The Best Halloween EVER!!

Here's the pink mummy fairy in all of her glory!

The title of this post is courtesy of Taylor Anne, who uttered those exact words about 33 times during her trick-or-treating extravaganza this evening. I have to agree with her. It was just about the best night for Halloween that a person could ask for. Indian summer-like temperatures, no wind and on a Friday to boot. Sweet!

Taylor got her party started at school today. An hour long parade of kids in costume, followed by an hour long classroom party. The kids enjoyed games, treat bags from Mrs. Karst and enough sugary goodness to make trick-or-treating later in the day seem rather unnecessary. Not that we caved in to guilt. Oh no! Taylor trick-or-treated for 3 hours tonight before eventually giving in to fatigue. Wonder how many miles she put on her dogs today?

Taylor and her buddy Hanna put on some of the cool loot
they found in Mrs. Karst's treat bags.

Taylor poses with her BFF Arianna before the school parade.

Right after school it was time to finally carve her jack-o-lantern for this Halloween. She put much thought into the design. Much thought. I was beginning to despair that we wouldn't get the job done. But we did and I must say her excessive pondering paid off. Very cute Mr. Kitty jack-o-lantern. Very cute indeed!

Taylor helped dad do the cut-outs this year.
Say hello to Mr. Kitty.

Then it was time to speed over to the Tae Kwon Do school to participate in their Halloween party. Taylor had fun seeing her fellow students in costume and got a huge kick out of the pinata they had there. She also had great fun practicing some of her Tae Kwon Do moves in her costume. Doing running front kicks and ninja chops as a pink mummy fairy is 20 times better than doing them as yourself. :)

The pink mummy fairy goes ninja on the pinata.
Did I say pinata? At a Halloween party? Yup.
Interesting choice too. :)

Then, finally! What she'd been waiting for all day long! Trick-or-treating! Taylor made the rounds in our cul-de-sac, visiting neighbors who were kind enough to make special treat bags just for her. Our next door neighbors were also kind enough to share their special lemon glazed ghost cookies. Wow! They were so good that none of them lasted long enough for a picture. Gotta get that recipe!

But I digress. Taylor trick-or-treated with one of her friends from school. Here they are in all their Halloween glory.

By the end of the night Taylor was so over the fact
that everyone immediately guessed who Mariah was, and NOBODY
could figure out exactly who she was supposed to be.
Apparently 'pink mummy fairy' is not in the average person's lexicon.
Who knew?

We spent a good 3 hours out on the town, visiting every house with a front door light on. We made sure to go to Rock Guy's house (neighbor who is the president of the Fort Collins geology society) and get some cool polished rocks and to visit the retired couple two blocks down that hand out enormous whole candy bars to the kids. After almost 3 hours of fun, it was time to call it a night. I must say that we have a great neighborhood to celebrate Halloween in. So many people went all out on decorating their homes and yards, not to mention ensuring the safety of all the kids. Even cooler? No vandalism was reported in our subdivision.

Here's a short video clip of Taylor's class heading over to the
gym for the all school parade. Too cute.

We hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday. Happy Halloween everyone!

Kristin

The Best Mint Ever--Now In Miniature!

I have loved Andes Creme de Menthe thin mints ever since I was a kid. There was always a box sitting by any cash register at any cafe I ate at, any bowling alley I spent time at or any school function that I remember. They're perfect. Not too minty, just enough chocolate and oh-so melty in your mouth.

Guess what???

They now make them in little bits, so you can find the best chocolate cookie you've ever had and add these to the recipe to make it out-of-this-world delish! My friend Abby and I were shopping at the new Super Target and found them in the baking aisle. I almost squealed out loud. I bought three bags just in case they stop making them any time before Christmas.

I went to their website (check it out here) and found tons of recipes for their Creme de Menthe baking bits and the Peppermint Crunch ones too. There's even a sandwich cookie recipe with a whole Andes Creme de Menthe mint in the middle. Wowza! I'll let you know if I actually demonstrate any will power and make cookies with the baking bits instead of eating them like popcorn while watching a movie. :)

Kristin

Corn Maze Mania!

Sorry for the extended blog vacation. A whole lot happened in October, including a great vacation to the Outer Banks and Halloween preparations. Unfortunately, a very sad event also happened to us this October. We said good-bye to our beloved BooDog and it has been more difficult than we ever imagined it could be. I will be adding posts about all of these things, but to get back in the saddle, I figured it would only make sense to resume with the present. That means telling you about our adventures at the Corn Maze!

John and Taylor had a Daddy Date Day at the Harvest Maze, one of our favorite places to visit each fall. There's so much to do out there! Taylor tried everything this year and reported having a blast. An added bonus was not having a sudden and overwhelming urge to pee in the middle of the corn maze, unlike last year. :)

Pictures tell the story better than I ever could, so here you go!

It was a lovely day for a stroll in a corn maze.
Taylor set off with a definite spring in her step.

When in doubt, try the path less chosen...

VICTORY!!!

Making corn angels!

Crossing the Great Divide. :)
You'll be relieved to know she made the jump successfully.

Here's Taylor chillin' out on the hay ride around the farm.

Taylor fell in love with the John Deere trikes. Just goes to
show you're never too old. If they'd had any for
big people, I'd have gone out there to ride one myself. :)

Here's some excellent video of Taylor taking the Barrel Train ride.
I think that halfway through the ride she probably reconsidered
her seating choice.

We'll have more fun updates to post in the very near future. Freaky Friday (aka Halloween) is coming up at the end of this week. Her costume is here and all ready for a day full of fun and trick-or-treating. Pictures of the pink mummy fairy will be posted ASAP!

