Eeeeeerrrrrrrriiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee.......

Yes, that night has finally arrived and all the neighborhood ghosts, goblins, monsters and vampires were out in abundance.  It had rained for a couple days before and today was no exception.  Hubby and I managed to get a few decorations up in the driveway yesterday, and we finished today inbetween rain showers.
 

  

  
Keeping the faith and our fingers crossed, it did stop raining around 5:00...yeah!  Although everything was soaked, it still meant the kids wouldn't get soaked while going house to house....and....my new fog machine was able to get a good workout!!  Money well spent!

The last check on lights, placement of "scary" props, scary music ready to go and making sure the fog machine was full, and we were set.  Sadly, Trick or Treating in our neighborhood isn't what it used to be.  Gone are the days of over 100 kids knocking on our door. For some reason I still find the need to buy for over 80....just in case :)  I'd hate to run out on any given year because I didn't buy enough! So this year I didn't buy any chocolate....I can't resist, and I don't need it....so now hubby can nibble at the big bags of Doritos that are left LOL!
 

  
Of course Halloween night wouldn't be Halloween night without a visit from the grandkids!  They looked so great in their costumes, and Hailee's best friend Olyvia came along for the ride. The kids have dinner with Olyvia and her family each Halloween night, and then they all go out for treats.  After visiting here they go back their for hot chocolate. A nice way to end a nice evening.
 

The girls, their friend Olyvia and our fireman Cade!

   

Cade was so darn cute in his Fireman costume...hehehe!  He even wanted to share his stash with grandpa and I.  He came up to each of us with a bag of goodies that he had collected and was so proud to be able to share :)) What a sweetie. And no, we didn't keep the bags LOL!

The girls were so excited and came running up the driveway looking at the creatures, lights and fog! Hailee was yelling "it's just like a haunted house grandma"!  What more could I ask for? 

There were a few kids during the evening who were even too scared to come up the driveway and I had to bring the goodies to them...hehehe. A few were saying they love coming here each year to see what I have up. Yes, even in my senior years I still have it when it comes to Halloween decorating :)

Our DIL asked the girls if they wanted a Halloween party next year....and that grandma could decorate.  The response was a loud and unanimous "Yeah"!!

So until next Halloween....

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Happy Day.....

Another beautiful, sunny Fall day is upon us. A nice change from the rainy, wet days we've had lately.  Our DIL was helping Hailee decorate her pumpkin at school this morning, so that meant lucky grandma would have Cade for a couple hours!  Yipeee!
 

Hey, you'd better not be drinking that Coffee Hailee LOL!

  Love that pumpkin :)

  

We played inside for a while, then he decided he wanted to go outside. So we bundled up...poor little guy has pneumonia....and went out to rake the leaves from the deck for Grandpa.  Then we took a little walk around the huge brush piles in the back corner of the yard, as well as fix the fencing that the bear trampled through last night....ugh. Darn bears. Don't they realize it's time to go to sleep for the next few months?

The time went way too quickly, and before we knew it, mom was in the backyard calling to us.  We played a game of hide and seek so she had to come look for us.....and find us she did. Just look at the great pic she took when she found us :)

  Grandma's going to have to stop crouching down

like this.  My old knees can't take it too well LOL!

     
Tomorrow we have Hannah over for a sleepover, so we'll have to think of some fun things to keep us occupied :)

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Pumpkin Fun....

Just in case you didn't know, it's pumpkin time!  And the little kids at schools from our area, and I'm sure from across the country, are spending some time this week choosing and decorating their very own pumpkins.  Some kids, like our little granddaughter Hannah, are lucky enough to take a field trip to a local grocery store where they tour the store and then decorate their own pumpkin to take home.
 

   
Now really, how exciting can a tour of the grocery store actually be? LOL!  I doubt there was any child in Hannah's class who hasn't visited a grocery store at one time or another with their parents, but the school feels the need to make them walk around and tour, when all the kids want to do is get to their pumpkins!
  
