Halloween Night

Well, even though we only had 6 trick-or-treaters, my bride and I are having a great Halloween night. We went and had some good mexican food, talked to one of our neighbors, carved a fun pumpkin, and watched Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin Patch. Here are some pictures of the night!

Where's Waldo and Wanda?

Last night was our third annual Halloween Party with our Sunday School class. We put quite a bit of thought into what we wanted to be this year. We visited countless websites looking for ideas and we even tried out a local Halloween warehouse. We decided on a Where's Waldo and Wanda costume Thursday night before our party Saturday. I liked this idea because I thought it was unique and would be easy to put together. Friday after school, Eric and I went to grab some pizza at a local place here. I saw the perfect "Wanda Shirt" walking by right outside the pizza place. I told Eric that I had to find out where she found her red and white stripped shirt. I followed her into an ice cream store and told her that I have been looking for a shirt just like hers. She was so nice and explained that she had found it at GAP and her friend had found a similar one at Nautica. She didn't seem at all bothered by a stranger stopping her to ask her about her wardrobe.

With that helpful hint we were off to GAP! We covered 10 stores in about an hour. We were on mission. Red and white stripped images ran through our heads and we had limited time to find them. I love shopping and I love a good mission but this one had its challenges. We hit the jackpot right off the bat at GAP finding my shirt and two hats for us. But the more we shopped, the more distracted I became. I found myself wondering to the womens section and picking up green and yellow things. Oh, so much shopping and so little time. We went to Target next and found Eric a red and navy stripped shirt and hat. I thought somewhere in the back of my mind I had seen Waldo in that color scheme. Upon getting home and checking the computer, I found myself corrected.

Saturday morning was off in a hurry. I had a shower at 2:00 and told Mom I would come over early to help. We ventured out to Party City and fought the crowd to find some black rimmed glasses and red and white tights. One more stop to Macy's and our costume would be complete. We were walking through the mens section with a purpose. Then I a saw it across the way! My Jr. High days are back to haunt me! BIG red and white stripped, long sleeve, white collar, RUBBER buttons!!! (Eric says it is more rugby like) Now, I remember having several shirts very similar to this. I definitely remember the rubber buttons and I can't believe they are back. But that was it, it was our Where's Waldo shirt!

The party was filled with ghost busters, Elvis, an email attachment, a football player and cheerleader, angel, cowboy, football fans and a couple of Romans. We had a great time getting to hang out with our friends.

How Jelly Beans Are Made

Eric and I were perusing the TV last night and stumbled on the How Things are Made show. They were featuring Jelly Beans I insisted we switch from football and check it out. I have to say after watching the show, I will never eat Jelly Beans the same. I may in fact just never eat one again. Don't get me wrong I love Jelly Belly. The mixing, the matching, the flavor guessing. We learned that three basic ingredients of Jelly Beans are sugar, starch and sugar. Here is the 5 minute video we watched on TV. Count how many times a form of sugar is added or mentioned. Its shocking. Enjoy!

Three Days Old

The chicks continue to be tons of fun and we are loving having them. I had a momentary lapse of sanity and told my kids if they had permission and a good home, they could be a new pet owner! This has made many of my kids very happy but it has created more work for me. I laid in bed last night thinking about how I forgot to type up a "How to Take Care of Your New Baby Chick" form. My mind was already spinning when I got to school with things I needed to do. When I got to school the first thing I did was go check on the little chicks. I was sad to see three little friends hadn't made it over night. I had a fellow teacher come downstairs and help me with the clean up.

As of this morning we are at 15 little ones. These numbers continue to change as students select their favorite little guy from the bunch. So far I only have two official new homes for the babies but I expect more to be adopted tomorrow.

These little guys are definitely in close quarters and they make a huge mess constantly. These pictures were taken only moments after I changed the paper and gave them more food and water. Even as sweet as they are, they are not the brightest. We have to keep marbles in the water so that they will not drown themselves. They are so fun to watch and the kids love looking at them through the library window.

Tomorrow is our last day with the babies. We will be sad to see them go but luckily we can get frequent updates from the families who are taking them in.