Halloween and Parties Galore!

We had an awesome time in Branson last Sunday with perfect weather that was sunny but not too hot. There still were very few crowds at Silver Dollar City, so we are thinking that Sundays are the day to go! The first few pictures we took in the morning show the kids all alone in the streets there, so it looks like we are there all by ourselves instead of at a theme park! We discovered the teacup ride this time which ended up being the kids' favorite, and I think Owen rode it ten times. Arden went on the mini-rollercoaster and survived it. She was a bit scared and didn't want to go again, but she didn't cry. We saw a hilarious saloon comedy show that we hadn't seen yet, and Hudson left with some more jokes to tell his teacher at school (he is the biggest joker and reads joke books!).

Stuart's big news is that he finally got his new professional Nikon SLR camera that he has been wanting for years and years! It was a big purchase, but he loves photography so much and has been wanting a good digital camera to do more artistic, nature stuff. Hopefully, we'll also get some good pictures of the kids, too!

The week before Halloween always seems to be CRAZY with school activities! Owen has his last football game this morning (yea!), so that will help our lives calm down a bit with no weekly practice and game anymore. All three kids had fall parties yesterday in their classrooms, and the boys' school let them dress up and wear their costumes to school for the school-wide parade. Owen didn't like the prince costume which I got him at a consignment sale. Apparently, it was too feminine and not "cool" enough! So, he opted to wear his Arkansas football jersey which he already owned and put black paint under his eyes to be football player. Hudson was a red Power Ranger, and he was happy to report that he got lots of comments about how "awesome" it was. Arden will be a happy witch, and I found this adorable tulle and velvet costume at a consignment sale for her that is mainly purple and black and really sweet. However, she asked me yesterday if she would get to have the stick that comes out of her bottom to go with it (the broomstick) since that's what it looks like to her when she's seen billboards around with Halloween pictures on them! Ha! Everyone had fun at the parties, and we are all looking forward to Trick or Treating in our neighborhood and helping at our church Trunk or Treat on Sunday!

I had parent-teacher night on Tuesday, so I was at school from 8 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. with no break! What a marathon. The parent-teacher conferences began at 4:15, so we only had a quick break to grab a bite to eat before heading to the gym for arena style conferences. I had 37 conferences, so I don't think I stopped at all until 7:00, then I got to grade a few papers while I waited. It made the whole rest of the week exhausting to begin with such a long day. I'm glad it's over, and there isn't another day like that until March! Additionally, our school had an accreditation inspection from the Department of Education on Tuesday, and two people were on campus to ask questions, observe, etc. They ended up coming in my room and watching for a bit, then I got asked questions about my lesson plans, standards, 504 plans, parent contact log, etc. Luckily, it was easy, and I knew all the answers and had all my documents in order since the principal had warned us to get everything all gathered up ahead of time.

It was Red Ribbon Week at all the schools this week, so the kids wanted to dress up each day for the various themes (hat day, red day, etc), plus I had a lot of activities and extra assemblies going on during my workdays in my building, too.

Then tonight, Stuart is taking the boys to a Razorback football game in Fayettevelle since we were given last-minute, free tickets! They will have so much fun. I am opting to stay home where it's warm with Arden.

I attempted a fall craft this week which is much more like the old me (before I went back to teaching full-time and have no free time anymore). It was fun to gather all the supplies this week, but the craft didn't work out as I had hoped. I was trying to replicate a picture in Pottery Barn that had indian corn wrapped around a large glass candle holder, but my indian corn husks wouldn't bend, wouldn't stand up straight, kept slipping on the glass and leaning, etc. So, I finally gave up and just stuck them inside the glass container and wrapped the jute around the outside of the glass. It looks really good on the dining room table, but it isn't the candle holder that I was hoping for. Oh well. It was still fun to try to make something again.

So, that is the end of our fun and crazy week. We've all had too much candy (except Stuart who doesn't even like candy), and I am officially sick of candy corn!