It's beginning to look a lot like....Halloween

We are getting ready for Halloween around here. We got some Halloween cookie cutters for Oakley's Halloween Craft and Treat party he is hosting for some friends on Monday. Of course, the kids wanted to use them tonight, so we used them to make Halloween bread sticks for dinner. Oakley told me it was the best idea I have ever had. Above is Tessa in her princess hat--you wont see her in any from the Trunk or Treat below because she had a melt down and head to go home early.

Above, Oakley and his friend at the Trunk or Treat at the church. Below, his upgrade cheetah costume. He added the mask this year and on his own added the black lines (to differentiate from a jaguar), pink in the ears, and red around the mouth so he would look like he just ate a zebra.

Sisters' Reunion

I love all my sisters--and we love to get together. Last weekend all of us got together in New Jersey to spend some time together. It was crazy (with lots of kids) but it was a lot of fun.

Another project

OK, here is my latest project: a little table for our living room. I wanted to add a little color. I tried antiquing the piece (which I had never done before) and I think it turned out OK.

First Day of School

Here he is in the official kindergarten line! What a big kid (sorry these are a little blurry--my lens must have something on it--I will have to clean it).

We walked to school with the Cox kids--here they are. A bunch of serious students.

So, yesterday was the big first day of school. The night before I asked Oakley what he wanted for breakfast on his first day of school and he said cinnamon rolls....First cinnamon rolls take a LONG time to make and we hardly ever have them so I didnt even know if he would eat them. But, after thinking about it (and thinking about what Heather Nielsen would do), I decided to make them. I started the dough the night before and the got up at 4am to shape the rolls and give them time to rise. Half way through making them, I realized in my sleepy state I had pulled out the nutmeg instead of the cinnamon! So, I ruined half the batch (OK, so Bryce had all the nutmeg rolls) and salvaged half into cinnamon rolls. He even ate 5 of them yesterday for breakfast and lunch, so I guess it was worth it.

...OK onto the stuff you really want to hear about: Oakley's first day. He seemed totally fine when he walked into the class with the rest of his class. I think he was glad to have Hazel with him.

When I picked him up he gave me his backback and said, "too much, can I go play now". I let him play for a while on the playground, then questioned him when we got home. He seems to have had a good day and made a name for himself:

-he had chosen hummus and pretzels for his lunch. His teacher noticed the hummus and said he was the first kindergartener EVER to have hummus for his lunch, and the teacher really liked hummus. He said he wanted to bring tofu today to see if any other kindergartener had ever take that.

-they had a story about a racoon. The teacher asked why they thought the racoon went to school at night. Oakley raised his hand (quietly) and when the teacher call him he said it is because racoons are nocturnal. Then the teacher had him explain to the class what nocturnal was.

I think the teacher got a good dose of our real Oakley Pokley!

Enjoying the last bit of summer

While Bryce's sister was here, we thought we would enjoy a bit of "summer fun" while we still had the chance. For FHE on Monday night, we went to the beach. It was great: no people, no fee, lots of fun. Saturday, we went to Howell Living Farm, one of our favorite places. It was the fiddlin' festival, but our kids weren't really interested in the music. So, we headed to the stream and looked for crayfish with some great music in the background. What a fun day.

Another great garden

We sure our lucky to have a great gardener (Bryce) living at our house. We have been eating a lot of yummy food. If you live close and want any, just let us know.

Bald Mountain

Since the YM campout was

cancelled, we decided to do something fun with the family. We did some hiking at Baldpate Mountain near Titusville. We had a fun time and even some some animals, but not as many as Oakley wanted to. The kids did a great job hiking. It was a fun day!