Halloween and Emma's 10th Birthday

Well, I only have 45 minutes to spend on this blog today, so let's see what I can accomplish!

The quilted skirts and vests Emma and Leila are wearing here were worn a few decades ago by me and my sister Laurie. There's a seven year age difference between me and Laurie, and Emma and Leila are also seven years apart.

I wish my scanner was working so I could post the pic of me and Laurie wearing these outfits-! There's definitely a resemblance between both sets of girls. Like Emma, I had long dark hair and glasses and was the "big one". And like Leila, Laurie was fair-haired and blue-eyed and cute as a button.

I've kept my brown outfit over the years, and Laurie's kept her blue one. So in order to take this "historic" picture, Jon, the kids and I had to make a trip to Middleton.

Mom and Dad were also visiting Laurie that weekend, and Bob and John were able to come by and visit (albeit while watching the Badger game), so it was a family affair.

Mark cooked us a wonderful winter meal... sausage and mustard, roasted root veggies seasoned with fresh herbs, homemade apple sauce, and the best apple cobbler I've EVER had.



Delicious-!!!

We stayed overnight, and Jon and the kids had a chance to try out Dad's camp cots (I slept on the couch). It was really good seeing everyone.

Halloween weekend was busy. Emma was invited to a costume party, so we did that. Also there was a Halloween parade at the kids' school; Jon's been working four day weeks so was home and could attend (though he left early to bow hunt-!).

We went to Cornell on Halloween day, to visit with Grandma Jane and celebrate Emma's birthday a few days early. Jane baked a delicious cake with her famous chocolate frosting and showered all three kids with presents (she always has gifts for the non-birthday kids too, so no one feels left out).

We couldn't stay long because Jon had to leave for work that evening, so got home in plenty of time for me to take the kids out trick-or-treating. We trick-or-treated around Colfax for at least an hour, but Leila was a bit young for the experience and tired quickly. Instead of saying "trick or treat" at people's houses, she would try to rush inside and make herself to home. Also, she did not want to carry her treat bag and showed minimal interest in the candy. I was stuck holding her candy bag, and several people whose doors we knocked at seemed to regard my holding the candy bag with a skeptical eye. I was glad when Mikey and Emma agreed to cut things short.

Emma celebrated her 10th birthday by having six girls stay overnight the following weekend.

It went surprisingly well. The girls played hide and seek, made crafts, talked about boys, giggled, stayed up way too late, and snacked... a typical pre-teen slumber party.

Well, I'm impressed with myself because that only took half an hour! Maybe not my best writing effort, but oh well.

Happy November!!!