Kristin

Our Beloved BooDog

July 27, 1996-October 20, 2008

We said a final good-bye to our BooDog today. We were blessed with his presence in our lives for well over 12 years, rescuing him from Larimer County Dalmatian rescue when he was roughly 1 1/2 to 2 years old. I have many stories to tell about Boo, but they'll have to wait just a little while.

For now, I just want to say, "We love you BooDog. Forever and a day."

Here's a quote from one of the people at Dalmatian Rescue of Colorado. I feel every word of it today.

"There is a cycle of love and death that shapes the lives of those who choose to travel in the company of animals. It is a cycle unlike any other. To those who have never lived through its turnings or walked its rocky path, our willingness to give our hearts with full knowledge that they will be broken seems incomprehensible. Only we know how small a price we pay for what we receive; our grief, no matter how powerful it may be, is an insufficient measure of the joy we have been given."
--Suzanne Clothier

Kristin

Another One Bites the Dust

Yep. You guessed it. Tooth #3 is finally a goner. Taylor lost her third bottom row tooth today while at school and was so overjoyed it was comical. I have to agree with her though. It took forever to come out. It was loose at Easter time for Pete' sake. Taylor has it safely tucked away in the pocket of her Tooth Fairy bear, dreaming of the loot she'll find in its stead when she wakes up.

Here's a picture of the toothless wonder girl.

Kristin

How Do You Spell Chalk

I have remarked frequently on the surprising difficulty of the spelling lists that Taylor brings home in her homework packet each week. Words like residential and herbivore can trick up a few adults I know, let alone a 2nd grade girl. Still, Taylor has done a great job of practicing the words until she can get them right.

Imagine my surprise when she comes home with a spelling test in which she spelled the word chalk incorrectly. I'm thinking to myself, "Gee. If she can whip residential into shape, what's the problem with a sound-it-out word like chalk?" Then I take a look at her pretest to see exactly how she spelled the word.

She spelled it like this.

C-O-C-K

Whoa, Nellie! What???? Whoa!

My first thought is that I'm going to have to have another "special" meeting with her teacher. You know the kind. The ones that take place when something a little disturbing has happened in school that involves your child and they want you to come up with an explanation. And a plan.
Before you get worried, Taylor hasn't actually needed a special meeting yet, the first time was a false alarm.

My second thought is that I might need to get her hearing tested.

My final thought is that I'm going to have to have a talk with her and it might as well be now. So I ask her. What exactly did you think she said? Taylor answered me. I asked her if she knew the difference between the word chalk and the word cock. And I will have you know this. I may not always perform the myriad duties of motherhood with enough perfection to win any awards, but I managed to ask her this important question with a straight face! No laughing, not even so much as a smothered smirk. Straight face. I was immensely proud of myself.

Taylor responded very matter-of-factly.
"Chalk", she said, "is the white sticks you write on a blackboard with". "Cock", she said, "is a really mean chicken". Hallelujah! No conference with the teacher! Although my Mother of the Year award did go down the drain at this point. I couldn't possibly NOT laugh at her second definition. No way. :)


Kristin

A Stunner

Taylor picked this gorgeous purple dahlia out as her
Find of the Day at the Fort Collins Farmers' Market.
Absolutely beautiful!
I wonder how long the glory will last?

Kristin

Read a Thon, Here We Come!

We have spent the past week preparing for today. Announcing the 1st Annual Read-a-Thon at Linton Elementary School! Taylor has new pink pajamas, hot pink toenail polish on, several of her favorite books and one choice snuggle buddy to take to school today. Check her out!

Darla the Unicorn won the fierce competition

to be the snuggle buddy taken to the Read-a-Thon today.
The other 50 contestants are pouting up in Taylor's room.

I hope the kids all have fun today. Wearing your pajamas to school and reading in pop-up tents in the gym all day sounds like a pretty good time to me. Apparently the school fund-raiser has come a long way, baby! What ever happened to the bake sale during lunch hour in the school gym? I guess a ton of 25 cent brownies would have to be sold to keep up with the financial needs of elementary schools today.

Taylor has also been feverishly writing in her cool new book named "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book". Here's a few excerpts from her writings:

Good Advice For Next Year's Class

1. Never be violent.
2. Be really careful who you sit by.
3. Don't sleep during math!
4. Don't read during math!
5. Try to make it through a whole lollipop without biting it.

Questions to Answer

1. Did you ever do something bad that you never got busted for?
Her answer: 12 times

Hmmmm.....
When I asked her to spill the beans, she politely took the 5th. :)

2. Have you ever pretended you were sick so you could stay home from school?
Her answer: I don't even trie!

Either she loves school or thinks I'm a harda**. I'll believe the first until the second is proven.

Five Things No One Knows About You

Her answers:

I like pie.
I hate spiders.
My favorite band is Queen!
I like gold, purple, pink, red and violet in that order.
The most disgusting thing I ever ate was a cranberry smoothy.

My responses:

Pie lovers unite! I find this answer amusing because the only kind of pie she's ever had is pumpkin pie and it's quite evident when watching her eat it that she is more in love with wanting to love it than actually in love with it itself. Got that?

Spider hating is genetic. Welcome to the club. Grandma Lou is President and I am Vice President.

Viva la Freddie Mercury!

Having a favorite color hierarchy is awesome. I was the kind of kid that could never figure out what my favorite color was.

I've never had a cranberry smoothie, but I'm pretty sure your assessment is incredibly accurate. :)

Kristin