So, Wednesday night was our big Halloween night. The kids put on their costumes and our first stop was Pumpkin Shine. We walked through the park and then went with the Stewart's to their church festival-Trunk-o-Treat. Church members back into parking spaces and have Halloween displays and candy for the kids. Fun was had, and by the end of the night I was ready for Halloween to be done!
Closer to our final look. From painted red brick with gray grout and no shutters to matching toffee crunch brick and grout with black shutters. You have no idea how much work this took. If you see my husband, please high five him!
Last Friday was opening Day for High School Musical 3, Liv and I had tickets a few weeks early and even bought extras to invite friends. So, we went with Ashlyn and her mom Candace. The movie was good, the music was great, and the dancing was for sure my favorite. I can admit there were cheesy parts, but watching Liv be so entertained and dance in her seat is so worth it all...next stop, iTunes--we need the soundtrack!!
Sunday afternoon we decided it was time to carve the pumpkins--they only have to last five days to make it to Halloween. What they don't tell you about carving pumpkins is how quickly they rot, begin to smell, and attract millions of bugs. Anyway, it was time. Liv picked our templates for the year--Happy Bat and Happy Hal. Love that positivity. These designs only had a one apple level of difficulty, out of a possible four apples. In years past we have done three apple designs, so these were a breeze and didn't take long. Liv got to do a lot of the work and felt like a big girl. Josie mostly just ate dinner while we carved, maybe next year she'll be more aware. Also, notice in the pictures that the house is fantastic toffee crunch color. I am off to paint the last set of shutters, hopefully those will get put on the house this afternoon, and then I'll post completed house pictures. And by complete, I mean the three sides of the house that can be seen from the road. The back of the house is still totally primer white...only so many hours in the day!
I told you a bevy of Halloween activities were acomin'. Today was pumpkin patch day. I got the kids all gussied up in matching outfits and even conned Josie into keeping a bow in her hair. The girls ran all over the place and had a fun time while Kevin meticulously hunted for perfect carving pumpkins. We scored some pretty great pumpkins, and don't worry you'll soon be seeing pictures of them all carved up and glowing. 
I think I already mentioned that Liv and I got baby pumpkins and craft supplies...here are the results!! We had lots of fun "designing" everyone but the gluing was definitely hard work. Gotta run...I am in the middle of dinner/bath time.
Katie, why so long between tonight's two blog updates and the last ones? I'm glad you asked...every spare second has been dedicated to the repainting our house(actually, we just spent every daylight second of the weekend painting, but it feels like forever). Our house was built in 1953 and was a lovely natural red brick color. So why someone thought painting it "safety red" was a good idea, we'll never know. We've talked about painting the house since we bought it. Kevin power washed first. Then we primered the entire house on Saturday--and we just thought that sucked. We weren't primering the grout and we didn't realize how horrible and time consuming that step would be. In half of Saturday and all day Sunday we painted the grout for the driveway side of the house and the front of the house. As it stands now, Monday night, we have rolled on our final brown (toffee crunch, if you will) on those two walls, have most of the other side to grout paint and roll and the entire back side. We also have shutters to paint black and put on the sides of the front 3 windows. When it's done--if ever get there--I know I am going to love it but the actual getting there part is sucking my will to live. If you have any spare time, I promise I have a paintbrush with your name on it...
So, our Halloween season begins. This was a day at Liv's school--they were reenacting events from a Halloween book they read. By the way, I am the parent of an official reader!! Anyway, all of the first graders had to bring a costume they could put on over their uniform (btw, Liv's "costume" is courtesy of the compound--don't hold me responsible). We were supposed to be outside, but it was raining--so to the the gym-atorium we went. The classes rotated through beanbag tosses, pumpkin seed spitting contest, word fishing, pie tasting, and mask making. Fun was had by all. Up next is an array of Halloween activity. Liv and I bought baby pumpkins and craft supplies to decorate, we'll take the whole family to the pumpkin patch for photo ops and big pumpkins to carve, then the Shine on Line and a trick or treating festival. What this means to you is a bevy of new pictures soon.....and by the way, the cute little boy with spiky hair is Kaidyn--Liv's boyfriend. But don't tell anyone because Liv will be embarrassed and we can talk about my 6 year old having a boyfriend on another day....
Not a whole lot so say about these pics--just some daily stuff. Josie is in the backyard and she is wanting to throw a tennis ball for Kenzie. The pink construction hats are from the Revel--no job change for Kevin. The other pictures are of Liv's tooth--prepped and ready for the Tooth Fairy and her on her scooter.
I love the Revel, by far the best festival in Shreveport. My mom had a few spare hours on Tuesday and the rain blew over, so we were Revel bound. Liv knew what to expect, but Josie was pleasantly surprised. We had a funnel cake on our way to play, first stop--Sand Art for Liv. It is a beautiful creation and another sand member of the family to add to the shelf--this one is Abby and she got a customized rocker hairdo. Josie was highly impressed with the hair. After that we were off to kid grocery store. Liv got a list and kinda did a scavenger hunt. Josie went carb crazy and loaded up 84 rolls and pancakes into her buggy then pushed it around the store like a maniac. Right next door there was a couple of dirt pits set up and Josie had fun with that while Liv went through the medical clinic and showed off her elbow wrapping skills. After that, we attempted face paint (hand for Josie). Only Liv made it out with any paint on her body. Liv also painted me a pot--can't wait to plant in that little baby in the Spring. I forget--do seasons get capitalized? Liv also attempted to catch a catfish....after all of that excitement, we loaded up the kiddos and headed home. I don't know who had more fun--me or the kids. 
So, Josie has been a Gymboreer for a couple of months now but it's hard to stop playing long enough to take pictures. Josie loves it and is quite a show off--she is the best climber in her class. She is in a class for 16-22 month olds and they are learning problem solving concepts...not that I'm breeding magnet child--it's simple stuff like top vs bottom and loud vs quiet. The teacher sets up activities that illustrate the concepts--Josie usually participates for a minute or two and then she has her own agenda to address. She loves the rocking ride, and all of the ladders and slides and balls, and drums, and the air log....and everything. It's great b/c I get to feel like I'm helping to teach her something, we never get rained out and when we pull up to the place Josie squeals with excitement and she looks like she could burst with excitement at any second...which would totally be worth the mess it would make!! Anyway, here are some pics so you can see Josie in action....
Well, with a title like that I just know I have you all on the edges of your seat. We took the girls to the Duck Pond on Sunday and we were the first people there for the day and thereby the most popular with the ducks who wanted breakfast, even if that meant eating my kids. Since it was early and they were still being sweet (my kids, I mean) I elected to skip out sacrificing them--this time. The ducks were really aggressive and after one of them charged and hissed at Josie, Daddy decided we were done...off to play we went. Fun was had by all. Josie is growing into quite the show pony these days and is constantly learning new "tricks". We call this one the Tripod--just her head and feet touching the ground, arms out. It is hilarious to watch her fold her body in half and she thinks it is hilarious that we laugh at her. Also, of late, Josie has been really into potty talk. When you ask her if she has pooped or whatever (hey, I realize we're getting into mom only territory her, but I promise it won't last long) she grabs her diaper and says potty and runs to the bathroom. So, the Denlers (and more specifically Josie) are proud new owners of a Royal Throne Potty. We went with blue since everything in our bathroom has to work around the blue tub. The potty has sensors in it so it knows when Josie has made a "deposit" and then it plays music. Funny. She likes it, but is still working on lining her body up the right way to sit on it. Not that Josie is saying bye to diapers just yet, but this does feel like progress.
