ding dong! it's finally here!!

hooray for halloween! the most favorite time of the year is here! i have to admit, i've somewhat recovered from the kids not allowing me to make the costumes this year. especially, matching costumes. i have a feeling my run is over. (or so they think!) i've got great things in store. the hardest part will be waiting 364 days from now. well without further ado, here they are.....in their very own costumes, for the first and, maybe, the last time. at least i got to add a little extra something with gas candy bucket and pupcake basket. and i can honestly find a good bit of satisfaction in the majority of allison's costume coming from the closet.

davis chose to be.......



LIGHTNING McQUEEN PIT CREW


allison is starring as.......



STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE with her dog PUPCAKE!

i'm starting to think we are invited to more halloween parties than christmas parties. sounds a little bizarre, but at least you can wear the same outfit to all parties. however, by the time halloween night gets here all costumes are a little frayed and tatttered. the price you pay for free candy.

each year, gardner-webb student activities groups and athletics sponsor an octoberfest for the community. every club or team host a carnival game, face painting, or halloween game for the kids. its a madhouse but we love it. davis and allison's favorite stop every year is the women's softball team. walk-around-the-bases cakewalk to decorate your own cupcake. last year we made the mistake of making it our first stop. chocolate icing and white feathers don't mix. allison likes the cupcake decorating and eating part, davis likes the girl part.

allison walks away with her own 'death by chocolate' creation:

painting pumpkins with daddy:

i take that back. the cakewalk was not davis' favorite game. i forgot about the athletic trainers' table.....shoot emperor zurg or the joker. i wish i could describe to you the look on davis' face when he realized he got to

1. shoot a gun.

2. shoot at emperor zurg.

thankfully, this table was one of the last by the door. we stayed there for 15 minutes. davis didn't want all their candy. he just wanted all shots on zurg. (note for some: emperor zurg is a bad guy from toy story 3.)

we were glad to have good friends join us at octoberfest. the kids were so excited to see rowan and henry all we got were blurry pictures from all the jumping around.

who is that g.i. joe? oh! it's our good friend brye.

the mask finally comes off later in the night.

and this is what we look like at the end of the night. trust me allison got the best of octoberfest and not the other way around. it only looks like a bloody nose, but this is what happens when strawberry shortcake's red hair rubs off and mixes with gooey candy residue.

hope your halloween is fun and sweet!

reach, reach! giveyourselfahug

raining cats and dogs

cats? did i really just say cats? dogs, yes. we are dog people. you can tell from the dog hair on our clothes, in the car, and the lint roller falling out of our pockets. of course we love all dogs, but we really love real dogs. real, big dogs. dogs with real dog noses to sniff things out. dogs with really strong tails to welcome you home. the better to wag with. dogs with deep barks to fool those who don't know us. dogs who bring things back you (or are supposed to). dogs who hug you back when you hug them. and dogs who take us on a walk, not the other way around. when i told my parents after college i wanted to get a dog, my mom said, " you're always on the go...how are you going to keep a dog?" my dad said, "that's understandable. you've never had a day in your life without a pet. why would that change now?" and when the day came, mom went with me to bring rio home.

now back to the cat. our dogs have never liked cats. they always thought of them as big squirrels in fancy outfits. chase squirrels. chase cats. makes for a very, good day. but there is this cat who lives across the street. well, really he has taken over the neighborhood as an outdoor cat. i fed the cat a couple days when i noticed my neighbor was out of town. now the cat comes over every morning asking us for his breakfast. this cat thinks he's a dog. derby chased him the first time he saw him and the cat rolled over to show him his belly. this happened several times. now derby lays in our grass and oscar (the cat) sees him and charges derby to play. derby just gives him "the look."

but today, oscar greeted us this morning when we walked out to take davis to school. as we walked davis to school, i looked back to keep the kids moving and on track and there i saw oscar following us. i pointed this out to allison who adores all animals, and she coaxed oscar into following us the entire way. to davis' class and back - there we all were. davis, allison, me, derby on his leash and oscar in step right beside derby. for a moment i wished i had the camera. but then i thought, to get the real picture someone would have to be capturing the moment from a distance.

people have always compared our dogs to horses and lions. i wonder if oscar thinks derby is a lion?

**update** here is a t-ball video as promised....click here.

still trying to adjust to from a month of interrupted routines that the blog is missing several posts and many pictures and videos. but they are all in my head! just have the find the time to transfer to the keyboard.

davis finished his 2nd season of t-ball. on the day of his last game, he told me on the walk home from school how he hasn't been the pitcher yet. i told him to ask his coach to put him in as the pitcher and he actually followed through because guess who was the starting pitcher in last night's two inning thriller?

allison still comes up with the craziest sayings. just this weekend she told zach, "daddy, you make the best food! i looove your macaroni & cheese!"

and

a couple weeks ago she told me that "i'm a big girl because i got strong elbows! i'm very strong. that's what i says."

i'm trying to upload some recent videos of dance and baseball. keeping my fingers crossed that i get them done soon!! we'll keep you posted. ha ha.

the toys are back in town

we had to work hard for this picture. you would think simply mentioning his new, super-cool buzz lightyear would light davis up for a smile. no. i think i had to bribe him somewhere along the lines of, "if you don't smile for my picture, the show won't start."

little white lies. i catch myself giving them to the kids more and more often now. if you don't sit still in your seat the food won't come. they're not going to call our name until you be quiet. you can't go to mission friends unless you start fighting. no matter what, the result will happen. they eventually bring the food, call our name and no way, no how, will i give up a wednesday night child-free activity.

back to the big event. we learned you can save big searching for discounts for the show, but they get you back before you even get in the door. programs! cotton candy! popcorn! souvenirs! snow cones! step right up, suckers.

the spinner battery didn't even make it to the end of the show. the top to the buzz snow cone cup popped off and we were lucky enough to be able to pop it back on. however, the popcorn was devoured by the handful for the full two-hour show. davis consumed a bucket on his own. eyes straight ahead, hand in bucket, other hand grasping spinner for 120 minutes straight. what was his favorite part? the claw and the doll in the blue clothes. (that would be barbie.) there he goes.....favoring the blondes again.

woody and buzz

green man group

most of the cast

and the award goes to......

Granddaddy of The Year!

Jim Henry Winslett, Jr.

September 27, 1943 - September 23, 2010

the past two weeks have definitely been a blur. for all of us. glad we were there. glad its over. time to recuperate and get back on a normal schedule. even if normal has changed.

people are so kind. people are bringing over so many kinds of food. right now, i have two cakes on my counter. the kids ask, "who are the cakes for?" i answer, "because granddaddy died." they ask again, "is it his birthday?" "it was." "and he didn't get any? so we have to have it for him?" "that's right! we should celebrate his birthday even if he's not here with us. he would like that."

i like how kids think.

the bear.