I think someone finally wised up, because instead of actually cutting out a pumpkin face and getting seeds/guck everywhere, they used various craft items and glued them to their pumpkins....markers to scribble on the pumpkin faces....and lots of creative thought processes :)
   

      
Hannah was quite proud of her prize pumpkin as you can see from the smile on her face :)  We do remember the last time Grandpa went with Hannah's older sister Hailee to carve her pumpkin at the grocery store. Mom and dad were a little busy at the hospital that day, waiting for Hailee and Hannah's little brother Cade to be born.  Afraid he just wouldn't wait until the next day so mom could carve a pumpkin with Hailee.....hehehe!  We waited and waited and Cade finally arrived late in the afternoon...5 weeks early, but still weighing in at 7lbs 1oz.  To say mom was relieved he was early, is an understatement LOL!
     

Wow, will you look at that baby face!!

Hard to believe it's been 3 years since Hailee carved

her pumpkin, or since Cade was born!

 



So now all that's left to do is wait until the 31st for the ghosts and goblins to come around with their trick or treat bags wide open, waiting for to see what each house is handing out. 

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Wheeee....wheeee....wheeeee.....

Guess who's THREE??  Yup, our little guy will be 3 years old tomorrow, but we all celebrated his big day yesterday. And what a beautiful day it was, inside and out.  The rain of the past week finally stopped and the sun was shining brightly. Just in time for Cade to ride his big red quad that a few of us chipped in to buy.  He's a natural and was riding that thing around the yard like he'd been born to do it LOL!

For weeks Cade has been saying he wants either a Tow Mater cake or a Spiderman cake.  I was trying to pin him down to which he wanted, when last weekend he completely changed his mind. Well, it's a little grandson's perogative, isn't it? LOL!

He loves to look at pictures on our laptops and kept saying he wanted to see the choo choo train cake.  It finally clicked in when I realize he wanted to see his Thomas the Train cake which I had made for his second birthday last year!
 

 
Well, all he could talk about was having a choo choo train cake again......this year!  As hard as I tried to change his mind back to Mater or Spiderman, he wouldn't hear of it and only wanted a choo choo train cake....hehehe! Sooooo I took liberty with my decorating and made a Tow Mater train cake.  It turned out pretty good, even if I say so myself.

Cade thoroughly looked at last year's cake and wanted the big chocolate tree and zoo animals as well. He's a guy who knows what he wants :)

All week our son and DIL said whenever anyone asked him how old he was going to be, his reply was "choo choo train cake" LOL!  He'd also go around the house with his arms stretched out saying that was how his chocolate tree was going to look. Such a smart little guy :)

I must add that it took me a long time to decorate the cake on Friday night.  I've been sick with the flu and a chest cold for over a week, and had been worried that I'd even get the cake done....but with a lot of breaks, it was finished.
 

   
  
Cade's Godmother was also celebrating her birthday yesterday, so I wanted to include her on the cake.  I have such a poetic mind....hehehe....and came up with banners. One said "Wheee....wheee...wheee.....guess who's 3?"  The second said "Matante Carole says, it's not me" LOL!  Matante is Auntie in French. 
  

  
So two special people who mean so much to each other, were able to share a choo choo train cake and enjoy their special day :)
  

That smile says it all :)

   

 

    Cade with Grandma and Grandpa!

    

Cade with memere and pepere!
  

The birthday boy got to spend the night with us last night too, so it was a doubly special day :)
 

On your mark, get set, gooooooo........

   

Hailee had plans to go to her BFF's Olyvia for a sleepover, and Hannah ended up going for her very first ever sleepover to her cousin Isabella's place!  Hannah was supposed to spend the night here too, but when Uncle Paul asked if she wanted to spend the night with Isabella, she was so excited.  I'm so happy that it worked out. It's a big step to have your very first sleepover at someone else's house, and not at one of your grandparent's homes....hehehe!  Yeah Hannah!!  To top off her big accomplishment, she also had Moose meat for supper, and she liked it!  You go girl...hehehe!

