November already??!!

It's already mid-November...where did this year go? I had meant to post some Halloween photos and somehow got distracted! We did so many fun things this year. Halloween is really so much fun. We went to a Halloween Potluck party at our Unschooling group's park day. The kids came dressed up and played some fun games; donuts on a string, pie throwing, guess what's in a box-with your hand (a heart, guts, etc....), they decorated sugar skulls, and even had an outdoors scary (well, maybe not that scary) haunted forest. Most of all, though, just being with our friends and having a good time was what it was all about.





We also made it out to the local pumpkin patch early enough this year to pick out some nice pumpkins. It was during the week, so very quiet, and we had the place to ourselves. Nana came with us. We went through the corn field maze, shot corn with a corn shooter at targets, visited the goats and pigs and horses, and picked out a couple of pumpkins, which we later carved with Dan.





One of our friends had a UNICEF Halloween Party. Again, the kids dressed up and played some fun games, then some went trick-or-treating for UNICEF (for change) afterwards or gave a donation. They played a roll the pumpkin game and a "wrap" the mummy (or daddy, in this case). Another friend, a neighbor, had a Halloween Party the weekend before Halloween. Violet was at a friend's house for a sleepover, but Olivia had a great time decorating pumpkins and dancing in the dark to Michael Jackson's song, Thriller (my neighbor is a huge MJ fan!).

We went merchant trick or treating on the Friday before Halloween. It was during the day and the merchants handed out candy to the kids. My kids went about a block and a half (about 4 or 5 blocks of merchants were handing out candies on both sides of the streets) and Olivia said, "I have enough candy, I'm done trick or treating".

So, you can see my girls had a lot of fun this Halloween. Violet had several Halloween costumes that she wore this year, a hippy, a witch, a cheetah. Olivia was Boba Fett, (from Star Wars). They both had lots of fun times with friends and we all enjoyed this Fall Season very much. We had a wonderful time at a Seasonal dinner the other night with good friends. Mostly local-organic foods were shared and a fun "snow-ball" game that Violet organized at the end of the evening. Fun times....

Lots (believe me, LOTS!!! more photos in my flickr groups, Fall 2009, UNICEF Halloween Party, SD Unschoolers Halloween Party.

My little brother is getting married in about 2 weeks....I'm really excited for him. His first love, Robin, reunited after almost 30 years! Will have to post that story soon.....Congrats Martin & Robin! I'm very happy for you both!

Slurp, slurp, slurp and some altering Barbies

Violet wanted to alter some Barbies for co-op, so we pulled out some old Barbies, some paint, some scissors,clothes, and she and some of the other kids had fun painting and altering them.

Some kids were giddy with excitement at the opportunity to alter a Barbie, it was fun to see the giggles and laughter as they turned Barbie into something completely different!

And yes, that's Violet with new braces in that last photo! They are orange and black, because she had them put in right before Halloween. She's doing pretty well with. It's altered what she can eat, she's very anxious to be able to chew gum again...alas, it'll be a few years, probably. But, I'll buy her a huge bag of gum at the end of it all to make her happy!

We also had some Executive and Sous Chefs at co-op. One of the girls loves to cook and brought ingredients to make some yummy appetizers!

They made turkey roll-ups with a cranberry, cream cheese spread, chocolate covered bananas and stuffed mushrooms. Are you slurping yet?

More photos from our co-op group are here.

Have a great week!

A Face you can Love!

Look at that faaaaacccce! OMG, what a beautiful dog! And, so many other beautiful animals there at the Escondido Humane Society. Please...if you are considering a pet, adopt one from a shelter. The shelters are overwhelmed with animals right now due to the economy. Many people can no longer care for their pets due to moving, loss of job, etc.....

Our girl scout troop visited this local shelter and brought supplies for the animals. We also learned about the shelter and the animals through their educational program.



The kids got to see a millipede up close, an adorable gerbil, and a really unusual looking but very friendly English Trumpeter pigeon, as well as many dogs, cats, rabbits, and rats that are living at the shelter, waiting for homes.



For more photos from our day check out my flickr group. And go the Humane Society's web page for details on animals and to see their webcams. Also, during the month of October dog adoptions are 50% off and cat adoptions are $55. All adoption fees include vaccinations, spay or neuter, microchip and vet exam. Now is the time to adopt a loving pet!