School Happenings!

Last month Maddy had some exciting school happenings!

First, was her school's annual Pow Wow!

The girls played games & won prizes!

Maddy won a goldfish which she named Goldie. (unfortunately Goldie perished after 5 days)

Mikayla won a free cotton candy!  The girls had fun and all the small amount of money we spent all went to the PTA for upcoming school events.

Maddy also had a biography book report due.  Her topic was Abraham Lincoln.  Instead of writing a report, Maddy had to write out 8 note cards for an oral presentation and decorate a paper bag with all the facts she learned about him. Of course she had a lot of help from me but these projects are valuable learning experiences for collecting data & presenting it for a good grade. She got an A!

Also, Maddy got her 1st quarter report card & a Citizenship Award for being a positive role model!  We're so proud of her!  Her grades range from As to Cs which Mike & I are very pleased with.  Math is not Maddy's strongest subject, but she's been working hard.

This wasn't exactly a school happening, but we also had a garage sale last month!  I suggested the girls set up a lemonade stand.  They sold cups of lemonade or small bottles of water for 50 cents and made about $15 dollars! It was a great learning experience.  They had fun collecting money and their sales tactics improved as the morning went on.  As for me, I made about $135 and was very happy to unload some of our old crap! It's amazing what a family of four accumulates over the years!  I still have a pile of stuff to donate or sell on Craig's List, but at least some of it is gone and our garage is better organized!  

Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween is such a fun holiday with my girls.  They love dressing up in their costumes and of course collecting tons of candy!  This year they stepped out of their Princess comfort zone. Maddy picked out a witch costume and Mikayla was a black kitty cat!

Again, we went to Siesta Key Village with our best friends to Trick-or-Treat!

We made our way up & down the sidewalks hitting all the restaurants & shops that were handing out candy!

Siesta Key Village is a safe place to trick or treat before sunset, it's never crowded and best of all they give out lots of candy! Imagine our surprise when Mikayla bumped into another black kitty!

Older folks like to come and eat at the restaurants during the Village Trick-or-Treating just so they can admire all the cute costumes.  Some even bring extra candy to pass out!

My best friends' new baby was the perfect Pooh. No candy for this boy yet though... he's still getting used to his cereal & veggies!

It's nice to see local businesses having fun with a holiday like Halloween. This gal's zombie makeup was fabulous!  After we finished trick-or-treating in the Village, we took the kids to Mc Donald's for a quick dinner.  Then, we cruised back over to a really nice neighborhood on the Key that goes all out for Halloween. Once it was dark we were able to enjoy all their wonderful decorations and their block party atmosphere.

Between all the parties, festivals & trick-or-treating Halloween weekend, my girls had quite a haul!  They really are spoiled by this holiday!

Kitty on Parade

Mikayla's school celebrates Halloween with a parade around the school grounds.

This year Mikayla dressed up as a black kitty!  Meow!

Mikayla has a wonderful class this year.  I have to laugh because out of 11 kids, 8 of them have a name that starts with an M or A!  

Every year my girls are blessed with wonderful teachers and Mrs. K, is no exception.  I'm so happy Mikayla is a part of her class!

Festival Fun!

No Halloween would be complete without a family trip to a pumpkin patch.  This year, we went the Pumpkin Festival at Fruitville Groves.  It's a small festival but since we were crunched for time, this worked out great for us. 

our pumpkins...

We watched a small circus & took a hayride through an orange grove...

And took lots of pictures with the pumpkins!

After a short & sweet visit to Fruitville Groves we went to a Fall Festival!  Maddy went to a Christian preschool when she was three and this Annual Fall Festival is their biggest community event.  The have all kinds of fun for the whole family and it's all free, food & drinks included!  Our best friends' boys went to this preschool too, so this is a tradition that we've been sharing for 6 years!

The girls love the bouncey slide!!

the face painting...

and playing games with Collin & Conner...

Maddy dunked the dude in the dunk tank...

Mikayla showed us all how STRONG she is!

and the kids roasted marshmallows for s'mores...

we also got to spend some time with our best friends' new baby Cameron... what a cutie!

We always have fun at the Fall Festival. We wouldn't miss it for the world! :)

Fun With Friends

Since school started the girls haven't been able to have as many play dates with their friends.  Home work & extra curricular activities keep these girls busy all week but we manage to make up for it on the weekends.

One Friday night, I let Maddy & Mikayla each invite a friend for a sleepover. Maddy, Mikayla, Tayler & Shayleen had a great time, we ordered pizza, they played Just Dance on the Wii and watched a movie!

A different weekend Maddy & Mikayla were invited to a bowling party. Olivia was Mikayla's best bud at preschool last year but sadly she & her family moved. We haven't been able to see much of Olivia either, so were all excited for her party!  The girls bowled great games with the help of bumpers & ball ramps, they got a couple strikes & picked up a few spares!  Olivia's parents invited me to bowl too.  I played two games and got 4 strikes! Not bad considering I hadn't bowled in years!

Maddy's bud Tayler's Birthday is on Halloween and her Mom went all out for a Halloween/Birthday party to celebrate!

The girls had a great time eating pizza & cake and watching a magic show....

they played games, won prizes...

and got balloon sculptures from the magician.

We all had a great time!  Tayler was one lucky Birthday girl!

Allison's Baby Shower!

My Sis-in-Law Allison is due any day with her second baby.  She & her hubby Mike are already parents to their 3 yro son Cameron. This time around they are expecting a baby girl!  Last month, I helped my Mom-in-Law throw Allison a baby shower.

Allison's best friend Lauren made arrangements for us to rent the clubhouse in her subdivision.  It was a lovely room perfect for a cozy gathering!

In addition to Lauren helping us secure the clubhouse, she also made a gorgeous diaper cake and hung a clothes line above the mantle to display some of the outfits Allison received. My niece is going to be one stylish baby girl!  I coordinated the games & prizes, Baby Shower Bingo & a jar of jelly beans for guests to guess the quantity. 

I also designed small soy votive candles for the favors. My company Scentsational Soaps & Candles makes soy candles in many sizes & beautiful fragrances.  Allison chose Macintosh Apple and I customized a cute label. 

Allison & her Momma

Allison & her gal pals, all of which are Moms to baby girls! Lauren's baby is 6 months, Kelly is due a week after Allison & Cheryl is due right after Kelly.

Allison & Mike loved opening presents for their baby girl!  My Sis-in-Law Lauren and I gave Reese a Fisher Price Rock & Play sleeper.  

Maddy loved spending time with Grandma!

Cam is going to be a great big brother!  He helped open all of his sister's gifts and inspected them closely! 

And what would a shower be without cake? ... chocolate & vanilla!

When the shower was wrapping up, Auntie Lauren took Maddy, Mikayla & Cameron outside to the playground while my Mom-in-Law & I cleaned up the room.  I'm so glad I sent my camera out with her, because she got some cute shots of the three cousins. By Thanksgiving, there will be four cousins!

 Allison & Mike received some really nice gifts for Baby Reese and everyone had a great time.  It's pretty safe to say the shower was a complete success!  All we need is our Baby Reese!