Cath In Color

I finally remembered to bring my camera to Kelly’s basketball game.  They played the first place team today and beat them by a score of 27-25.  It was such an exciting game and they really wanted to win this one.  Kelly took an interest in basketball last spring when her friend Lauren was showing her some moves & teaching her how to dribble.  In  late summer, she attended a basketball camp and enjoyed that a lot, so the next step was to sign up for a basketball league.  Her team is called the Hidden Valley Ghosts.  They have 11 girls on their team.  Five which are 4th graders and six which are third graders.  Kelly has become a very aggressive player, which is needed on the basketball court.   It’s fun to watch these girls and see how they improve each week.  Worth getting up early for on a Saturday morning.

Megan hard at work.

Megan had a project to work on at school for Social Studies .  She needed to do three activities on one subject and then present these to her classmates and teacher.  Her subject was Babylon.  She chose to do a painting of a cave drawing, a power point on the computer and a “walk through” of the city, which is similar to a diorama.  Her power point turned out so neat and very well done.  The cave painting was done with watercolors and the diorama was done with clay.  She did a lot of research for this and she did a wonderful job.  She’s still waiting to give her presentation but is hoping her name will be drawn tomorrow.  The waiting is the hardest part.  She just wants to get it over with!  Great job Megs!

The City of Babylon

Last night we had my brother Jim and his girlfriend Sandra, over for an autumn dinner.  Our theme was pumpkins & squash.  We started our day out with Pumpkin Eggnog and appetizers.  Later I made a pumpkin lasagna that I found in the Food Network magazine and it was delicious.  It was a basic recipe with a layer of pumpkin puree in it.  I didn’t taste the pumpkin but the others said they found a hint of it.  Nate made a loaf of bread and roasted some garlic, then grilled it for some homemade garlic bread.  Mmm….tasty.  For dessert, Nate made a steamed butternut squash pudding.  It tasted like a pumpkin pie!  Delicious and very filling.  We all loved it!  Afterward we played a fun game called, “Chat Pack.”  Made us laugh so hard that our stomachs hurt.  I have to find this game and get it for around the Christmas or Thanksgiving table.  Very simple and everyone can play.   No directions required…just answer questions.

Today is sunny and it looks like a beautiful fall day.  I think I’ll relax and enjoy it.

We had an exciting morning at school today.  The Junior High, which is right next door to our school had a visitor come to their school which we were able to enjoy as well….from our windows, anyway.  It was a Blackhawk Helicopter.  It landed in the soccer field, right next to our playground area.  We knew that this event was happening today, and it was a pretty spectacular sight to see.  It also was pretty obvious when it was coming.  We could hear it arriving from quite a distance and that made it even cooler!   Some of the teachers did not let their classes enjoy this moment, they closed their shades and said it was a distraction,  but others were able to see it.  Luckily, Megan & Kelly were in the classrooms that saw it.  Megan saw it land and Kelly got to see it take off.  I peeked out and saw it getting ready to leave the Junior High.   I would’ve loved to have been able to take a look inside.  I’m sure it’s loaded with high-tech gadgets and other neat stuff.  It was a sight to see!

It’s been quite a week.  We’ve had our ups & downs.  The week started out with lots of fun.  Kelly had a Girl Scout event at the rollerskating rink.  Their troop wore their Halloween costumes and Kelly tied for first place in her age group.  Then on Wednesday, she came down with an awful cold.  By Thursday, I had to keep her home from school.  She did go to school today because her class went on a fieldtrip to the ice skating rink.  Nate went along and she was so excited to have Dad at her fieldtrip.

Megan had a wonderful week!  She was running for Treasurer at school and won.  She got a part in the play, A Midsummer  Nights Dream (the part she wanted) and she scored a goal in floor hockey today.  I’m not sure how she can top this week.  They both had their fall parties at school today and enjoyed eating junk food and pop.

Tonight we carved our pumpkins, which is always fun around here.  It always gets us laughing and this was a week that we needed it.  Tomorrow night will be cold, but the girls can’t wait to go Trick or Treating!  I’ll be sure and blog about it.  Till then…..

Not sure who has the silliest face!

Kelly's pumpkin

We had an early morning today.  Kelly had her first basketball game at 8:15 a.m.  And I forgot my camera!!  It was a lot of fun to watch and to learn how this game is played.  I’m not familar with basketball just yet.  Kelly’s team lost a close one, 18-14, but I think they learned quite a bit from this game.  I did too, this is an aggressive sport!!   Kelly played hard and it was fun to cheer them on.  Go Polar Bears!!!  (they have white t-shirts)

It’s finally happening around here.  Our fall colors are beginning to pop out everywhere.  Today we had a beautiful, 50 degree day with lots of sun.   The trees looked spectacular and very vibrant.  We had a terrible week, weather-wise, so it was so nice to see the sunshine and get outside to enjoy the fresh air.  I worked on getting all of the summer tables & chairs put away. Our deck looks so empty now, but much larger.   I also put out the Halloween decorations.  Megan helped me hang skulls out by the front door and a witches broom.  We did some inside decorating as well.

