Zach's religious art

Zach made this in faith formation the other night. I don't think we've got a future Michelangelo on our hands, but he's got the basic idea down. 

gendercide

Jaw-droppingly scary...

Halloween '14

Skippy wasn't over fond of his sombrero...

We had an unintentional theme of white costumes this year.  Zach the ghost, Adri the Easter Bunny, and mummy Nicky.

And one more, with Michael in it, even though he didn't get in on the fun.

The mummy costume only lasted about a block.  It unraveled and poor Nicky waddled up to a few houses with his feet pretty much tied together.  Had to make an emergency run home for Dracula's cape instead.

Since Skippy was a big old party pooper about his $1.99 doggy sombrero, we used it elsewhere.

Adrienne had the biggest haul this year, probably her last one trick-or-treating.  She was embarrassed when some of her classmates in the neighborhood answered the door to hand out treats.  Just so hard to say good bye to that lovely assortment of free candy...

Crescendo

October goings on

It's been a pleasantly warm autumn so far, for the most part.  Last Wednesday we all went to the football game to see the marching band perform their halftime field show for the final time.  The game itself wasn't really worth watching, unfortunately, but the band has improved throughout the season.

Super up close Michael trombone action!

Thank goodness for zoom lenses.  Michael's the front man of the middle row.  Seniors got to do the last show minus their hats.  I mean Shakos.

The kids had Thurs. & Fri. off for MEA last week.  Nicky & Zach wanted to try a pumpkin rice crispy recipe I saw on Pinterest. 

We headed down to see Nana in the hospital on Friday, who seemed pretty chipper despite recovering from partial hip replacement surgery after a bad fall earlier last week.  

The harvest is in full swing.  Nicky got to ride in the tractor and combine with Papa for a while.

buckle up

Cuz it's gonna be a long ride.  Nate says he can't wait for the special extended versions to be released.

Peter Jackson announces plans for 72-part movie series of the Silmarillion

Michael got an F

But first things first.  A couple weekends' worth of stuff here.  Zach had a b-day just over a week ago, and his grandparents all came bearing gifts for little man's lucky number siete.

And this is what spoiled rotten looks like.  After opening presents from everybody all at once, it looked a tad obscene.

And as for Michael's F... it's an academic letter, woo-hoo!

Lastly, we made our annual excursion to Redwing on Saturday.  A little early for it, but Michael has a marching band event coming up on the October weekend we'd normally go.  I suppose as the kids get older, we'll run into more conflicts like that.  *wiping tears for old fogey kids*  Anyway, it worked out great, with bright sun and temps in the 80's.  We found our way to a lovely overlook that had a good view of Barn Bluff, the one we usually climb (as seen in previous Crayziee entries).
 

dining room redo

We put it off and put it off.  The wallpaper needed to go.  For almost 10 years, the dining room project loomed in the background but we tried not to think about it.  Because wallpaper.  Finally gave in and started removing it a few weeks ago.  Replaced the carpet while we were at it, too.  I like how it turned out, and it feels good to have the furniture back where it belongs, instead of piled in the living room.

snerk

"My mascara's coming off!"

Had some fun on Lake Waconia over the weekend when my brother Chris and his fiancée Jenny took us out on their new boat.   Except Michael the water-phobe, the kids all tried tubing.  Zach wasn't too keen on it, but the middle two were.  Had a good laugh when Adrienne, who's just started to wear a little makeup, realized her mascara was running down her face.  Heaven forbid somebody see you in the middle of a lake without luscious long thick eyelashes.