Go-go Girl

Genevieve is a big fan of stickers. She sticks them to the front of her clothes; she sticks them to the back of her clothes; and you better watch out because when you are not looking, she'll stick them on your clothes too. The other day, she was decorating with some alphabet stickers, making sure each one had their own designated spot on her shirt. Later when she was walking around the backyard, I had to laugh when I noticed she spelled the word "Go" unintentionally on her back with stickers. I had to run in to get the camera because this shot was too priceless to miss!

Trick or Treat!

The girls had a great time trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Olivia wanted to be a robot this year, so we borrowed some ideas from Family Fun magazine and made a fun homemade costume out of mostly recycled materials. Genevieve didn't care what she was dressed as this year (next year, she will surely have her own opinion), so she borrowed the kitty cat costume Olivia wore when she was little. Genevieve made it to about five houses, and she was ready to turn in for the night. Olivia stayed out a couple of hours later and crashed when she got back home after eating only two of her treats.

This picture is of the girls at our neighbors', the Surles' and Greens', house which is one of their favorite houses to trick-or-treat at each year.








This picture is of Olivia and her neighbor friend, Bryn.

This picture is of our neighbors', the Thomas family, who dressed in 1950's apparel.










This photo is of Olivia and her sweet buddy, Ethan. Finally, this photo is of Olivia and Eve with their cousins and neighbors, Elena (The Cat in the Hat), Gabby (Thing 1), and Jonah (Thing 2).

Falling Leaves and Spooky Things!

What a fun fall season this has been so far! Here are some photos of the girls enjoying cooking, crafting, and being spooky in October.

Eve is laying down on her belly to get a close-up look at her drawing of a spider web.

The girls made spider snacks one day. I was surprised at how well Eve did poking the chocolate chip eyes in and not eating a single one. Olivia loved calculating the number of chocolate chip eyes and pretzel legs she would need for 3 spider snacks.

The week before Halloween, we went to the YMCA pumpkin patch to buy our pumpkins, and although there weren't many to choose from, the girls had fun playing around the pumpkins and props.

This year, we decided the girls should paint their pumpkins while we carve a "family pumpkin". The girls enjoyed participating in the painting and no one complained of slimy pumpkin fingers! Olivia chose glow-in-the-dark paint, and they looked great under the blacklights Brian installed on the porch.




The girls also made old-fashioned paper mache' pumpkins. Olivia blew her balloon so big that she decided it looked more like a skeleton's head than a pumpkin, so she painted it likewise. Genevieve loves stickers, so even though she didn't care for the paper mache paste on her fingers, she kept asking for more "stickers" (newspaper strips) to put on her balloon. In case you might want to try this sometime, we used these directions for making a Bumpkin Pumpkin.
Finally, we made glow-in-the-dark T-shirts for the girls to wear the night before Halloween. Olivia wanted a skeleton body, and we decided Eve would look cute in a Blinky ghost (Pac Man) shirt. Here are our girls in their spooky shirts!

Happy Fall, Y'all!

The Wheels on the Bus

Olivia started riding a shuttle bus home every day from school and the drop off is a park within walking distance of our house. She loves riding the bus home, especially because she gets to sit by two of her best neighborhood buddies, Sarah and Isaac. Eve enjoys the change in plans too because now instead of having to be awoken early from her nap, she gets to sleep a bit longer and then play at the park until the bus arrives. There are so many children attending the elementary school this year that this shuttle bus is a solution to the traffic problems associated with pick-up. Next year, there will be a new elementary school in our area, so the kids will be divided up, and the shuttle bus will be discontinued. We are enjoying it while it lasts!