Having grown up myself in a hunting family, my days of eating wild meat are long gone, so I applaud Hannah for her two big steps yesterday.

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Path of Destruction....

Arrrggghhhhhh....not about GK's today, but rather the path of destruction I viewed when I lifted the bedroom blind this morning. Darn bears!

All my feeders were on the ground, the majority of them shattered, all the shepherd hooks were bent way over, and our big trash box was overturned and garbage strewn across the yard. Can we say mess?

So out we went to rake/pick up the trash....I was able to straighten up the shepherd hooks so they'll still do the job they were meant to do, and made a mental note to myself to bring in the feeders before it gets dark for the next little while.

This is the latest we've had bears. Guess global warming isn't just affecting humans, as with the warmer Fall weather, the bears have longer to fatten up.

Grandma loves you
xoxoxo

Cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze....

Sadly along with our Indian Summer and the changing Fall weather, we also have lots of nasty bugs to deal with.....head cold season...ugh!  Poor little Cade was up most of the night last night doing exactly the cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze thing.  So when mom didn't want to drag him grocery shopping this morning, he came here for an hour or so.

As usual, the first thing he does when he comes in is say "I eat Mama" LOL! And so the buffet begins. Of course this morning it started with a purple popsicle....hehehe....as is evidenced by his little purple tongue that he was more than eager to show everyone :)

     

         
Our time together went way too fast, but don't despair. He's coming for a sleepover tomorrow night...yipeeeee...and yes, there are more popsicles in the freezer!  See you then big guy!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Splish Splash...

Yeah.....both girls passed their swimming classes and are moving on to the next levels!  They sure enjoy being in the water. They already swim better than I do LOL!

Next week is a "fun" week, so no instruction, just play time!  Don't worry, grandma will be there with a lunch as always :)

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

Yes, it's that time of year again for us north of 49!  Thankgiving weekend, which usually mean lots of over eating, more over eating, and more over eating LOL!  Saturday was no exception, and neither was today!

Yummy!  Pumpkin pie is always a favorite
at our house!
     

Our weather has been unbelievable this Fall, so after stuffing ourselves on Saturday, the grandkids, daddy, mommy and grandpa went outside to have a fun game of road hockey! It's a good thing we saved all those old wooden hockey sticks from days gone by. Cut down, they make perfect sticks for the kids :)

Finally when the street lights came on and it was getting too dark to see the ball as it travelled out of range of the street light, it was time for a bath to get the days "dirt" off  LOL!

As it turned out, all 3 kids were going to stay overnight, then it slowly dwindled down to only one, Hailee, and as the rest of the family was pulling out of the driveway, even she decided to go home to sleep....hehehe!  Hope you all had a great night!
    

Oh my....when was the last time we were

able to do this on Thanksgiving weekend?
  

This afternoon we headed out to another relative's home for the whole family gathering. There should be around 35 people....more food, pies...over eating LOL!  What more can a person ask for on Thanksgiving weekend :)  They live on a small lake in the city and it was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon.

   

It definitely doesn't get any better than this :)

  

Perfect picnic weather with grandpa!

       

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Bend, twist, groan.....

Wow....I'm feeling the pain and I didn't even do anything LOL!  Last night was Hailee's 3rd dance class and I went to "spy" on her and see how she was doing.  I don't think I was ever able to get into the positions that these young girls were able to get into! Absolutely amazing.

They're preparing for their spring recital, so are wasting no time is learning the moves, bends and twists that will be on display for all the eager parents, grandparents, friends to be witness too in May.

Hailee just loves her class and we're all so happy. She's rather shy and this will be great for her to come out of her shell :))

This afternoon Grandpa went to school for a treasure hunt with Hailee and her class. He said it was a lot of fun :)  They sure are growing too fast for our liking. Before we know it they'll be graduating!

See you girls at swimming tonight!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Field Trips......

