What a fun filled day!! I never knew how busy I would be on Halloween now that the girls are in school! We started the day by attending the parade at school that went through all the classrooms. Hana's class was supposed to dress up as scarecrows....she told me that she was going to be the cutest one there....I agree!! This is the 2 of them in the morning...(Maddison had to be Dorothy...her Wizard of Oz obsession continues....and I am proud to say that her dress is the first dress I have ever made...not too bad!!!) ....She wore the dress ALL DAY!

Hana, doing her best scarecrow impression! Hana's class waiting for the parade to go through their room Later in the day, I was able to get a sitter (thanks Kara!) and go help out with the Halloween festivities in Hana's class. It was so much fun...Hana was happy and surprised that I was there! Here she is with her "BFF's" Outside they had a game where they had to try to eat a doughnut off a string....

Later that night we went to "Trunk-or-Treat" at church...I even got into it by wearing the costume mom made me when I was little! The girls begged me! Hana had to be Strawberry Shortcake (again, a costume my mother made!!)

Only in St Cloud...

....do you see a man and wife driving their kids to school in a beat up pick-up, baby on moms lap while she is smoking....did she get her parenting advice from Brittney???

Its good to live in St Cloud....

What an exciting morning! It started by waking up late to take Hana to school, we got there right as the bell was ringing. Said our "Love you's" and we headed back home. Almost home and a cop came right up behing me...I thought it was trying to pull me over...spead past me, turned around, spead past me again, turned around again....it did this 3 times...I turned down our road (for those of you who are not familiar with it, we live right off the main road in St Cloud) and there were 2 cops blocking it. They would not let me through till I told them they were parked in front of my house....I thought maybe there was a hit and run, I didnt see any other cars, so I didnt think much...till more cops came...and detectives....and then fire trucks....and ambulances....and the BOMB SQUAD! I turned on the news after 2 hours of this....didn't think of doing it earlier because nothing is ever on the news regarding St Cloud...supposedly a bomb was found...or so they said...I looked out the window later and there was nothing. All the cops were gone. Phew! Oh wait...they evacuated the cops down the road a ways...but not me!!! Then I saw these guys in my yard and in the street...(this was taken after they took off the helmets...at least other important places are protected!) They must have given the "all clear" because then every cop and unmarked car was in the road again... There were more after this...I think I counted 20 vehicles in all (including the bomb truck...not including the news cameras.) I saw the news again...I guess someone planted a fake bomb on a gas line across from my house...it had a timer on it and everything! They cant figure out why someone would do that....hmmmm....neither could I till I left to take Maddie to school at noon...cops everywhere around the school....bank taped off....school on lock down....someone robbed the bank and got away...right next to the girls school!!! Could they have been the ones placing a fake bomb? Maybe they were trying to get the cops all in one place....so, now we are at home, watching the newsmen trying to figure this out...because they are the real detectives here!!! Meanwhile, Maddie is sad that she cant go to school and Hana is stuck in class...no lunch...no recess...no PE...wonder if I can pick her up??? I keep calling and they are still shut down....my my my.....such excitement!!! At least Hana likes school...she wont be upset to stay longer!

I found a picture the other day of my horse, Joe, when I was Hana's age. Yes, that is me in the blue snowsuit...loved those things! Anyway, just thought some of you would enjoy this again!!

Just a short post...I had a fun weekend with the girls at Bryan's parents house. It was short, but sweet. We were able to stop by my moms on the way home and have some lunch and play time. The girls got new clothes (of course) from mom and had to wear them. Then, they got obsessed with her camera and took tons of pictures. Here are just a few!!! I have the cutest girls in the world...even when they look like raggamuffins!!

riding the horses!

Hana's Sunday school teacher came over again with her horses. This time, we were able to spend a little more time riding in the back. Hana was able to get in some good riding time. She is doing great. She is a little pro! Today, the horse, at one point, took off and she held on tight and didnt freak out! She learned a lot about control and leading it. Maddison did it by herself too, which was never done before. And, of course, Chloe had to get up and ride for a while. Our friends came over from next door with their son and he got up with all the girls. I took a ton of pics, here are just a few!Hana and her teacher out riding.You cant tell real well here, but Maddison had insisted that she wear this nice Christmas dress while she rode (the princess in her) and she had smeared her face with dirt before she got up on the horse! Hana with Austin poking out from behind her!He likes to think they are buddies...she is not so sure of him yet!!Time to clean up!!!

So proud

Hana came home yesterday with a report of a test she took last week. They test the kids for literacy placement, and they will do it at the end of the year to see how much they have improved during the school year. So, I dont know what they expect for a 5 year old, but Hana's report said that in all areas, letter recognition, letter sounds, word recognition...she scored way above what they expect at this time! This is a big deal for me because, first, she never went to preschool...and, I am not one of those moms who sit at home and try to teach the kids how to read or letters or anything. I read to them every day, but as far as pushing them to learn before school, I never did that. I figure, they go to school long enough and they will learn it eventually. Hana was basically self taught. She learned how to write her name when she was 2 by just copying me. She sees something and takes it in so fast!!! Maddie on the other hand, still has problems with her name. But, she is in preschool and will learn eventually. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how proud of Hana I was!!! Then she came home and read 3 books to me last night!!!

I am going to throw up!

