Happy Birthday Mikayla!

Nobody wants to share their birthday, but if I've gotta share my day, you gotta admit she's a cutie!

House Update

In an effort to keep everyone up to date on what's going on with our "remodel" project I've decided to post periodic updates. So that you can fully appreciate how far we've come I'm start with a before picture and then a current photo. So we'll start at the beginning. Here's the front of the house we bought...

And here's what it looks like today...

Trunk or Treat

For those of you who don't know what Trunk or Treat is... It's a safer alternative to door to door trick or treating. A group of people, in this case Cub Scout Pack 67, meet at a designated location, and pass out treats from their trunks. In most cases, there is a heated trunk decorating contest and ours was no exception.



Here's another look at the winning trunk, presented by the Hemrich family and brought to you in large part by the NMS Science Department.

Take a look at some of these great costume winners. Notice Al Capone brought home the award for most original costume... apparently the 17 hours shopping paid off.

Here the Weblos pose with their fearless den leader who apparently lost control and has been mummified

and their scarecrow who is obviously gonna shoot any crows that come calling.

A Glimpse Into The Future

Ever wonder what you'll look like when you get old. Well I don't have to look far for the answer. Meet Edna, Sassy Seamer's mother and my grandma. I'm not one to look at pictures and see a family resemblence but when you look at grandma's pictures from days gone by, the similarities are unmistakeable. This will be me in 40 years. There are worse things. For instance, I could morf into Rahel!!! If only I could acquire Edna's kindness, patience and unwaivering faith... Notice Edna loves her bling too!

Halloween Sparkle...

Much to Creative C's dismay, I do Love My Bling! I also happen to love Halloween, not the scary, but the fun costumes, apple bobbing, hayrides, toasted marshmallows... It's all good! I probably own more Halloween apparel than most department stores. Unfortunately, since the majority of my worldly belongings are boxed and buried deep in storage, I have been unable to locate the box containing said apparel. After a couple of hours digging this weekend I was able to find one top, probably missed it when I was boxing everything up since it was in a box with Zman's "too small" clothes. Anyway, I couldn't possibly go through the week with one festive top, so I decided to come up with my own... introducing my first Halloween design... There is nothing I can't bedazzle!

Little Boys and Their Toys

Today we are spotlighting one of Zman's OCD behaviors. Zman LOVES his guys. He's not particular...he spends equal time playing with his Dollar Tree guys as he does with his collectibles. Several years ago he got started with this set of knights. He can spend hours just setting up battle scenes. I mentioned OCD earlier, right? It is imperative that the correct guys be fighting, for instance a mounted archer cannot fight a jouster... duh! Each man has to be balanced perilously on the carpet so as not to tip, allowing the enemy an unfair advantage. Look closely at this scene he and BBomber put together. Notice the poor guy who got his foot tangled in the rope while attempting to scale the castle walls... The thought that goes into preparing these scenes amazes me since the majority of the time I can't get him to use his brain in the most basic of tasks. For instance should we really scale the pool deck then jump into the lower tree limbs in an attempt to capture the perfect leaf? Is is smart to take a disc slide down the slide... you see where I'm going don't you?

Do you remember the PowerPuff Girls?

Anybody remember these three little cuties who appeared on cartoon network back in the mid 90s? DitzyDanzer certainly does and when The Red Ribbon theme were announced last week she and a couple gal pals decided that on Thursday, Superhero Day, they would BE the PowerPuff girls. So Sassy Seamer and I got busy and whipped up some dresses and the girls did their research. They felt it was important to not just dress up but to actually become their character. For instance. DitzyDanzer was Buttercup. Her catchphase is "Whatever" and her super powers included being the strongest and being able to fly the fastiest, along with the ability to roll her tongue. Oddly enough the last one is the one that concerned her. After hours of practicing she was still unable to master the tongue roll. Amazingly, in her mind the flying and strength didn't present any problems, just the tongue thing. Then, because the PowerPuff girls never went anywhere along, I agreed to bend a rule and let her spend the night at Bubbles house so they could get ready and make their grand entrance together. My only stipulation, that they get me a good picture to post...

This is what happens when you ask a 14 year old for a good picture!