The girls got out their chalk and used our driveway as their canvas.  They were in the Halloween mood, and made lots of neat drawings to jazz up our front. 

Megan's candycorn & bat

It felt so good to get outside yesterday and see the neighbors.  I started the day by running to the post office and library.  Then came home and took Jazz for a walk around the pond.  She was so excited to be going for a walk that I had to keep her on a short leash  for a while until she calmed down.  After that, I made a pan of pumpkin swirl cheesecake bars.  We enjoyed them last night after dinner and they were delicious.  A perfect fall treat.  

Nate went and bought himself a new toy for outdoors.  It’s like a leaf blower, only it sucks the leaves into the bag which he carries on his back.  He  reminded me of Bill Murray in Ghostbusters.   It worked really well and helps out his back.  No more bending over with a rake, we’ll leave that to the girls.   I also took out all of the screens in the windows.  For me, summer is officially over when I take those out.  I love being able to look out my windows again without a screen.  My house feels brighter.

Today, we may try and get outside for awhile before the Vikings take on the Baltimore Ravens at noon.   Tomorrow, we all head back to school/work.  Our Fall break felt long and it was nice to be able to sleep in.  Our next break isn’t until Thanksgiving….I hope it’s warmer by then. 

What a confusing October this has been.  Yesterday I was out picking pumpkins for Halloween and today I’m taking pictures of the girls building a snowman!  Crazy!!   It actually turned out to be a fun day.  We have this week off of school because of conferences and MEA workshops.  So when we woke up this morning and saw it snowing out and we didn’t have to go to school/work, it felt just like a snow day.  We dug out allof the winter gear and the girls got on their hats, mittens, boots, snowpants and jackets and headed out for some winter fun.  The snow was very wet and sticky so it was perfect for making a snowman and snowballs.  The girls decided to name their snowman, “Mr. Green” because we’re all “going green” these days and he was made out of all natural elements.  I thought this was pretty funny & creative.  After the snow fun, it was time to come in and have some hot chocolate and pizza rolls.  A great choice to warm you up!  

I hope I wake up tomorrow and it’s 90 degrees!  That would be a nice change.  The way this October is going…it could happen!

Today we headed out to Mark & Peggy’s to find our perfect pumpkins.  Terry and the boys joined us to make it even more fun.  When we first got out there, Mark brought us straight over to his popcorn machine for a yummy bag of freshly popped kernels with a variety of salts to add on top.  Mmm…a warm bag of popcorn in your hands is perfect on this cool fall day.  Love that aroma as well.

After our snack, we walked over to the greenhouse and found some beautiful pumpkins.  It was really hard to choose one this year because they had so many nicely shaped pumpkins that we kept saying, “oh, I like that one…wait, how about this one!”  ha!   But in the end, all four of us chose are best one and Terry’s boys got some interesting gourds to show off at their house.  Daniel told us that his will be great to stick a firecracker into after Halloween.  Boys…..

We’re suppose to get snow tonight and into tomorrow, so I guess my nice pumpkin display will have to come indoors for the night.  How sad is that.  I hope it warms up a bit for our trick or treaters.

Brrr…something is terribly wrong with our weather these days.  It feels like November and it should be October.  Temps should be 60 degrees, not 40!  Other than the weather being lousy, I had a good week.  The kids at school have been very cooperative lately and even my little kindergartener has turned it around.  Every morning, I continue to say hello to him and he greets me with a smile and tells me, “You look very beautiful today.”  He’s probably sucking up, but hey it’s better than having the “f” word yelled at me.  I’m actually enjoying working with him now.  He’s a fun kid with a great imagination and an even cuter smile.

Family news….Kelly is getting ready to begin basketball season.  Something new for her and she’s really been practicing a lot and enjoying her newest sport.   Megan finished making her poster for school.  She’s running for class treasurer.  She still needs to write her speech but feels she’s got a good chance to win.  I hope she enjoys this “political career” of hers.  It’s always a confidence booster.  I’ll let you know how the votes come out in a couple of weeks.

The Twins lost another game to the Yankees tonight.  They had many chances to win, but just kept throwing it away.  I guess we never expected them to beat the Yankees, but could they just get one game please!!