Pumpkin-carving

Wednesday was an early release day for Claire so the perfect time to carve our pumpkin while Fielder napped!  (She was way more interested in the treat Mimi had brought over)


This picture is funny - blurry, but it shows her reaction the second she touched the tiniest bit of slimy pumpkin.  She helped me for about 30 seconds and then was done.  So instead I had her draw our design for the pumpkin.

This is what she came up with!  (Finally not a sad pumpkin - she actually asked for a sad one and I said no.  What is it with the sad pumpkins??)

It was also crazy hair day at school....we don't normally style her hair like that!

 

Howdy Halloween

We all went to Mimi and Papa's house for lunch and to see the golf cart parade yesterday.  The kids were already wild - and that was before the candy - so we ran around the back yard a bit.  Fielder is so happy to finally be able to run and keep up with the girls.


The parade started right at naptime so Fielder had to miss out.  I'm pretty sure Rob didn't mind staying back at the house with him. 
Claire would say "Howdy Halloween" to the golf cart drivers, and a few times yelled back "I said HOWDY, not happy" if they didn't respond as she expected - of course I pulled her aside and explained that that was rude!!

Cross Ridge knows how to par-tay!  It was fun and the girls loved it.  Thanks Mimi!

 

Trunk or Treat 2013

We took the kids to the Y's trunk or treat on Friday.  It was mostly impossible to get a picture of the kids, especially Fielder.  He would just take off running and we spent the whole time chasing after him.  Claire loved it and practiced her cowgirl moves.  They had a great time and ended the party dancing to Halloween music with a few other kids.  Then Claire and I were off to our next adventure for the night...



Our second party was at Claire's new school that she'll be starting soon.  They invited us to come check it out.  It was packed and hard for her to really see what the school will be like, but she had fun.  We took a hayride all around and through the playground, she had some ice cream, played outside for a bit, and then we went to the book fair.

 

1st sign of progress!

They started our driveway!  Woo hoo!  I don't think anything else will happen for another couple weeks, but hey I was thrilled to see some small sign of progress - especially as we pack up and prepare to move into our temporary home.  Our buyers close today and we'll be renting back for a week and the movers come next Monday.  Bittersweet!

Pumpkins

I braved the pumpkin patch alone this year while Rob was moving stuff to the river.  I reviewed the "rules" in the car - no running near the street, no candy or playground until you pose for a nice picture, and we went over the pumpkin "budget."  (Sorry, but I didn't want to spend a fortune on pumpkins that we will have to throw away in 1.5 weeks before we move!)  Fielder stayed strapped into the stroller until we had paid for our pumpkins and then all hell broke loose.  Luckily I got 1 kinda cute photo of the 2 of them before my camera battery died.  Also before Fielder became one giant sticky mess from his lollipop and before he ran wild!  They have a little playground which is always a highlight of the trip and Claire even ran into a friend from preschool days. 

 

Midlothian Fall Parade

I am so happy Meredith talked me into the parade on this drizzly drab day!  With the exception of a major traffic back-up trying to get home, we had a fun morning and the kids loved it.  Thanks Mere!

Nothing says fall like pumpkin-picking in the Little Ceasers parking lot.  Fielder loved running around, falling in the dirt, and trying to pick up all the pumpkins. 

(check out my muscles ladies)

We walked over to a spot for watching the parade - it's not everyday you can walk down the middle of Midlo Turnpike. 

Claire got very excited when she realized that they throw candy at this parade.



What's up with Santa at a fall festival?? Even Claire said "that's weird."

 

Boxes everywhere

 

It's starting to get real....we have 2 weeks left in our house.  Rob is making a trip to the river to store some things and I've been stashing stuff away at Mom and Dad's house.  I have a whole room in the house blocked off from kids where I have boxes, bins, and things ready to be packed up.  I might have been in denial until now....but we are actually doing this?!  Gulp.   

Messy Boy

Fielder having some pudding....and of course refusing any help with the spoon.  Mmmm....

(awesome hair-do from wearing sister's headband all afternoon)

Build-a-Bear Birthday

The birthday fun continued on Saturday with the Masons.  (Unfortunately Fielder was sick so Rob had to stay home with him.)  Claire had hinted that she wanted to go to Build-a-Bear a while back so Mimi and Papa gave that to her as a special birthday gift.  She didn't know where we were going until we picked Mimi up and she told Claire the surprise.

And even more fun, Samara, Uncle Andy, and Aunt Tara met us there!

The girls each picked out their animals, helped stuff them, put hearts inside (each bear got a heart from each girl) and they washed and brushed them.  Claire named hers Lucy Anna Colors.  (Lucy has been in bed with Claire each night since.)

After making their bears, we decided to do a quick train ride before leaving the mall.  We didn't realize the whole process would take about an hour, but the girls loved it once they finally got their turn on the train.  Afterwards Claire and I dashed off to Cold Stone to pick up some ice cream cupcakes and then we headed back to Mimi and Papa's for a pizza lunch.  The girls at that point were totally wired and were having too much fun to even eat their pizza.  Claire got some very nice gifts from everyone including colored pencils, tattoos, Littlest Pet shop dolls, and Zoobook magazines.  Thanks to everyone for giving her such a special day.



This picture cracks me up.  Papa was giving rides through the house in Mimi's wheelchair.  I love the girls in their matching skirts!

 

Birthday Surprise

This year at school was kind of a bummer......for me that is.  I'm not allowed to send in cupcakes or treats and it's too early in the year to come have lunch with her.  But I did send in a little surprise for her and her classmates.  Papa picked out a bunch of pencils and I taped them onto these pictures (idea stolen from your Valentines Danielle!)  She thought it was cool.  And she got to wear a crown all day so she was thrilled!

Claire is 6!

I've gotten behind on here because we've been just a little busy!  Did I mention we sold our house in 2 weeks, removed the contingency for the new house, found an apartment, had a huge yard sale, and now we move in 4 weeks?  Yikes!!

So I think I forgot to blog about Claire's birthday.  Oops.  Rob was out of town unfortunately, but we made her day a happy one.  She woke up and I gave her a present and made her sprinkle pancakes.  Then she had a fun surprise on her way to the bus stop - Mimi and Papa drove by to say hello and Happy Birthday!  (Papa was still driving Mimi to work everyday then due to her injury.)  She got a nice birthday hug and Papa found 60 cents in the car so she could buy some chocolate milk to have with lunch.  :-)





It was Abu's day to babysit while I worked.  When I got home, we had a pizza dinner (Popa came too), cupcakes, and presents.  Popa and Abu gave her a Lalaloopsie doll and a princess sticker book - both were big hits.  Even Aunt Alison stopped by on her way back to Roanoke - a little surprise visit and a gift!  I let the birthday girl stay up late playing with her new toys and finally made her go to bed since it was a school night.  She had a great day and still more celebrations to come...