Having been a stay at home mom for our three sons, I was able to spend lots...and lots...of time helping at school, going on field trips with their various classes each year, and baking lots and lots of cakes for all the holidays. That's one decorated cake for each son, for each celebration LOL!

I've been very lucky to be involved in the same way with our two oldest grandkids, Hailee and Hannah :))  Grandpa however hasn't been as fortunate. Being a teacher for almost 30 years before he retired, he wasn't able to go on any field trips with our sons.  Sooooo he is now thoroughly enjoying Field Trips with Hailee and Hannah.

Over the last couple of years he's carved pumpkins at the grocery store a couple times, toured grocery stores, and has been involved in a few other things that this grandma's brain can't even remember LOL!

Today was no exception.  Hannah, who is in kindergarten, was having a Field Trip to the library in town.  Some of the chaperones were allowed to go on the bus, as room permitted, so Grandpa made sure he was at school early so he could ride the school bus with Hannah :)  One of her little friends was sitting with them on the bus as well, and another little girl came up to them and said she wanted to sit with Grandpa too....hehehe! Hannah let her know they didn't have room. She's very "protective" of her grandpa and doesn't like to share...as was evidenced by her holding his hand the whole time :)

All went well and she asked Grandpa if he would go with her the next time they go on a Field Trip :)  The smile on his face was huge, and makes me happy that he can enjoy doing things with the grandkids that I took for granted with our own sons.

Later this week he'll be at school with Hailee as her class has a treasure hunt. Should be fun and I look forward to hearing all about it :)

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo
P.S. Speaking of our Hannah, she didn't have a very good day yesterday.  Our DIL got a call from school, saying the little girl sitting with Hannah on the bus to school, was sick...all over Hannah :((  So our DIL brought fresh clothes etc and was able to get Hannah back into class with little lost time.  The thing I think that upset Hannah the most is that the girl was sick all over her new backpack :( It couldn't be salvaged.

I had been shopping in town and called our DIL about finding Fairy costumes for Hannah for Halloween. She asked if I could possibly go to a certain store to try and find the same backpack that she had to throw out.  Luckily I was able to find the same color...purple...but it had Pandas on it and not cupcakes as her original one had. She was still very happy, and so was I.

It's amazing at how things that can seem so insignificant to adults, mean the world is falling apart to a little child.

Laughter, Giggles and

   

Screams of delight!  Yes, it's that time of year again when the ghosts and goblins start to make their appearance in neighborhood yards, in anticipation of real live ghosts and goblins knocking on doors, anxiously holding Halloween bags wide open to see what bounty will be poured in :)

It all started with a phone call last night from Hailee. She wanted to tell me that she, Hannah, Cade, mom and dad were all walking over here this morning.  She was a bit worried that she may be too tired to ride all that way with her scooter, so I assured her that grandpa would come pick her up if she called along the way.

LOL...I should have known better than to offer that suggestion.  About 10 minutes from their house, our phone rang.  Come pick up the kids....hehehe....they had already stopped about 10 times and the kids said grandpa would come to pick them up :)

I knew they'd be hungry...as they always are....so I decided to make orange colored crepes, which they love, in honor of the season. Sure enough, they came in like a whirlwind and found the crepes immediately.... "where's the syrup, where's the Nutella, where's my fork??"

With full bellies, they ventured out to the garage with Grandpa in seach of Hannah's favorite Halloween decoration, the infamous witch she fell in love with when she was two, and has HAD to see first every year at this time! So that's why our garage and driveway were filled with lots of laughter, giggles and screams as all 3 grandkids and grandpa, dutifully emptied all my Halloween decorations....making sure to bring each new treasure into the house to scare mom, dad and grandma LOL!

  

They wanted to set everything up and were disappointed when we told them it was a month away and way too early to put it all out.  So a couple spiders and sheer ghosts with happy faces, made the cut. 
 

    

As they pulled out of the driveway, they were disappointed they couldn't stay longer, but the girls were off to their first Can Skate session this afternoon. No doubt there will be some sore bottoms and elbows later tonight LOL!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo