Friday, October 31, 2008

Playing Dress Up

Today is Halloween (just in case you didn't get the memo). Although its not my favorite holiday by any means, I do have fun dressing Austin up and even doing a bit of dress up myself! I try to not take the "holiday" too seriously, but at the same time, I'm not sure I completely understand the reason for celebrating the dead. So, instead, the day is an excuse to have silly costumes and enjoy horribly yummy candy. Come to think of it, this whole "fun size" candy bars are really just a joke. Its like the candy companies are just teasing us with their bite size yumminess.

So this year I have two Halloween stories both packed full of fun times for all!


FIRST HALLOWEEN EVENT (kid related)
From a few posts back, I mentioned how Austin now loves Star Wars. So, when we saw the Darth Vader costumes at Wally World, it was a no brainer on what the little man would pick. Although his costume was a bit restrictive (aka tight), Austin still loved it to pieces.



Last night the family went to the city wide Halloween carnival. Tons of games, candy, and fun were had by most kids. I'm not 100% sure the parents can say the same.



Honestly, I think the kiddos had more fun after the event just by goofing off for the camera. Such hams, I tell ya!



This was our first time attending the event and might very well be our last. Long lines, so-so games, and random candy filled the evening. There were a couple booths (such as our church's moon jump) which were a huge hit, but overall I would much rather have our normal church Fall Festival back. We can always hope for next year!


SECOND HALLOWEEN EVENT (work related)
I don't think I've ever blogged about my job. (Not that there is a ton to blog about.)

I work...at a bank. No, I don't save lives, make millions of dollars, nor teach the children of our future....I....bank. I can balance a mean check register and know the difference between a debit and credit. I am down with the banker lingo.

My mother's favorite banker term is "the work." Yes, it is a technical term.

Anyway, I enjoy my job and love those with whom I work. This year, the powers that be said we could dress up for Halloween. Oh what fun! I figure, any excuse to wear sweats and sneakers to work is a great thing. Remember, the only time I even get to wear jeans on a Friday is when I'm paying $5 for a fundraiser event. So this was a huge treat! All the girls in my area agreed to wear costumes. Honestly, we always have fabulous intentions but often little follow through when it comes to participation. Thankfully, we all actually dressed up! I went the cheap route (not in a hooker kind of way...I know some of you went there!) and made my costume. Here is the final product. Don't I look cute!?! Yes, I'm a puppy with tail and everything.



As you can see, my coworkers had as much fun as I did with this whole dress up thing. The only drawback is that my head really started hurting by the end of the day. Pigtails really take a tole on one's noggin!

Ohhhh, and the BESTEST part of the whole day, you ask? Michael showed up with McD's breakfast for me this morning and was also in costume.



I was so caught off guard with his get up that I burst out hysterically laughing...tears and all. He said the rocker hair would be great for our Guitar Hero game. Silly silly hubby. He is just so darn cute!! Best part is that his attire totally blended in with the rest of wacky bank costumes.

Fun times...fun times!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Arkalalah

Last year was my first taste of Arkalalah, and although I'm still not sure what it means definition wise, experience wise - it is full of fun times!

This year my co-horts consisted of Jamie (aka The Party Planner)



Julie B (aka Jasper - at least that's what Jamie likes to call her these days)



and Laurie (aka PW)



Basically, Arkalalah is an excuse to eat horribly calorie filled foods that are batter dipped and deep fried. I was, however, pleasantly surprised with my self control this year. Dinner consisted of a chicken gyro, which can be pronounced JEYE-ro OR Guy-ro depending on your upbringing. Laurie is from Arkansas, so whenever she pronounces anything, entertainment is always quick to follow. We actually had a lengthy conversation about how she over pronounces "Arkalalah." Basically, the 'h' is left off but she proudly draws out the entire thing (think Deck the Halls-Fa lah lah lah lah...) Anyway, may not be funny now, but it was hilarious last week.

We made several discoveries during our adventure as well...

Jamie and I realized that we can crack up at will. Honestly, I'm not 100% sure what was so funny...



We also learned that Laurie is a total ham. Well, we kinda already KNEW that, but she continued to show up with her hilarity throughout the evening...



Laurie found the biggest straw known to man...



Julie was thrilled with her ketchup discovery (fried foods NEED ketchup)...



Jamie learned that port-a-potties can be fun...



We all discovered that chocolate dipped Cheesecake on a stick is one of the best inventions ever. (although I'm not exactly sure what Laurie was doing here..it looks like she is contemplating throwing the remains of her cheesecake at Julie B, but it never happened)



Apparently, cheesecake on a stick can cause rotting of teeth! (I did mention that Laurie is a riot, right?)



Although I didn't get a picture of it, I discovered that $1 Hot Chocolate isn't always fancy with whipped cream on top. Sometimes you are just paying for the labor of stirring in the Swiss Miss packet. Crazy stuff.

Can't wait for next year's adventures!!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Another confession...

Ok...my Ipod is full of different music genres. I don't like to be cornered into one specific type of music being my favorite. Last week, I constantly listened to James Taylor and this week I'm in the mood for a more pop/rock sound. I think the weather often affects my music needs (or is it effects...one of the hardest grammatical rules to remember...). My husband has opened my ears to a few classic rock bands as well (Boston is now a favorite at work and I already loved Steve Miller Band thanks to my father)

So, I bet you are wondering what my confession is....I can't believe I'm telling you all this...but I soooooooo love Britney Spears new song Womanizer....so much so that I'm thinking about giving her my money. The hard part about this confession is that I don't want my kids to look to her as a role model. She is jacked up in the head and hopefully getting her life back together (she must be doing something right since she has this cool song out, right?). I read all the gossipy junk about how she went psycho and I was thoroughly disappointed when she decided that no hair was a better look for her. Not many people can really pull that look off. Then, she didn't even OWN the look - just covered it up with stupid pink wigs. Ok...yes...I'm aware that I know WAY too much about Ms. Spears. Oh, and one more thing, I can't believe she actually got an MTV Music Video Award for video "Piece of Me". That has to be the worst video she has ever done! (Totally left me dumbfounded). I guess I could use her story to show my kids how to overcome adversity....I just prefer them to keep their clothes on and avoid the pitfalls of Hollywood. I'm sure I can put a spin on it somehow...

I guess I should just say "Get behind me Satan" and not let Britney enter my Ipod...but it's got such a good beat. I should probably mention that I also love Pink's new song "So What" too.

Please don't judge me....

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

"Hunting" Day

My fantastic hubby really enjoys hunting (mostly deer and turkey). He took Austin to go "hunting" a couple times last year and decided it was time to go out again this year. The icky part is that it is squirrel season. I told my hunter hubby that there was NO WAY ON EARTH I would eat squirrel. They are only one step above a rat for goodness sake. Michael reassured me that he wasn't doing the hunting - but that Austin would be - which made me extremely thankful since more than likely, he wouldn't actually hit a squirrel. Uncle David (Michael's brother) has a small rifle, a cricket, that is just Austin's size. The little guy has shot it a few times (with ample supervision - don't worry, the boy knows better than to even look at a gun without having Michael or David next to him) and really enjoys it.

So, a couple weekends ago was the first hunting day of the season for the boys. Since I had to blog about the experience, my sweet hubby took along the camera. Little did I know he would get rather literal when I asked him to document everything. I cracked up when he showed me all the pictures and told me what captions to use....so here is the story in picture/caption form.

First off was a bit of target practice for Austin...



Then all the boys loaded up into Grandpa's truck in search of "danger"...well...in search of squirrels or whatever else they could legally shoot...



Austin quickly realized the REAL danger was Grandpa's music. It really isn't bad music - just not in tune with the likings of a 7 year old....



Once the hunting gang made it to their final destination, they all quickly realized there were dangers everywhere...

Like thorns...



And wasps....



And poison ivy!



While on the hunt, they also discovered a creek but were still in search of those pesky squirrels..



Sadly, they never saw any squirrels; however, they did come across the dreaded crab apple. (yes I'm aware that it doesn't look very dangerous, but trust me, those things are deadly!)



Austin quickly grabbed his gun (well, Uncle David handed it to him), aimed, and fired...



All this "hunting" can really build up an appetite. Thankfully, Grandpa had snacks...



Overall, my guys had an awesome father/son day and hopefully will get to do it again soon.