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As is our tradition, we made our daily rounds around the cove in anticipation of Halloween night. We watched the displays go up and on a few occasions, talked to the people that put so much effort into this exciting event for the neighborhood kids. I had a rugrat to watch so I couldn’t spend as much time as I might have liked getting all the good stuff, but I got a few shots as we ran through that capture the scene.
After talking with one of the men who decorate each year, I learned that one of the local stations made it out to cover the event. I scoured their website and found NOTHING. Finally, after hours of searching, I Googled it. You’ll have to cut & paste to see the video, but I found it. And, as an added bonus you can see our sloppy ABC affiliate in action.
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/halloween-cove-in-bartlett/3823278620
We have a connection to this church since this is where Mama Jane attends and we always hit up their outdoor events in the fall. We got a little respite from the rain (though not enough to have the event at it’s regular location at their sports complex) so we went for it.
We bumped into The Young’s and hung out with them for most of the evening. Things have been busy for all of us (especially them) and they boys have really missed one another. Evan was off with Matt doing a moon bounce and Jake was waiting in line to climb a rock wall.
He must have stood there while waiting in line for a solid full minute with his hands like this. Too funny.
Evan’s first pony ride.
Lucas has been on ponies before, and even got to ride a horse, thanks to our dear friend, Leanne. He’s an old pro. 
Dinner time…winding down from all the excitement. LIstening to some Coffey Anderson and my former student, Robby.
Thank goodness, Mike spotted us. We were starting to worry we wouldn’t run into any Nason’s or Mama Jane! She snuck up behind Lucas and when he turned around to greet her he just couldn’t set his drink down fast enough to “hug her neck.”
In the event you haven’t heard of Coffey Anderson, here are a few links and videos to pique your interest: soul, pop, Christian…you name it. He’s having a good time and he’s talented for sure!
Fairs + children = good times.
We had to almost FORCE Lucas to ride this one and check out that expression.
The Amazing Armando was quite entertaining. Matt and I kinda looked at each other like, “Is this the day we scar our children forever by having them witness this man plummet to his death?”
It might be difficult to tell here, but that woman is inside this globe with two speeding motorcycles circling her like Saturn’s rings.
We watched jousting for a few minutes. This horse was easily the largest I’ve ever seen. I wish I had gotten the name of the breed.
No blood…what do you think is really going on here with this metal rod? It sure looked like he put it into his arm right in front of us.
I suppose the pictures speak for themselves. These poor kids never have any fun.
As I mentioned in a Shoot. Post. Repeat Daily, blog entry, Lucas is a fan of The Exterminators and we recenty met them while in Louisiana visiting Granna and Grandpa (my parents). Lucas got a really cool medallion at the flea market and wowed me with his coolness when selecting the ying-yang symbol as his second bottlecap. It’s so cool watching them grow up into their own little people. Of course we stalked their building on the way back to my parent’s house and snapped a quick photo. That log cabin protected by gargoyles belongs to the Vex Con guys. My newly turned professionally employed brother was there for the weekend too and we had ourselves a pretty good time. Mom and Dad’s backyard was in full bloom and awaiting its photoshoot, of course. It’s nice to just throw everything into the car and bust out of town sometimes.
more about “Are you Ready for the Country?“, posted with vodpod
To our surprise Lucas decided to have a Carnival theme for his birthday party this year. Actually, he originally wanted something else (that neither he nor I can remember) but I suggested that it was a little too graphic/adult in nature for many children and he quickly acquiesced. The weather was perfect and though it was a ton of work, it was well worth it. We happened to have a huge tent we could set up and Oriental Trading helped us take care of all the goodies we’d need to decorate and use as giveaways for each game. We painted cardboard boxes and purchased items from the dollar store to have such games as: bucket toss, bean bag toss, clothes pin drop, bowling pin throw, duck match, punching balloons, darts & basketball. We had a little activity where the kids could color their own paddle ball game and get their faces painted. All of this to a festive soundtrack of old school circus calliope tracks. Besides hot dogs in adorable plastic labeled holders, we had other traditional carnival food as well. We had peanuts in the shell, popcorn all bagged up, individually wrapped cotton candy and snow cones. Lucas said it was the best day of his life.
As you can see, Lucas wasn’t the only one having a good time. Looks like Mom, Dad & Evan did too.
Happy Birthday, big boy. We love you so!
Lucas says he doesn’t really want to play soccer next fall; he wants to play basketball. It’s his life, so we’re not going to make him play, but I’ll miss being outside during practices and games (that is, if I can find a basketball program).
