Jurassic Pumpkin

Tonight I did this pumpkin after quite a bit of detail work, one based on the upcoming Jurassic Park movie.  I saw this image, or at least something like this image, on a poster for the new movie, the traditional T-Rex skeleton silhouette in amber on the poster itself.  I thought that might look pretty cool all lit up, and it in the end, it did.  Mommy and Nana were watching "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" and "Box Trolls" while I was carving away at the kitchen table.  It's early, but I was just in the mood for some sculpting, and it was a decent conversation starter for Nana, who was pretty impressed with it as things moved along.  I was happy with how it turned out today, but even more so, I was happy with how things were with Nana today.  

Part of the reason for this was Mocha, a dog we borrowed for a short time span.  Mocha belongs to some friends of ours, the Ryans, who Madison spent the afternoon with.  She had a great time playing with friends and just relaxing this afternoon.  They even went to spend some time at the golf course together, where Madison took a few pictures with her phone.

They went down to The Oaks, a course that Madison has played a few times this year already.  Of course, she was here for her birthday earlier on, and on that occasion, a later one, and this one today, she was playing with her friend Jolina.  It's a fun way to get outdoors and do something.

It was such a perfect afternoon, the girls had a great time walking through the woods, and the water features there as well.  Madison has been fascinated by the time exposure shots, and took a few of the waterfalls and fountains there at the golf course.

These pictures here make it seem like Madison was not just playing mini-golf, but rather on a hike through the woods to see some waterfalls along the way.  She's really getting creative with her photography, and I'm happy to share some of these shots here.

This shot above makes it appear as if Madison was up in the North Georgia Mountains, walking by a stream there in the woods on a nice fall day.  Which I guess you could say she was... but not exactly.  She was taking a lot of pictures along the way today, including a few back at the Ryans' house.

They were playing some games there, including this balancing game called Suspend.  That looked like fun!  They were also outside too, where there's a nice trampoline to bounce your troubles away, and swing a little too!

It was a nice day for her, and it started out with something great on stage as well.  She was back with the actors again at KidPak!  It was as if she never missed a beat.  She got into the rehearsals and up there on stage, super comfortable, and of course just perfect in her role.

 

The pajamas are her idea, as she and her friend there are students from March of 2020.  She remembers everything was being done in pajamas back then.  The two girls are coming out, fearful of murder hornets, hurricanes and asteroids.  Again, our time travelers have chosen quite the time to visit, right there at the beginning of the full panic about the pandemic.  I'm super proud of Madison, as always, and quite happy to see her up there.

Our day with Nana was better, which isn't saying much, given that yesterday was such a nightmare.  We haven't really been given too much to be happy with in the sporting world either, as our Atlanta and Athens teams have fallen by the wayside.  It is a known fact that it is not a "miracle comeback" if you are facing an Atlanta team.  Those sorts of victories may be miracles elsewhere, but it's fairly common against an Atlanta team by this point.  We'll never be settled in our spirits even late in a game with overwhelming odds in our favor, just because we've been trained to be that way for many, many years.  Suffice to say, the Atlanta Braves lost, pulling defeat out of the jaws of victory, and once again breaking our collective hearts.

Nana isn't into sports, and that's okay.  She was into the visiting dog today.  This dog was so nervous that it actually bit me, and then bit Mommy and Nana, actually drawing blood.  They have these bleeding bite marks on their hands, and yet Nana is just fine with that, saying, "The dog is a little nervous."  Me?  I decided to stay away from the dog. But considering Nana's recent troubles, it was funny how her reaction was not that at all, but rather warm and suddenly quite happy.  She loves animals, and was super happy to have a pet with us, even a short time.  Of course, that planted all kinds of seeds within.  If a pet will bring her this sort of peace, will that keep her at ease more often?  The tradeoff of course is the burden of a pet, watching it and taking good care of it.  It has been something we're mulling over.

Anyway, we had peace tonight.  I'm not sure how long that will last, because the mood swings have been sudden and dramatic.  We'll see how tomorrow goes.  We prayed tonight, of course, and we read from our devotional about the Periodic Table of Elements, and then some more about the adventures of Mara Jade.  It was a rich, full day.  Not quite the weekend we wanted, but it will be okay.