a bit of training, learning about confidence, doing a bit of exercise, and kicking the daylights out of a target punching bag.

Yes, Jasmine is a princess that knows how to defend herself!  The kids were getting their kicks with the punching bags, and that's when the boards were brought out.

The boards didn't last long.  Madison got this one with one punch, as did most of the kids.  The great thing about Bart and Christine Edge is how empowering they are for the kids.  They encourage the kids and strive to show how each of these kids can be courageous and confident - it's all in your head.

As soon as the kids were done with their boards, it was next time for the costume contest.  Kids lined up in different categories, marching across the mat and showing off their costumes to the judges who were there.  In the category of princesses, guess who won? Madison did!  That's right, she won a "Edge" t-shirt, which we of course added to the loot for the night.

And yes, there was loot tonight.  All the cars were lined up outside, each one with a different theme, each one decorated in a different way.  Here's one that had a Harry Potter theme.  Kids could take pictures in a "Have You Seen This Wizard?" poster.

There were games, lights, costumes, and of course a lot of candy.  Finally, there was the hay ride as well.  It's a great night for all of the kids, and the weather was just right for an outdoor event.  This is our third year doing this, and hopefully not our last - it's just a lot of fun for everyone.  They work really hard at making this a nice evening, and it has always been a happy memory.  And of course, you can't go wrong with free candy!

Tonight, we got home and watched "Book of Life," part of our October theme this year, and we read some more from this mystery with Nancy Drew.  Things are picking up speed with the plot developments.  The story takes place in Florida, very close to Cape Canaveral, and involves explosive oranges, of all things.  We'll let you know as we do what's it all about!

The rest of the day seemed rather routine today.  Madison has a vocabulary test to study for next week.  Her special class today was art - her teacher took this nice picture we have to share here:

Madison loves art, and her teacher Mrs. Hubbard.  Madison has been doing drawings of people now, attempting portraits of people (usually "Descendants" characters).  Her skills are improving.  But this picture here looks nice, doesn't it?  Only a few more days of October left, and they've been just wonderful!

Snombies

Tonight we learned about Snot Zombies, thanks to Bridget, who Madison has been playing each time she plays "Ghostbusters:  Sanctum of Slime."  She's been asking to play this all week, so on an off we try a level here or there.  It's a terribly simple game, but she's been enjoying it, and of course Daddy is there as part of the team, assisting in capturing the bigger ghosts, or at least fending off "snombies."  That's what Bridget calls the zombies who shoot out ectoplasm:  "Snot Zombies."

So Madison is finished with her testing, which happened during other testing, which made for a few weeks where there was just testing, testing, and more testing.  The end results of the first quarter for Madison's testing are these:  Science average is 100.  Math is 97.  Social Studies is 93.  English/Literature is 95.  She's on honor roll, again, and in fact just as she has been for the past few years.  Madison is at this point self-sufficient in all of these subjects.  She doesn't have to study that much at all.  Okay, let me rephrase that:  she doesn't have to study.  We sort of try to ask her things for review, and she already knows all the answers, sometimes before we ask them.  Nevertheless, we stand by to help, and offer assistance where we can.  But the truth is that she - at this point - doesn't need us that much in her learning process.  I think the only weakness area might be organization, and keeping things clean.  But that's hardly notable, given how incredibly well she's doing elsewhere. Of course,  we push (gently) to get her more disciplined in other areas like organization and so forth.  But the point is that she's pretty much got everything covered in school.  Tonight, she's just reading about history, about the Wright Brothers, and about North Carolina in general.  Why?  Because she's always reading about things, even after school.  Her average is 96.25, when you take into account that 93 average in Social Studies.  She's already met and surpassed goals that students in fifth grade are supposed to achieve by the end of the year, and although we do our best to encourage her to grow, she's really doing this on her own:  she just enjoys learning.

That's why you can see how as parents we were disappointed to hear that she didn't make the Gifted Program, the one her teacher recommended her to.  We weren't even thinking about a gifted program, and it was somewhat of a pleasant moment when we were presented with the idea, and the subsequent benefits.  But it's not happening.  Additionally, she won't be tested for another two years, when she's in seventh grade.  That's so far away, it sort of makes you wonder what the point is.  Kind of too late there, perhaps.  We got this news tonight, and it's somewhat of a bummer in some ways.  Mainly because it was kind of built up to us.  Sort of build you up with hope, full of compliments, and tiny visions of the future.  And then the sudden letdown.  It's basically like a standard sports season in Georgia.  But it's your daughter, and suddenly you've got all these images of "NOT WORTHY" in your mind.  Which of course isn't true.  We sincerely wish they never even bothered with the tests at this point.  Madison was fatigued by them, on top of the others.

Anyway, as frequently pointed out to us, she's at sixth grade levels with reading and math.  And her science average - again - is a perfect 100.  So I guess she's not "gifted," but instead simply working at a level about one grade ahead.  I think that's the takeaway.  There's a difference between "working at a higher education level" and "gifted," and this is determined by a series of tests during testing season.  It's kind of an odd situation here.

So I guess we just "coast" this year out with straight A's again, because she kind of already knows it all.  And in between, we continue to have some educational fun at home with science projects and history trips.  We'll see what we can do to stretch her abilities at home.  The schools have done a great job in bringing her to the point she's at, of course.  That's why she's at the place she is now.  Of course, her natural abilities are in there as well, along with the grace of God.  It's been a solid team, and she's doing very well.  It's just that sometimes it seems there's not much to learn here.

I wish I was in her shoes.  She just does so well without having to even try that hard.  Her homework is done in a flash.  She's so smart.  She does work hard, but with some things, she doesn't even have to.  It just all comes to her naturally.  Like I said, Mommy and Daddy are willing and wanting to partner with the school, but at this point, none of us have much to do to get her further along, including Madison.

Fall Festival 2017

The World Series continued tonight with the Astros winning a thriller against the LA Dodgers, evening out the series now, making it 1-1.  Meanwhile, Madison is seen above, swinging for the fences.  Because with this sort of thing, you either go big, or you go home!

At KidPak's Fall Festival, we usually go big.  Here she is, riding a pirate ship, dressed as... a pirate.  She's at home here, and would find herself on this ride throughout the night, although this time she has it all to herself.  That's because she comes here early with Daddy, who has been helping set up today with the others at KidPak.  Madison got to go out before all the other kids and try the rides and inflatables.  She can make it across that one inflatable obstacle course with no problems at all, somewhat of an expert on that one.  And when the other kids came, she was already winning at knocking other boys off their tower in that one game.  It features these little stands that rest on an inflatable surface, so your balance is already tricky to begin with.  And that's where Madison had the advantage - she's got balance.  She reminded me, "I'm in ballet, Dad!"  Oh, like that's all it takes.  Because the other part of the game is using these big cushions to try and knock your opponent off.  Yes, she won against the boys. That's my girl!

Tonight Daddy didn't use the David S Pumpkins costume in order to join NASA with Josh, Lance, and you can see one of our college students in an orange jumpsuit as well.  We took this picture here, and even did one of those pictures where you walk slowly towards the camera with purpose, sort of like every other movie with astronauts walking towards the camera with purpose.

But the real space guests of the night were these guys here:

Members of the 501st Legion actually showed up.  Above, you can see a stormtrooper, a snowtrooper, a biker scout, a rebel pilot, a jedi, and yes, R2-D2.  Madison is in there, pretty happy about what she sees.  But all the grown-ups were too - it was pretty amazing.  Daddy spent a long time talking to the legion tonight, back in the office, and it's a wonderful organization.  They build their own costumes, and they volunteer for all sorts of events like these, like baseball games, and of course hospital visits.  They love what they do.  And again, it's all volunteers.  They recorded their event tonight at the end, in Daddy's office area.  In order to join, you just have to do at least one thing a year, and of course have the costume.  And apparently it doesn't matter how obscure the costume.  Yes, there are a few Willrow Hood Costumes.

As for tonight's event, we had probably the most children we've ever had.  And it went relatively smoothly.  There were some kids that were crying because of fall or a lost sibling or something like that, but we had enough volunteers to cover these incidents and accidents.  We had enough people to cover the entrances, to keep adults without badges out.  And we had enough people to cover the rides and inflatables.  Daddy was covering a few of them, including the bungee run.  It was fun!

Although... it was chilly!  But that's the way it's supposed to be, right?  It was a great Fall Festival, and yeah, all the kids got a big bag of candy before going home.  Nana got the Kit-Kat bars, and Madison had one piece of candy before going to bed tonight.  We read from our devotional, and said our prayers a little quickly.  We got home late, and it was way past bedtime.  But it was a fun time, one she really loved.

50's Day

Today was the 50th day of school again, and as such, all the kids - and teachers - get to dress up in their favorite 50's attire.  You can see Madison above, along with some others from another class.  Daddy was on hand to take pictures of the kids that participated.  It was nice - they play 50's music outside as kids come in, and it's somewhat of an educational moment.  I've never seen so many poodle skirts in my life!

And you may be wondering about this costume...

This week, the KidPak kids are asked to submit a picture of themselves in disguise - and reading our devotional.  Then they'll get the next clue, and see whodunit, or at least who didn't do it.  Madison was read the clue this evening.  Daddy also read the devotional entry for this evening, along with another two chapters of Nancy Drew.  It looks like Antin might have something to do with these exploding oranges.  If that sentence makes any sense to you, then you know which Nancy Drew story we're reading.  It's one with a mansion, and a visit to the Space Center as well.  Madison is enjoying this one.

It was a good day today - we had piano class for Madison.  Daddy has been writing new devotional entries based on "A Christmas Carol."  I'm not entirely ready for the Christmas season to start yet, as it is still October.  But I did need to get a head start on the next book.  So we were writing that a little today.

Nana and Ba-Ba were with Mommy, out shopping at Goodwill.  Mommy got some things for herself, and a few items for Daddy and Madison too.  They had a good time, shopping around.  As always, it's more about the time spent together.  It was nice.

Tonight before bed, we had dinner, and then went back to the Sanctum of Slime for a few rounds of ghost busting.  Madison is into the whole idea of Ghostbusters now, so we might be doing some of those movies soon.

Anyway, it's time for bed.  Something was all over the top of our house last night, or perhaps on the windows or something - it was 3am, and it was annoying.  We're a little tired today, so we might be hitting the bed earlier.  Besides, tomorrow is a big day with the Fall Festival going on.  It's going to be a great night!

Ballet Observation

We had observation once again at ballet tonight, a yearly sort of thing where the parents are invited to come into class and watch a routine class in action.  This year, things were a little different.  For one, we were in the bigger ballet room, where there was much more space for the dancers to move (with us still in the room).  Secondly, look who came along to observe!

Nana and Ba-Ba were here from Florida, so why not drop by and watch Madison dance for ninety minutes.  It wasn't exactly a thrill-a-minute sort of performance, of course.  This class was made up of plenty of exercises of routines and the learning of shape and forms. 

This was our first time watching Mrs. Dianne in action as a teacher.  She of course is the founder of the ballet company, and Madison has been in her class this year for the first time.  She's enjoying it, and as evidenced by her movements and grace tonight, she's been learning a bit as well.  She has rhythm a bit more down, and she definitely has the mechanics down.  There are some things that are a bit of math, counting, and memorization.  With that, she has no problem.

She's having a good time in ballet this year, but we're approaching a big decision soon.  She'll have to decide if she wants to do more, and audition for the company.  This is a big step up, a commitment for more time practicing, and of course more money from Mommy and Daddy.  We don't want to push her in either direction.  If this is truly in her heart, we'll let her move in that way.  Otherwise, there are other directions she can go, including karate, another musical instrument, or even other things at school like band or various clubs.  Whatever she wants.  We've been happy to see her dance, of course.

Soon enough, she'll be auditioning for a part in a version of "Frozen," that will take place in March or so.  It'll be nice, and Madison is wanting to be a part of that.  She's wondering what she'll be - a troll? A snowflake?  A villager?  We'll see soon enough, of course.  That's all coming January, and with it a bunch of practices and all the bells and whistles of the ballet production season.  We've not had to worry about that of late, due to the fact that she was taking a break from "The Nutcracker."  We'll return to all that soon enough, and it won't be a terrible thing at all.  Looking forward to it, in fact.  We love seeing her dance, and seeing her enjoy herself on stage.  She said she's not at all nervous like she used to be, and that's great.

The rest of today was school, a return to it.  Daddy and Mommy were doing a bit of clean-up from the party yesterday, including a new bleaching of the pumpkins process that Daddy was trying out.  Hopefully the pumpkins will last a bit longer, but we'll see how it all turns out.  Usually they are gone within a week.  This new process is supposed to help them last a little bit longer, so you'll see the results here as we talk about it.  Daddy submerged Madison's pumpkin, his pumpkin, Pastor Lance's pumpkin and Kellan's Spider-Man pumpkin.  The other two we'll return to their owners tomorrow, and we'll see how they all do the following week.

It stormed today.  Heavy rain came this morning, which was something new and remarkable.  It's only rained here the past two months because of two hurricanes.  So this was the first non-hurricane related rain we've had in over two months.  It's hard to be grateful to a hurricane, but there's at least one reason.  The other remarkable thing about this rain is that it came this morning, and not yesterday, during our Pumpkin Carving Party.  Also, it didn't come during the Fall Festival at the church this upcoming Wednesday night.  

It was an odd rainstorm, because it was so heavy and so long-lasting.  And then, suddenly, the light came out.  There was nothing gradual about this storm.  It was there, and it was there hard.  And then it wasn't there at all.

Tonight we opened another sparkling Pumpkin Cider.  Madison loves those.  We went over some spelling bee words.  Tomorrow, she's in another spelling bee, and Daddy is probably more worried than she is.  Again, we're incredibly proud of her no matter what.  She didn't have time to study the seventh and eighth grade words, which were all rather complicated.  Some of these words Mommy and Daddy didn't even know how to spell.  And others, we don't even use.  I mean, who uses the word "daunted" anymore?  I know we use "undaunted" from time to time.  Or "clodhopper?"  What is that even supposed to be?  I'm guessing it's an insult to a person.  Okay, I just looked it up:

clod·hop·per

ˈklädˌhäpər/

noun

1. 1. 

   a large, heavy shoe.
2. 2. 

   informal

   a foolish, awkward, or clumsy person.

Anyway, this is one of the simpler words on the list.  We did a lot of words tonight, and Madison did really well spelling most of them right.  Then, it was time for prayers of thanksgiving, and a bit of reading from the devotional.  Daddy read from that, and a quick chapter from the latest Nancy Drew book about a mysterious mansion.  We'll have to see what's up with that as the days go by.  It seems creepy enough...

The Eighth Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

This morning we continued with another thrilling service of "Get a Clue," which was so amazingly epic.  Things are just clicking at KidPak, with great messages, videos, and a wonderful cast of characters.  You can see some of them here, trying to deduce a thing or two.  Madison has really been enjoying it.  Daddy saw her in the front row for both services today, as he continued his portrayal of Dr. Watson.  There were quite a few laughs along the way, and of course lessons learned.  Today we were focusing on the story of a "missing person," that one of course being "The Prodigal Son" from the Bible.  The skit explored the possibility of someone stealing the Crown Jewels.  Irene Adler appears, and is it entirely possible she's up to something?  Stay tuned!

Afterwards, it was time for something we all look forward to very much each year.  It was time for our Ninth Annual Pumpkin Carving Party!

Here it is, the usual "darkened room shot" of all the pumpkins after the event, all of them lined up for everyone to see.  We sit there and admire everyone's handiwork, as all the pumpkins are lined up in the living room on the fireplace.  They turned out great!

The weather was perfect outside, perhaps even a little humid at one point when the sunlight came streaming through the clouds.  But it was perfect for the most part, and we had plenty of people visiting, each bringing a pumpkin, perhaps some food, and each ready to carve an interesting design into a pumpkin.  Here's Madison, digging away:

She's sculpting a cat design, one you'll see in a bit.  She had a great afternoon, playing with the other children, and just having the greatest time with all her friends from church who arrived.

We started this eight years ago, the first October we spent in our new house.  The pumpkins turned out great, and have been doing so ever since.  Last year we had quite a few people in the house, and so it was slightly worrisome to us ahead of time that there'd be too many people this year.  But it all worked out fine in the end.

Here's Mommy, Camille, and Mary Shannon.  Mommy worked so hard to get this just right, preparing all this food, cleaning up the house, and setting up pretty much everything around the house so that people could socialize, eat, and yes, carve pumpkins.

Pastor Lance, Josh and Daddy were laughing throughout the day, as was everyone else.  It's just a fun experience out there on the deck, each of us creating something artistic with our pumpkins, talking and posing for pictures as we pull out the guts of these pumpkins, and slice away shapes.  Or in Camille's case here, sculpt away with special tools:

Josh brought an interesting pumpkin, and of course his carvings are always the most unique:



Mommy did a great job with setting up the front porch area as well, making it nice for family pictures. We took a few great ones of the other families throughout the day, but here's the one of us together, about to head back and do our carvings.

There were some new additions this year.  Kellan and Gabby were here with their newborn daughter, and Pastor Lance and Kate had their newborn daughter here as well.  Joey and Jordan's little boy was here for his second pumpkin carving party, and of course all the other kids were there as well.  It was just a nice time for all the families.  We ate Mommy's famous chili, and the other foods brought by guests.  Shobie brought fajitas, which were tasty!  There were plenty of dessert items too, and lots to drink, including of course apple cider.

At the end of the evening, we do as we always do:  line up the pumpkins in front of the fireplace.

We had a lot of great pumpkins this year, as you could see.  It's always wonderful to see all the creativity on display.  It's such a unique event, and we're so grateful to everyone for coming to enjoy the afternoon with us.  All of the pumpkins turned out really well!  Here's Daddy's entry this year, a carving of Baby Groot.

I think if Groot were here, he would approve.  He'd probably say something like, "I am Groot."  And here below is Madison's cat pumpkin.  She didn't use a pattern for this, and I think it turned out great!

All in all, it was a wonderful time, as it always is.  As folks left one by one, we were humbled and filled with gratitude for such special friendships, and warm memories.  Already, we're looking forward to next year!