So, we have this adorable puppy...who has a problem. He thinks his crate is where he is supposed to poop. I will let him out and no more than 5 minutes later, he poops in his crate. He is getting better, only once a day now. The only problem is, if I dont know he does it...he will eat it. Many times I have come to the crate and he is licking the last of it up (sorry for the gross post here). Any suggestions? Isnt there something that you can put in their food that makes them stop? I am so disgusted!!

This was the conversation on the way to take Maddison to school yesterday... Maddison "why do daddys work?" Mommy "So mommies dont have to" "Oh, so they can stay home and take care of sweeties, right?" "right" "why do sweeties have to go to school?" "so you can learn things and be something someday" "be what?" "you can be whatever you want to be" "like a star?" "sure, if that is what you want" "I am gonna be a star....just like Hannah Montanah" At least she didnt say Britney!!

Look what I found!!!

The top one is this morning of Hana, the bottom one was my first day of school when I was 5!!!

Picture day

This is Hana this morning. It was picture day today and she HAD to wear this dress...she has been begging to wear it, so I thought today would be a good day. Anyone recognize it???? (for those of you who dont know, it is the dress my mother made when I was little...I wore it my first day of kindergarden)I like how Chloe is in the picture!!! I hope she stays pretty for her pictures...they are not until 2 this afternoon!!

Friends

My best friend came to town! Lisa (then Anderson) and I have known each other since we were 7! She and her family came down from the Chicago area to do the whole Disney thing...its a once a year trip they make! So, every time they come, we are sure to catch up somewhere. Last night we went to the resort they are staying at and played on the playground with all the kids.

Chloe looking lost!Josh really didnt want his picture taken!Chloe and Emma!!

Then we went out to dinner....what an experience! We went to Rainforest Cafe, which is a fun place, but if any of you have kids, you probably know what happened. The animals scared Maddison, so she cried when we got there. Chloe screamed cause she was tired and hates loud things. Maddie told me she wanted to go home, but we convinced her to stay to eat the food. Then, after we got them all settled, the rain came....and the thunder....and the lightning. It is so loud that is scared all the kids. By the time the 3rd storm came, they were used to it. In the end, we had a good time and good company!

Hana, Lisa and Emma on the carousel

Last night, we had open house at the girls school. It was so good to see their classes. They usually come home from school and I ask what they did, they say "I dont remember"...so I never know what they do. Hana's classroom, I saw all these pictures of her making things, projects she has done, paintings, tons of stuff!!! I even found out she had a math test yesterday....I didnt even know she knew what math was!! In Maddie's class, there were paintings, books she had made, again, tons of stuff! I was so proud of her when I saw all the things she has done. Her teacher said she does well, their only concern is when they do centers (when they can go to different centers to play, read, color, build blocks etc.) she usually goes to coloring center and doesnt interact with the other kids. They have a hard time getting her to play with kids. I told her that she has always loved to be by herself and she loves to color. I asked Maddie why she didnt play with the other kids, she just told me that there are too many of them! It is something that we will work on....

I came home last night and was emailing people, looked down and saw this....

I have seen scorpions in Florida before, but they have all been small...about 1/2 inch or so...this one was at least 3 inches long....gross....I guess I am calling Massey today to come take care of our house!!!

Our fun filled weekend

My dad came to visit us this weekend. It was tons of fun. The girls had a blast (so did I). I just can not believe it has been a year since we have seen him!!

We played outside....this is Hana with Tex, our puppy (more on that story to come!)

We went to a great park which the kids loved. It was so hot, but we had fun anyway!!

There is something about the swings that Maddie loves. Ever since she was a baby, she just giggles her little heart out when on them. Chloe loves them too! She also loves to wear her glasses upside-down!!

We also went out on the boat Saturday afternoon. It brought back many childhood memories with dad on the boat. We all went on the tube, Bryan flipped! Then we just drove around....all of the girls fell asleep...something about the engine of the boat always does it!! In all, it was a great weekend...hopefully we can do it more than once a year!!

Weekend Tea Party

A friend of mine is having a baby so there was a shower for her over the weekend. (Mommy to be Shelly with the red hat!!) It was perfect. Complete with antique teapots and teacups, all the food you could imagine that would be at a teaparty, glorious hats. And, let me just say, there is nothing like sipping tea out of a delicate teacup.... It brought me back to the days of Big Deedee's Mad-hatter teaparties! She would have been in her glory here...the only thing missing....those big wax lips she loved!!!

Summer is over and you can feel it. We were outside the other night, there was a breeze in the air and it for a moment, it was bearable. The girls wanted to go jump on the trampoline but it turned out to be more of a modeling contest...to see who could take the prettiest pictures....they all won. Then Hana pointed up in the sky and said there was a spider inbetween the trees. Sure enough, there was a huge one...no kidding, it was as big as my hand...HUGE!

What to do

We are known not to keep any pet for longer than a year. It just happens. We get animals and then get rid of them for one reason or another. I think we are just plagued with getting bad pets. We have had good luck so far with Bubba. He will be 1 year next week. That is the longest we have kept a dog! Now, not many people know we have a cat. She doesnt like people, she stays in the bedroom, she doesnt play with the kids. But, we have had her for 3 years...that is a long time for us. Well, for the past few months, things have been getting bad for her. She poops outside of her litter box...she throws up at your feet...and now, she gets on the table and eats food off your plate, while you are eating. When do I say enough is enough? Is it really so bad that I need to get rid of her? Will I regret it? Should I just stick it out and deal with it? I need help.