Happy Holidays!

School Character Parade

At the girls school they do up Halloween, but instead of dressing in "costume" they dress as a character in their favorite book- most kids pick a costume and then find a book to go with it :)  Leave it to us humans to get around policy :) :) :)

Anyway- the kids seemed to have fun.  Although when I asked Ana how it was she reported, "scary.  There were too many people."

Here is Ana as Emma Rose- the vampire in "This Totally Bites"- her current read.

And Taylor as the Witch in "Room on the Broom"- one of our house Halloween favorites for 2 years in a row.

Happy Halloween

 Ana: A vampire- ooooooo scarrrryyyyy.......

 Scary sisters- BOO!

 The whole GANG!  You can see the Vampire costume was top on the popularity list this year.

 Since we were trick or treating on our old street, the girls got to see their old home.  Here is Ana looking at it from across the street- she was very sad :( .

Checking out the loot!  Tomorrow night the switch witch comes and trades the candy loot for a present- WE LOVE THE SWITCH WITCH!

Grandma's LAST visit

It's always nice to have Mom/Grandma come and visit and always hard to have her go....  especially since this was her last visit to our home before our move up North.

This time we made it to Disney and even stayed at the Contemporary- I highly recommend this hotel!  It is the one where the monorail goes right through- besides the convenience the hotel boasts a large pool, water slides, a beach and an array of True Disney Kids activities (mom and I actually got to read by the pool!)

I always seem to go through the solo-parent blues when my mom or Justin leave us........  hopefully the spirt of Halloween will take over and I'll shake the blues sooner this time around.  

Thanks for a great trip mom!

A conversation...

Ana: Mommy, what do you want for Christmas this year?
Mommy: I want Daddy for Christmas.
Taylor (on the phone with Daddy): AAHHH, DAAAADDD Mommy wants YOU for Christmas!

Can you tell I am getting sick of this separation thing? I just want my family back together again!!!!

Gearing up for Halloween

It's a little strange doing Halloween without Justin, but I finally mustered up the energy to tackle pumpkin patches, pumpkin carving, and roasted pumpkin seeds solo!






The girls have been begging me for weeks to check out the neighborhood patch.  It is across the street from their school in an open field- Tay reports that she can see it from her classroom window.  Pretty cool!

Ana found the perfect one here, but Taylor needed a larger selection so off we went to the patch up the road.  Here we ran into a school friend, which is always fun.  After this we headed home to draw our faces.

Pumpkin carving has 4 steps in our home:

1- pick out the pumpkin

2- design the face on paper

3- draw the face on the pumpkin with permanent marker

4- Carve the face

This multiple step process takes 2 days and I am happy to say that this year marks the very first year that Ana completed all the steps independently!  Even the CARVING.  In years past Justin and I carved, following the girls drawings, but this year Ana did it all.  I still carved Tay's- maybe next year.

 And of course a pumpkin carving weekend would not be complete without ending the day with roasted pumpkin seeds- this year's recipe was the best yet (I'm sure it's because I used BUTTER this time)!

Home for the Holidays

WRITE IT IN PERMANENT MARKER THIS TIME.....

Today marks the day of our closing up north- YEAH, Justin has a home again!!

Justin is there already (has been living with my parents for 4 months) and will move in Monday.  The girls and I join him over Thanksgiving, and I will be splitting my time between WI and FL for the next year as I finish up my degree; I figure it will be a nice slow transition to WINTER!

It's hard to believe we'll be "home for the holidays" for good this time. I"m looking forward to some hot apple cider by the fire- man it's been a while since I could do that!

We can't wait to see you all and expect each and everyone of you to help us break in the new house- those of you who aren't used to living by me... I LOVE TO HAVE A HOUSE FULL OF PEOPLE AT ALL TIMES- our door is ALWAYS open to you, your family and your friends (this includes you FL folks- come on up anytime- WI really isn't that bad)- pop on over, no need for an invite, and expect some wine!

xoxoxoxo,

Amy & Co.

Please meet Mr. Sparkles, the bear.

Ana was star student this week.  As part of the honor she got to bring home the class mascot, Sparkles the Bear, to care for him all weekend.  Part of the care was introducing him to his wife, Serena (also known as Ana's new build a bear) and son baby S.
FUN FUN FUN!

Oh the joy in Ana's face- she told me last night that she is so happy she can't stop smiling- I wish I could say the same for poor little Tay (she cries more than laughs now days- new school without Ana, new house, no daddy and mommy in class at night is a bit too much for her).

Our new house.... if all goes well we close 10/28

4 Bedrooms up PLUS a 5th Bonus room- HUGE!

SUNROOM with Teak Ceiling

Full Finished basement with TV, minibar/kitchen, sauna and more

NEIGHBORHOOD PARK- just down the road (about .1 mile away, 1-3 blocks down) the girls have nature at their finger tips. Here they are breaking in the new 'hood!