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!