Our White Halloween Weekend

Our patio

How many times have meteorologists been incorrect with their forecasts? Many, many times, right? Well, this year, when they were predicting snow for late October, most of my friends and family didn't really take it seriously. We should have. We were shocked when Mother Nature dumped 10 inches of snow on our neck of the woods!

In the middle of the snowstorm we braved the storm to go to a Halloween party. We slipped and slided a little in our travels, but made it to the party safely. We were sure glad we did because it was a fabulous party! The kids all played together in their costumes and we enjoyed socializing with the adults. After several hours of partying, we carefully drove home in the snow and, thankfully, we made it up our icy hill.

On Sunday, my husband tested out our snow thrower which had just had a tune-up. Everything was in working order and he was able to clear our driveway. We headed out, but found that lots of places were without power due to the many trees that fell on power lines, so we went to lunch/dinner, then came home.

Halloween Monday arrived and school was closed because of the power outages. Many towns postponed Halloween, but our town did not, so we trick-or-treated through the snow with our family and friends in an area that was without power. Our night ended enjoying pizza at my brother and sister in law's house by the light of candles and a battery-operated lantern. Fun times!

Flour Power

We make our own pizza dough and pizza from scratch on a regular basis. My little sous chef always likes to help make the dough, then paint the tomato sauce on the pizza and sprinkle cheese on top. Often, while the dough is being mixed or rising, Claire asks to play with a small bowl of flour. She likes the feel of it. Since I didn't provide her with all of the sensory experiences I learned about during my undergrad studies in Early Childhood Development and Education, I indulge her.

Today was no different. I gave her a small bowl full of flour and she sat down with it and began to play. I had a few things to do upstairs, so I left Claire playing happily with her flour (Who needs toys?!). A little while later I returned to the kitchen to find this:

Happy Birthday Juilette Gordon Low

Some of the older Girl Scouts in our town planned a birthday party event for Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts. Most of the girls in our troop signed up because we thought it would be a fun activity for them to attend.

A few days before the event, I was explaining to Claire that she was going to go to the middle school with some of her friends and some of the older Girl Scouts were going to do lots of fun activities with them to celebrate Juliette Gordon Low's birthday. Claire asked if we were all going to sing Happy Birthday to her at the party. I explained how she had died a long time ago and this "party" was just a way to celebrate what a special person she was because she "invented" Girl Scouts.

A few hours later, out of nowhere, Claire asked, "Mommy, is that lady who started Girl Scouts going to be in a box?"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Claire: "Because she died."

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, Claire has been to a lot of funerals. In her little 5 1/2 year old mind she thought the "party" might be a wake since I mentioned that Juliette Gordon Low died. Of course, I explained that it wasn't a wake and she died a long time ago. This event was just a little celebration because she was such an amazing woman for starting Girl Scouts.

It was a really fun night full of lots of great activities for the girls. At the end of the evening the girls decorated cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday.

Claire's Half Birthday

Last year we decided to celebrate Claire's half birthday to help her understand the half-year milestone. So, naturally, we wanted to do it again this year. I put it on Claire's calendar at the beginning of the month and that turned out to be a mistake. Almost every day, Claire whined and begged and asked if it was her half birthday. The October days passed, then FINALLY October 25 arrived.

Since my husband didn't have to be to work too early, we gave Claire her gifts in the morning.

Then it was a regular day. School. Dance class. Homework. But, we ended it with a candle in one of Claire's favorite desserts -- chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.

Happy 5 1/2 year old birthday, Claire Bear!

Halloween Costume Sneak Peek

This is Claire's Halloween costume:

Tranquillity Farms

After having such a fun time at Tranquillity Farms last year, when it came time to pick a pumpkin for Halloween this year, we knew exactly where to go! We were thrilled when my brother and his family decided to join us!

This year, things seemed a little smaller. There was a bounce house, a blow up slide, an area for pony rides and a couple of vendors, but that was about it. The gigantic corn maze where we got lost last year wasn't set up. Still, the kids had fun exploring the corn box (Think: sand box, but with corn kernels instead of sand.), bouncing in the bounce house and running through a corn stalk tunnel. We all took a scenic hayride out through the fields and into the pumpkin patch, then stayed on the hayride instead of exploring the pumpkin patch because we planned to buy one of the larger pumpkins that were at the farm stand back at the main part of the farm. The hayride was a great deal at $2 per person. We also bought each of the big kids a wristband for $5 which included the hayride and unlimited bouncing in the inflatable bounce house and slide.

Of course, the kids climbed all over the John Deere tractor and stuck their faces into strategically placed holes depicting two growing sunflowers and three scary ghosts before we called it a day.

Next year, we will have to check the calendar to see if there's a weekend where there are more activities scheduled and plan to go that weekend. We love this little gem of a farm and think it's one of our area's best kept secrets!

Flower Power

Girl Scout Campfire

The day after our first Daisy meeting, we had our very first outing. Our town Girl Scout organization planned a campfire. All of the Girl Scouts in town were invited to attend and we thought it would be a fun activity for our troop.

Our 12 Daisies joined over 100 Girl Scouts around a large campfire. Individual troops were invited to share a song with the group. Reluctantly, I offered to lead our troop (and a first grade Daisy troop) in a song our girls had learned at our first meeting (I'm a Little Daisy). The girls were so excited! It was great -- the girls sang their hearts out and I even remembered all of the words and movements!

After listening to lots of troops sing and participating in a few songs, it was time for our troop to toast marshmallows and make s'mores. All 12 girls circled around the campfire and held long sticks containing their marshmallows over the flames until they were toasted. The warm marshmallows were plopped on top of a piece of chocolate and squooshed between two graham crackers, then devoured.

It was a fun night -- the first of many memorable Girl Scout activities!

Daisies

I have such fond memories of being a Brownie and a Girl Scout during my childhood -- singing, playing games, doing crafts and projects, camping, going on field trips, etc. I naturally wanted to be involved when Claire had the opportunity to join Girl Scouts! I approached another mommy to see if she would be interested in being co-leaders. She had already planned on being a leader with another mom, so I offered to be a third leader and they accepted. After a few planning meetings, we were all set!

We had our first meeting today. In a word, it was AWESOME! Everything went so smoothly and the girls are fabulous -- so sweet, friendly and enthusiastic! Claire only knew half of the girls beforehand, but I can already tell that she will be fast friends with the other girls. I am looking forward to a wonderful Daisy adventure!

A Late Afternoon Playdate

We've been so busy doing school things and getting into the swing of afternoon kindergarten (staying up late, sleeping late) that we haven't had time for much else. Fortunately, we were able to squeeze in a late afternoon playdate with some dear friends who just returned from a long vacation in England. It was so nice to catch up, do a Halloween craft and eat warm chocolate chip cookies!