Halloween Dances

Emily, Erica, and Elizabeth are all taking dance this year - and the first time that the parents get to see their progress is at Halloween time when they perform their "Halloween Dances" at the end of class time in late-October. Of course I took video clips to share.  (I tried to keep them in the center of the videos, in case you can't tell which one they are) We are very proud of them! (first, pause the music on the music player down to the right on this page)

Emily has never taken tap, and hasn't been in dance at all since she was 4...so I'm impressed she can do this after 2 months.


Erica...


Here's Lizzie...she got really excited when she saw the crowd of parents...one of the smaller ones, not bad for only 2 months of lessons...they need to speed the music up for her, lol:

Political Halloween Cartoon

Quotes from Lizzie

I've been trying to savor my last few weeks/months of having a toddler, so much so that I've got Lizzie convinced that she's going to be a baby forever. Well, she will always be my baby. But anyway...she is coming out of her shell more, so I thought I'd share a few quotes from the past 3 days.



-In the checkout lane of the grocery store, she burst into loud song: "Cel-e-bra-tion - Come On!" (we had just listened to it in the car, as you are now if your sound is on) I never really thought Lizzie as being one to show off...but she sure did then!



-After she did the above, the Clerk tells her. "Wow, you sure are cute." Lizzie replies, "Yep, cuter than you are!" I about died of embarrasement...but the clerk just said, "You are right about that!"



-Erica's girl scout leader complimented us on our van, and Lizzie piped in, "Your car is dirty." Yikes! It was the truth though, I guess. I said, "Our car is dirty too, isn't it Lizzie?" Doh!

School projects and our house...

Fifth grade has brought an onslaught of "home projects" for Erin. She already had to do a volcano model. Her latest project had to do with earth forms and factors that change the earth. She chose to demonstrate how "people" change the earth. She ended up taking pictures around our house - at empty lots that had been excavated, digging that started for a house, houses that were just finished and the earth had been moved to prepare for landscaping, and finally a house with landscaping. She picked our house to demonstrate landscaping...the rock wall that we built, the rock berm that we did with the trees and shrubs we planted (which is still a work in progress), etc. So since I have a recent picture now, I just thought I'd share it here...the back of our house. (doesn't the deck stain look nice - thanks to Brian!)

Click photo to Enlarge




Now if only I had remembered to take a photo of the project before she turned it in.

The Pumpkin Patch

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch last Saturday.  We decided to go early this time instead of waiting until the last weekend when it's cool, buggy, and no pumpkins are left.  :)  We even did the corn maze successfully and won a treat at the end. 

It appears the 6 year old may be taller than the 7.5 year old...but she had taller shoes...