Taking the Scenic Route

This year Zora wanted to go as a ladybug

So, here is the ladybug:

Zane wanted to go as “Toad”.  Not like a frog, but the character on Mario Bros.

This guy

So, here is Toad:

“OK kids, let’s take some pictures before we go…”

We headed out to the College Hill area, an area in town they block off the streets and the residents go to a lot of extra effort to decorate all out.  It is AWESOME.  It is like the most ideal, idyllic Halloween trick or treating scene ever.  We love it and are so thankful for the residents who go to the effort.  Our neighborhood is not conducive to ToTing, so this is fun.

We met up with Robert’s family and ran into several other families we know there.

The kids even made the news. Zora is at 1:43 (near the end), and you can see the rest of us in the background as she runs down the walk, shouting her “thank you” over her shoulder. When the newscaster comes back at the end she says “Love that little ladybug girl”, which puts a big grin on Zora’s face every time she sees it.

Hope your Halloween was as sweet as ours was.

Zora’s preschool had all the kids dress as “something from a farm”.   I assumed she was going to want either cat or dog, but I listed off all of the possibilities:  cow, duck (even had an online friend with a great costume for this), horse, cat, dog, goat, chicken….”  Jokingly, when she was oscillating between several, I said “skunk” under my breath.  She heard me and was convinced that it was perfect.  Couldn’t really argue with her with a straight face.  So, here is my “Little Stinker”

The face is because she wants to go, not stand still for pictures.  She was very enthused about the make-up.

Happily wiggling her tail.  She and Zach picked out the fun fur and the white feathers that I sewed to the back of the black coveralls (which were from Zane’s old pumpkin costume).  The ears were a pipe cleaner strung through a little jaw clip, then felt put over it and sewn together around the pipe cleaners.  It worked a lot better than attaching them to a hairband for her because they were easier to position, stayed put, and didn’t pull or dig into her head.

The project was to make your own pumpkin pudding.

She had a lot of fun with her costume, swinging her tail around, and chasing her friends around “spraying” them with her tail.  I don’t think she understood the mechanics of how a skunk sprays exactly though; she would pick up her tail and say “spray” while aiming her tail like a hose.  The other kids giggled and made a lot of “eww, stinky” declarations, so it was all good.

I missed the “in costume” part of the instructions, but since Zane’s costume wasn’t complete anyway (bad mommy!), he wouldn’t have been able to wear it.  They really enjoyed the party though.  They had a bunch of different, creative activities that both of the kids enjoyed.

Among the activities were apple bobbing…

(I ended up holding Zane’s hair out of his face, but it was still something he could not get.  I am debating whether or not this is a skill I need to teach. )

and pumpkin painting…

Zach took Zora to her dance class on the day parents could come in the room and take pictures.  So here are some shots from inside the room (instead of through the door)

After seeing us take pictures of Zane’s hair, Zora grabs her Halloween costume and strikes a pose.

Then shows us she can fly

Zane joins us, after the goop is out of his hair

(by the way, he is wearing shorts, it is just an unfortunate angle)

My folks took our family to the fair this year.  As usual, it was a lot of fun.  The only unfun thing was dad having an injured eye.  He got a scratch on his cornea and it was ulcerating, causing him a lot of pain, and the drops he has to put in hourly were also painful.  It was in his “good” eye, which rendered him, effectively, blind.

They got ride-o-rama bracelets for the three kids the kids and Zach, so Zach could help, especially on the bigger rides Zane wanted to go on.

We have a photo of him looking forward and happy on this ride, but I was tickled by the picture of him smelling the ride before settling in.  One of those quirks inherited from both sides of the family.  (Even Zach’s dad, Zane’s grandpa, was known for smelling everything.  lol)

Before Zach & Zane split off to go on big rides, Zane rode a few of the kid ones with Zora.

One of the only rides that Zane has never really liked is the carousel.  When he does ride, he rides on the bench, but he prefers not to ride it.  I actually agree with him on this one.  I can ride the wildest roller coasters and other adrenaline rides, but the carousel gives me horrible vertigo and I hate it.  Zora and Zach both love the carousel.

Dad and I hung out with the kids and mom for a while, until the brightness and the dust was just more than he could take.  We found a spot just off the midway, in the shade and away from the people where we sat for most of the afternoon.  I realized later that the hours long conversation was the longest uninterrupted conversation I have had with my dad in decades.  We also laughed at the idea that he could never have guessed, when I was Zora’s age, that I would ever sit still for that long.

As darkness fell, we headed back to the cars, with one last stop:  the train.  Mom has taken this ride every year since she was a little girl, she always took us every year, and now my kids have gone every year.  However, I don’t remember being able to go in the “coal car” part of the train, so I am a little jealous.  We ended up going on the last loop of the night.  I think the kids behaved better than the “grown-ups” this time.

And, as we pass by a “photo board” thing, we decided to give it a shot.  I will leave out the nice photos because the bad ones were so much funnier.

Our family’s submission to “awkward family photos” website (a website of horrible family photos).  Zane was not really into the photo thing, as you can tell.

but we did get one last smile out of him before leaving.

Oma made Zora one happy girl.  She chose dance over gymnastics this fall, so Grandma got her some ballet clothes and she was set for the new experience.  (She also paid for Zane to continue in gymnastics at the YMCA)

Trying out the twirl factor of the new skirt before leaving.

First, one picture from Zane.  This cartoon is a reaction to his vocabulary work in Speech Therapy.  They learn a new science term and do a related experiment (among other things).

The word is “repel”

Now, the gallery:

Carrying her nametag (that she has been asking for since it arrived in the mail a few weeks before), she excitedly sets out for a new year.

Daddy’s reaction to dropping his baby off to school.