Halloween 2009

With Annie as little Strawberry Shortcake and Leia as the Jedi named Ashoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars we had a really fun Halloween, . . . especially considering that Shenan was here to share in the fun as a scary skeleton and Armelle as Princess Leia! The girls began the festivities by making a light saber monument proclaiming "Happy Holaween Pere!" . . . because the bunny needed to have fun, too! : ) Then it was time for face paint (and I will NEVER use anything other than crayola washable markers again for face paint, . . . non toxic, washes right off, very bright colors, . . . perfect), so Leia got Ashoka's markings and Annie got Strawberry's freckles (which also helped to hide her scab from rubbing her nose too much). In a cloudy sky that turned into a heavy rain, we traversed the Meadows of Etowah and gave the elderly people there the time of their lives. It was really fun to see them smile so brightly at the children, give loads of candy, and then continue to peek out the door as these adorable four skipped to the next house. Then came the typical picture of the night: Leia, Shenan, and Armelle SPRINTING from house to house as Annie tried and tried to keep up. LOL! I think they would echo Seinfeld who says, "I think the one clear thought I had as a child was 'GET CANDY'!" Coming home, we continued the tradition of allowing the girls to eat whatever they wanted on this one night a year, . . . but before which we did a really neat activity from Shenan's school where they had to estimate the amount of candy they had and then count it all to see how close they were to being correct! Really neat! I also got a real kick out of three Annie things: 1. Annie came up to me and asked if she could have this "Crunch" bar. Which REALLY left me wondering if she READ the word on the bar . 2. Annie's very favorite candy was the Three Muskateers bar, . . . the same one that was MY favorite when I was little. 3. Annie learned the word "nuget" and then said it over and over again: "nuget, nuget, nuget, . . . nuget." LOL!

Leia Rose's Star Wars Pajama Party

To celebrate Leia Rose's seventh birthday today, we threw her a VERY special birthday party today! Why special? Well, most importantly, Leia Rose was able to have her very best friend, Shenandoah Worrel, in attendance! The Worrels came all the way from Virginia to make this happen for Leia Rose, . . . and we were just SO glad! Not to mention that it was a STAR WARS party, everyone got to wear their pajamas, AND it was on the morning of Halloween. : ) So much fun was had by all! The kids in attendance were as follows: Leia and Annie, Logan (Leia's boyfriend) and Liam (Logan's brother), Shenandoah (Leia's best friend) and Armelle (Shenan's sister), Alexis (Leia's best school friend) and Aubrie (Annie's friend and Alexis' sister), Lilly (Leia's friend from Ballet class), Quentin (Leia's "other" boyfriend). First we all ate breakfast together, followed by a version of Hot Potato that was called "Hot Yoda," then Scrambled Shoes renamed "Sarlac Shoes" after the Sarlac Pit Monster in Return of the Jedi. Then musical chairs to the Star Wars Theme song. Then it was time to give out the light sabers and play Stick-It-To-Vader, . . . for which the winner won the shirt with Vader on it, . . . the one everyone had to "stick." Then it was pinata time, and each person got a turn with his or her light saber until it exploded with candy and bracelets and all sorts of jewels and goodies on the ground! Using those jewels and stickers, the kids decorated their own light saber before playing one last Star Wars Disk Throw game. For prizes the children won their choice of a Star Wars figure or a book. Then it was time for Leia's dual light saber cake and presents. Shenan even gave Leia Rose her first set of Star Wars sheets, . . . and Logan gave Leia a silver necklace AND a Star Wars science kit! Lots of other fun gifts, too! Finally it was time to let everyone pet the bunny & watch Leia's very favorite episode of Clone Wars. (Oh, and poor little Annie had such a tough time giving up the attention today. She cried after not winning every single game. Poor little love! So at the end, Annie got a little figure prize, too.) Anyway, the party was a TOTAL success! Hooray Leia! Happy Birthday to YOU, my little Star Wars fan! : )

Two Artists

Annie just loves to draw with her "smelly markers" that all have a fruit scent of some kind. And, you know what?!? Look at this!!! It's "A Kitty with her Food"! And it REALLY looks like a kitty! Even with four feet! This is the first picture that Annie drew all on her own that truly looks like something! And Leia Rose was busy drawing, too. She drew the whole cast of Monsters Inc. I love this picture so very much. Phonetical spelling is the best, . . . and couple that with the sweetest pictures of the characters and this one's going on the fridge! : )

Lightsaber Cupcakes at Immaculata

Today was the day we celebrated Leia's birthday at school (because Leia Rose had been sick earlier in the week). We brought in cupcakes for everyone, and Leia Rose had made chocolate-covered-pretzel-light-sabers to top every one! We also gave out Star Wars stickers for each child (which unfortunately ended up on the desks).

A Special Fall Afternoon

While Annie was napping today, Leia Rose and I just lay on the back deck for a whole hour just enjoying the fall leaves. Leia Rose's exact words were, "This is the best time EVER!" Just looking at the golden kissed leaves, trying to catch the ones that fall, laughing together. Precious, precious times. And, of course, Annie had fun too. She had her disney characters play hopscotch & ran to the window for her Wednesday ritual of watching the garbage truck. : )

Leia Rose Turns Seven

In the tradition of our October Birthdays, Leia Rose (and Mamma, who was even worse off) had to stay home from school today from sickness. But that didn't stop us from giving Leia Rose the best birthday ever! You can even see the little Star Wars figures holding the tickets to "Star Wars: In Concert" that Leia will attend in November! Lots of favorite presents, . . . but the one she liked the best was the baby T-Rex from Oma and Papa! She also got the set of Toy Story dolls, . . . that she actually forgot she asked for, . . . and her most requested present: a dinosaur named "Screature" which is quite scary, I must say. He roars, chomps, glares, and spits water at you! Leia also got some outfits to match her American Girl doll clothes and our special mini cupcakes shaped in the number of the day: 7. And I just love how Leia Rose announced her birthday with her "I em 7!" sign, . . . and that "am" is spelled wrong and the number 7 is backwards, . . . twice. It won't be long and we won't see any mistakes like that anymore. These are precious, precious days.