Halloween Costume Parade

For those of you who know Nora this will probably not surprise you, but can I just say how lucky I am to have a friend who thinks up, plans, and then lets me come to all these great activities! I think she should write a book on party planning (just puttin' it out there). :)

Anyway here is our latest activity. Most of the kids in Nora's neighborhood were off track today--so Nora planned a neighborhood + the Noels costume parade/Halloween party for the kiddos. We paraded down the street, trick-or-treated at a few houses (she had pre-arranged this since it was the middle of the day), we ended at her house were we frosted Halloween cookies, played catch the ghost, there was a little pumpkin walk game (like a cake walk), a craft, and one other game! The kids loved it, the weather was perfect, so I hope Nora is up for a repeat next year!

Here are some pics of the fun day.

Nora's Addie the Snow Queen--she was particularly impressed with Nora's hairstyling abilities, to which Nora responded with "I grew up in the eighties--I know big hair."

Nora's Ben, the Ben-bot.


Nora's Paige-a butterfly. Paige is so photogenic--every picture I take of her looks great!

My Ian--Spiderman (I think you might recognize those brown eyes).

My Miles--little Winnie-the-Pooh. He was sick this morning, but paint his nose and give him two suckers to hold and he was back to happy in no time.

Ian making his Halloween cookie.

Ian playing catch the ghost.

Nora--thanks for the great day. You are amazing and talented and we love being the beneficiaries of your talents.

Funny Pics

Another late night scrapping. I just thought these pics were soooo....cute. What a funny boy! Everything is from GG Digitals except the title card and bow which are from Digital Scrapbook Memories. A lot of you have asked about the digital scrapbooking--I plan on doing a post on the how to's soon, but it's past midnight and I'm going to go catch a few zzzz's.

Adventure's in Ian Land

Ian has been up to some craziness lately--here are his latest antics.

Look mommy I fit in the dryer!

Look at me all warm, dry and smelling like bounce.

Science experiment #1. Put whole milk in a pie tin. Let it warm to room temp. Add drops of food coloring. Then add a few drops of liquid soap--and watch the action. (The soap reacts with the fat in the milk creating some really cool bubbles and swirls with the food coloring)

Lab monkey (a.k.a. Spiderman) conducting this science experiment.

Science experiment #2. Fill empty water bottle 2/3 full with oil. Color some water in a separate container. Add colored water to oil == lava lamp (kind 0f).

Noel Look-alike Meter

I did the celebrity look alike thing, but it kept saying I looked like a man so we will wait until I can find a picture that says I look like a super model before we post that.

Noel Look-alike Meter

I thought these were so funny! I always thought Ian looked more like Dave and Miles more like me! Go figure.

The Pumpkin Patch

Last Thursday Miss Nora invited us to go to the pumpkin patch with her preschool class. It was so fun and of course when done Miss Nora style was not just a visit to the pumpkin patch, but an adventure in the pumpkin patch. We wandered through the patch. Miss Nora found a great spot, spread a blanket and read the kids some Halloween stories. The kids played hokie-pokie around a pumpkin, jump over the pumpkin, and ring around a pumpkin. Then they went on a pumpkin hunt to find their own little pumpkin with their name on it (even Miles got one). After a lap around the patch (to run of some energy) everyone was rewarded with pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! It was a hit! We love you Miss Nora and can't wait for the next field trip. Here are some cute shots of the kiddos.

Miss Nora reading to the kids.

Miles obediently sitting on a pumpkin.

Ian's little tiny pumpkin.

Hey--they might not be smiling, but at least they are both looking at the camera (kind of).

Just a few happeings....

Just a warning--this post has a lot of pictures.

So, the other day I was running and I saw this field of long grass that looked perfect for picture taking. Yesterday I took the boys over to get some shots. They were far from cooperative. Neither of them wanted to set foot in the field with the "pokey" grass. Miles hogged the camera while Ian wouldn't look at the camera or smile at all. I took a bunch of shots, but they all look pretty sad. Here are the best ones.

Miles the camera hog--Ian the non-participant.

Miles decided if he wasn't smiling, big crocodile tears would work the camera. Zoom in and you'll see the biggest tears ever.

Maybe I could photoshop a happy face onto Miles in this shot then we would have a winner of a shot.

Do you remember the post about decorating the basement? It was a long time ago--but I am still trying to decorate. Here is the new arrangement above the couch. I thought the stars turned out particularly cute. Thanks Nora--I got them at Tai Pan!

Grandma Lee always said you should take pictures of your holiday decorations so you know where to put them the next year. :) So here are a few pics of our Halloween decorations. These pumpkins I made years ago, but have never finished--if you look closely they are missing the stems on the top that were suppose to be there.

Whoops--out of order picture. More basement decor. Here are the letters I put up in the play area downstairs. They look really cute, but I stuck them on with sticky tack so I wouldn't have to put so many holes in the wall, and they keep falling down--maybe nails aren't such a bad idea.

Here are some Halloween decorations Grandma gave us--they stack like those Russian stacking dolls.

Funny faced witchy.

More decorations from Grandma. I think she wanted to make sure we remembered her at every holiday! Although there is plenty of stuff in every room in my house from her-so I am reminded of her every day.

The pumpkin bell--Miles likes to haul this around and ring it very loudly.

Ian is learning to play Star Wars on the piano. I put stickers on the notes and he sits down and practices all the time! Maybe he can show off at my recital in November. What a talented little guy!