First Tastes of Winter

Happy Thanksgiving! Oh wait..that was last week. Better late than never though, right?

We had a good trip to Georgia, although the drive did get a little long. The kids were troopers and probably watched more TV during those car rides than in an entire week at home. But, they never once complained.

We got home Saturday, worn out and cold! Apparently winter arrived while we were in Georgia. In fact Saturday morning at our hotel in Kansas City, there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. The kids were so excited! I can only imagine what they'll be like after it snows here this weekend...

Yep, that's right. Snow. This weekend. And yesterday when I took Ashlyn to school, it was 3 - THREE - outside, with a wind chill of -13. Today isn't so bad - 25 with a wind chill of 10. The wind is wicked outside today though. There are wind advisories out and they're predicting winds of 40+ MPH. Sounds like a good day to stay inside and bake some Christmas goodies.

The parades also start again this weekend, so if we can stand it, we'll be in Luverne for their Winterfest parade. But, we'll be prepared with layers upon layers of clothes, warm Mexican blankets and a thermos full of hot chocolate! Don't worry - I'll be sure to post pictures after this adventure of sitting in the snow watching a Christmas parade!

Is it time for Santa yet???

I Love Football!

And small towns and the fact that when the varsity team goes to state, the schools are closed for the day! The Dragons haven't been to state since 1997. There are signs all over wishing them luck! It reminds me of when Parkview went to the state championship when I was in high school and the "We Believe" signs were all over Lilburn.

At 8:00 this morning, the team left with an escort of siren-blaring ambulances, fire trucks and our one police car. I looked out the window to see what was going on and then it hit me - it was the team's send off! If we hadn't all been in our pajamas, we would've run out to wave and cheer as they drove past.

The Adrian Dragons played today in the semi-finals (and won 25-14) and next weekend will be playing in the Metrodome in Minneapolis. If we weren't traveling to Georgia, we'd be there. But, in consolation, since school is closed on Friday, we get to leave for Georgia Thursday afternoon instead of Friday, which means an extra day of resting there!

We'll be going to our old church on Sunday, so having an extra day between traveling and the start of what will be a busy week will be so nice - for us and the kids. And, while we'll physically be in Georgia on Saturday, our hearts may just be at the Metrodome cheering for the team.

Go Dragons!

A Kitty and A Combine

For Halloween this year, my kids got to pick their own costumes. Yes, last year I was one of those neurotic moms where they had to match, and I must say they were very adorable at Elastigirl and Dash from The Incredibles. This year however, I overcame my neurosis and let them decide what they wanted to be. The only mistake I made was telling them they could be whatever they wanted.

Ashlyn was easy. She picked a cat. So, one black leotard (which she already had for dance), some black pants (which were hand-me-downs from someone anyway), some makeup, ears and a tail - and we were all set. But, please note the bling on this kitty. A regular collar wouldn't do. It had to have jewelry! And she came up with it all on her own after sneaking into my jewelry box. I must say she is definitely related to her Aunt Pam!

Carter, on the other hand, decided early on that he wanted to be a combine. I'm not sure how this happened exactly, except I casually asked him one day if he wanted to be a tractor. (By the way - his initial idea for a halloween costume was a bunny. Ummm, a boy? As a bunny? On Halloween? I could just feel the decades of ridicule that would follow him). BUT, the offer of tractor was only made after careful research on the internet for pictures of other tractor costumes that I was sure I could copy - and copy well!

Anyway, as harvest progressed, so did Carter's ideas for his costume. First it went to a tractor with a wagon. There was no way this was even physically possible unless Ashlyn agreed to be the wagon. Nope - a kitty. So, then Carter got in his mind that he wanted to be a combine. Imagine me when I heard this. There are NO PICTURES - ANYWHERE - online of any other kid in a combine costume.

But after some careful examination of those tractor costumes and spending some time at the farm and driving down the road STARING at combines, I thought I could handle it. Until Carter told me that he wanted to be a RED combine. In Britney's family, that's equal to heresy. Luckily, Ashlyn saved us from being excommunicated by telling Carter that Uncle Jerry wouldn't give him any candy if he was a RED combine. He HAD to be a GREEN one.

So, I finished his costume on Monday and you can only imagine the fight I had on my hands the next two days trying to keep it somewhat together. I must have reattached the corn heads a thousand times - so many times that when it was finally time to leave to go trick or treating, he went with one missing, because I just couldn't do it again.

The night was pretty chilly, but we only went trick or treating on our street. That didn't take too long, but the kids were satisfied with their candy and pretty tuckered out.

I just want to end this post by saying that I am the world's coolest mom for coming up with the combine costume. All of the boys who saw Carter last night went nuts over his costume and I even had one lady stop us at the Fall Festival at Ashlyn's school to take a picture so she could show her husband! I ROCK!

By the way - you can check out all of our pictures from the Fall Festival and Halloween here. I'm not sure why there are NONE of Ashlyn at HER fall festival. I think Britney was too enthralled with Carter's costume...