Preschool Thanksgiving Performance

On Friday Dawson had his Thanksgiving Performance.  He was so adorable telling me "Mom, you are going to be amazed at how good I am at singing these songs."

I was amazed, he sang loudly and did all the movements.

What a little ham!  Don't you love all the cute little thanksgiving outfits?  I tried to convince him of wearing something a little more festive, but when he came to me dressed in his camo pants and said "Mom, do I look handsome?"  Of course you do little doc, camo pants it is.

If you are looking for some festive Thanksgiving songs, this little guy is your man!  It was so fun to get to see you perform!

First Confession

Today was a big day, Carter had his first Confession.  We have been preparing for this for a couple of months now and he knew his prayers by heart and we have been discussing the ten commandments and reading multiple examinations of conscience.  He was nervous before confession, but afterwards he can running over to me with a huge grin on his face.  He was so proud of himself, as he should be!

As you can see from this picture they did not use the confessionals, but instead the children sat with the priest at various locations in the church.

Later the afternoon he was speaking to me in confidence and he let me know that he confessed to the priest that he uses drugs.  "You know, like my inhaler and tylenol and epi pens and things like that."  Apparently one of the examinations of conscience had mentioned that drug use was a sin.  Then we had a long conversation about the differences between legal and illegal drug use.  I had such a hard time keeping a straight face because all I could think about was the Priest hearing the confession from the eight year old concerned about his drug use.  I wanted to share because I thought this was humorous, but please don't mention this to him because it was a private conversation between the two of us.

Carter boy,  we thank God every day for the amazing blessing you are in our life.  There was A Parent's Prayer they passed out during Confession and I love it so much I want to put it here on the blog as a reminder for me:

Loving GOD,

You are the giver of all we possess,

the source of all our blessings.

We thank you and Praise You.

Thank you for the gift of our children.

Help us to set boundaries for them,

and yet encourage them to explore.

Give us the strength and courage to treat

each day as a fresh start.

May our children come to know you, the one true GOD

and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

may your Holy Spirit help them to grow

in faith, hope and love

so they may know peace, truth and goodness.

may their ears hear your voice.

may their eyes see your presence in all things.

May their lips proclaim your word

may their hands do works of charity.

may their feet walk in the way of Jesus Christ,

your son and our Lord.  Amen

Braces!!

On Monday Carter had his braces put on his front teeth.  

He looks like such a big kid!  We are still in the adjustment period and it's hard for him to chew.  He has had a lot of yogurt and soup the past couple of days.

But it means that I have brought him soup for lunch the past two days.  From what I understand the first two days are the worst, so we should be on the upswing from here.

But he had a great time today wearing his uniform to school and assisting at the flag ceremony.  Thank you to all the veterans!

Our week and some tidbits

Dawson's favorite book lately has been Scooby Doo and the Creepy Chef. We have read it nearly ever night for weeks.  He has decided to emulate the creepy chef by running around talking in the same sing-song rhymes as the creepy chef yelling "ha ha ha and ho ho ho" or "Tra la la."  He even picked up two balloons and told me he was going to beat me with his egg beaters ( just like the creepy chef.)  

He is so proud of himself!  He learned to do the monkey bars, just like big brother and sister!  

This poor kid had three teeth removed under sedation.  He bounced back so quickly and I think he really enjoyed the ice cream and Scooby Doo marathon.  I cuddled with him on the couch for most of the day because in his groggy state he kept touching his wound, which the doctor did not want him to do.  So I had to keep a close eye on him.  But the minute I would get up to use the restroom or get a drink, he started pulling out his stitches!  

Carter has been eagerly anticipating Veterans Day.  We have had a countdown going and the first thing he says to me when he wakes up in the morning is "7 days until Veterans Day.........6 Days until Veterans Day............5 days until Veterans Day."  The reason for his excitement?  Well, the cub scouts wear their uniforms to school and get to do a flag ceremony.  He loves to show off his uniform!  And just in case you were wondering there are only 3 days left until Veterans Day.

On Friday I went to watch and participate with both kids in the Race for Education.  When I spotted Carter he was happily wandering around the track with his class.  Ava was in a clump of little girls all holding hands and walking together.  She was also invited to a birthday party this week and it cracked me up because she has had her outfit planned and laid out at least four days in advance. 

Ava has taken to carrying pinky......in her pajama pants.  I had to take the above picture to clearly document the bulge.   


And now:  time for a Sunday night dance party!!!!

Trick or Treat!

Some pictures from our Trick or treat fun!

Moaning Myrtle, Hermione, the Golden Snitch and Harry Potter

Mike was a hilarious golden snitch.  I have no words.  But this was all his idea and the liquid courage in his bottle contributed to a good time.

Doc didn't go very long, but he was very happy to return back home to eat!

My army soldier

And Hermione who was so very excited!

We went with family, and although I didn't get a picture of everyone together here is the closest.  Cousin Andrew drove his tractor from house to house, Uncle Jason was a native American, and baby Abbie as a tiger from Daniel Tiger.  We had a wonderful time with everyone!

Pumpkins!

Spooky Fun - Halloween Parties!

First we had Dawson's preschool trunk or treat event.    It was a very nice little event held after school so that everyone could attend.  There was pizza and cupcakes and a craft to do. Then his teacher announced each child and their costume as well as their siblings too.  Due to rainy and windy weather we did the trick or treating inside the school. 

The soldier, Mrs. Norris (cat from Harry Potter) and Harry Potter

This year I am able to go to Carter's Halloween Party and Ava's Valentine Party.  In Carter's class we did the mummy wrap game.  Here he is being wrapped up with another student by his teacher.

Can't even see him!  He had a blast doing this game.

Enjoying his snack

Carter showing off his ghost and pumpkin that he carved in his group.  He choose the fish nose and they named their pumpkin fishie (the fish nose was something they did in FFF.)

Although I couldn't be in her class, I took a picture of Miss Ava post party.  She was rocking her black cat shirt and candy corn bow.  She loved the game they played with the vampire teeth and marshmallows.

Happy Halloween!  More celebrating to come!

Pumpkin Patch with Explorer Girls

Ava is participating in a scout-like group called Explorer Girls.  Ava has really enjoyed the meetings so far and for October we met at a pumpkin patch.  This was in the afternoon before Mike was home, so I was able to bring the boys with me.

Funny story about this picture, while the girls were lined up and smiling Dawson and Carter were close by playing pumpkin bowling.  During a quiet moment Carter yelled at Dawson "Holy Smokes, you're good!"  It caused a chuckle throughout the group.  It was sweet to hear big brother pumping up little brother's bowling skills.  

Wow, another pumpkin picture.

It was just a quick trip but we did get to lasso some steers, walk through the corn maze and take a chilly hay ride.

These slides built into the side of the hill are so much fun!  It was a great way to burn a some energy before bedtime.