My baby boy is three! He started his day with specially made initial pancakes made by Daddy.
He had an absolute blast at his Thomas the Tank Engine birthday party. We put him down for his nap and he woke to a fully decorated house with all his Thomas toys scattered all over, streamers and balloons. We also had the indoor tunnels all ready to go. He literally fell to his knees. Four children from his class attended as well as our family friends, The Youngs and the Luna family from soccer. Oh, and his three teachers also came. How cool was that?
This is one happy boy right here! It was a blast!
I wish I could have caught the size of these snowflakes with my camera (in time, perhaps), but suffice it to say that we got a lot of snow in a short amount of time. The following shots were taken in 15 minute intervals. We weren’t in any hurry to get outside because it had rained prior to the snowfall. We had to make sure there’d be plenty of powder. And there was.
Finally, we made it outside for a bit! It’s nice when it snows on a weekend and Matt can enjoy it with the kids too. Plus I stay a little drier!
Polar plunge anyone? Maybe later, you say?
Lucas and I went out again after Matt went to the Addy’s and Evan went to sleep. It seemed like it would never stop snowing!
How about now? Anybody wanna go for a dip?
In the morning we were greeted with even more snow, which Lucas noted because our tracks were no longer there from our nighttime walk.
We bundled up and headed out to the park for some “sledding fun.” I left the camera in lieu of having a good time, but I did use the Flip, so there might be video soon. Once we got home, Matt and Lucas built a snow giant and I made soup and grilled cheese to warm us all up. What a rare treat for us here in the Mid-South!
I love this recipe for homemade “Fun Dough!” We’ve made it several times and I am pleased each and every time. I think the Play-Doh brand is quite affordable and I have many fond memories of it as a child, but after making this the first time in preparation for Lucas’s third birthday party, I just prefer it. Really.
It started out as a fun thing to do together (I did most of the work that time) and a great party theme, “Messy,” where the kids got to make a no cook version, but now, it’s kind of a tradition.
After a fun-filled day spent bowling and visiting the Children’s Museum (pictures tomorrow?) Lucas and I made it again, this time I got to teach him how to use a measuring cup for liquids (“Set it on the counter to make sure it’s right on the line.”) and also how to measure flour (“Don’t pack it, Lucas!”). It would be fun to have pictures of the whole deal, but that wasn’t even remotely practical. We made enough for he and Evan to each have their own bags of each of the main colors of the rainbow and we’ll keep them sealed in the bags in the garage refrigerator for probably the next 4 or 5 months. This stuff lasts and lasts. The last time I think we held onto it for 6 months! And it’s softer than the name brand version, which makes it much easier for younger hands. Try it yourself. Hints from my experiences follow the recipe. Enjoy! It really is a ton of fun! But…your hands will look like this for a couple days.
Of course, you could probably wear gloves, but I like the tactile sensation of kneading the food coloring into the dough. Good thing tomorrow is President’s Day and the day after is a teacher in-service!
3 cups flour
1 cup salt
6 tsp cream of tartar
3 cups water
3 T vegetable oil (canola works fine)
food coloring
Mix flour, salt and cream of tartar in saucepan.
Blend water and oil together in separate container, then add to pan.
Cook over medium heat till it thickens, add food coloring & knead for about 5 minutes.
We doubled the recipe to make the mounds you see above since I wanted plenty for each boy to have some of each color, but it’s really not necessary. You could just make the whole batch one color if you like; I’m just an over achiever, I guess. Or a gluton for punishment, you decide. To me, it’s just as easy to make small batches of multiple colors while your hands are all stained and gooey as it is to make one big batch of one color. I actually doubled the recipe in a large, regular bowl and then cooked two cups at a time. When it was done I put it in a container to cool a bit and started the next two cups over the heat. I didn’t add the food color until I moved it to the container to save on clean up. I stirred the current batch while kneading the food coloring into the previous batch. I’d then pass it off to Lucas to knead further (once I worked through the gooey stage).
Next time I’m still going to double the recipe, but I’m going to save myself the measuring two cups of messy liquid at a time. I’ll cook one batch, set it aside, then cook the other batch. Then I’ll divide each batch into thirds to add the food coloring. I don’t think you can mess up this recipe. The dough stays warm for quite a bit; I think that will work fine.
Lucas got to use a knife (besides a butter knife or child-safe knife) for the first time tonight! He cut each mound in half and helped me move the dough into baggies for him and his brother. So very fun!
Let me know if you try it yourself!
