Halloween through the years

2008 (we had a bad camera year resulting in my new camera at Christmas that year)



2009



2010

Say hello to our little friends

For almost five years now, we have been dealing with this mysterious animal dropping issue outside our patio door. As annoying as it has been to constantly clean up the doo-doo anytime we host a party or just want to chill outside, its nothing that we've ever put much thought into finding the cause and stopping it. You see, outside our patio door is a wall mounted thermometer with a windbreaker board beside it. Many birds and squirrels and other woodland creatures use the windbreaker to perch and do their buisness. However this past summer, the animals must have been eating good because the patio was constantly a mess, even with almost daily cleaning. It was time to do something about it but without knowing what animal was the direct cause, how could we do anything about it? Then one cool September evening, completely out of nowhere (I do believe I had been sleeping), I knew exactly what was the cause of our problem and what we needed to do to fix it, what JIM needed to do to fix it.

Sure enough, when Jim removed the thermometer the source of our problem was revealed. Say hello to friend number one.







Monday night I was standing at the kitchen sink waiting for Jim, Jacob and Bree to return home from Jacob's doctors appointment, which by the way Jacob has his second ear infection within a month, when I heard someone climbing into our wheelbarrow out back on our patio. I had just went into our bedroom for a minute so I thought maybe I missed Jim pulling in and he walked around out back to close the shed doors or something. Ever so casually I walked into the living room, flipped on the patio light and instantly started screaming like a lunatic.

Say hello to our little friend number two.



A few years ago, coincidentally during the Fulton County Fair which is also when we discovered the bat, I was sitting on the couch watching TV when the cats when hysterical growling and hissing and arching their bats. Thinking it was just another cat outside, I walked up to the patio door that they were standing at only to discover a massively huge groundhog with its front paws up on the screen door staring right back at me. I do not have a picture of that little friend.

I love where I live, within city limits but with the conveniences of country living. However, this is a little too country for me.

And then comes Halloween

Remember last year when Bree wanted nothing to do with scooping out her pumpkin's guts? You can read about it here. Well this year it was a completely different story.

At first, you could tell that she was a little leary of what was going to happen to her pumpkin.


Quietly she watched Daddy cut his pumpkin top off.


Then watched Papa cut the top off her pumpkin.


Jacob watched quietly too.


Once the top was pulled off and she saw the pumpkin goo, she threw caution to the wind...


...and tasted it.


Then, unlike last year, she dove right into her pumpkin, scopping away.


Next it was on to Jacob's pumpkin.


Of course, Jacob had to do whatever his sister does and tasted his pumpkin too.


However we did not let him play in the pumpkin guts. :o(


But he still had a great time feeling the slimy-ness of his pumpkin. Kept him quite content while all our pumpkins got carved.




Bree making pumpkin pie. Gotta love kids imaginations.




Since Jacob is just a little too young to even let him finger paint his pumpkin, we let Bree decorate his. She did a mighty fine job too.


The line up: Jim, Jacob, Brees and mine.


The line up lit up.

My Praying Girl

Chili Festival

Back in September our town held its chili cook-off festival. Part of the festivities is the pumpkin decorating contest. Its something that I've always wanted to participate it but somehow this ANNUAL event always sneaks up on me and we just don't have the time to get a pumpkin around and decorated. But this year I was prepared AND it paid off. We won second place in the family category.

It all starts with a...

mysteriously muddy sink...


followed by muddy footsteps through the kitchen...


of course there will be another muddy handprint/smear...


all leading to a VERY muddy girl playing in her mommy's garden.

Can you believe it?

One year ago we visited the orthopedic doctor to discover that Bree had broken her leg. One year ago a bright purple cast was put on. One year later look at the change.

October 15, 2009


October 15, 2010