Bethie's Buzz: Pumpkins, Games, Field Hockey Banquet, Costumes, Wands, Cookies, and Foliage

Dear Friends and Family,

When I last posted, Will was still sick - and that lasted until just before his class field trip on Friday to the pumpkin patch. Luckily, he recovered just in time, and we had a splendid time with his class. Later that night we attended the elementary school's Fall Fun Night. Will was even well for a fun birthday party at the roller rink on Saturday, and then still well for our Island Halloween celebration on Sunday. But come Monday the poor kid started to tank again - no fever, just moving really slow and complaining about everything. Finally, he woke up on Monday night crying about his ear and sure enough, he developed an ear infection. I'm very happy to say that we were able to get him antibiotics and almost instantaneously, he was better!

The last two weeks have been crazy - but also lots of fun, so I apologize for not posting to my blog last week.

The pumpkin patch: I was lucky enough to be selected as a chaperone for Will's trip to the pumpkin patch. The school took the kids to Greenstreet Gardens - a nursery that I have loved going to for the past 4 years (with both of the kids in Pre-K). Will and I were both happy to be back, and we had a wonderful time with his classmates.

The corn box is always a hit!

Corn maze! Believe it or not, we found our way back out...the entrance!

Fall Fun Night: The PTO puts together a really fun fall festival at the school, and the kids always have a blast. There are tons of game stations where almost everyone gets some kind of prize, along with a cake walk, a big craft table, and snack tables. Not to mention, the fun of being at school after hours and seeing the cafeteria and gym transformed into spooky Halloween fun!

Claire and Will face off in the straw races

Will and Sam stay focused at the craft table

Claire has fun catching up with her friend Riley

Claire's last Field Hockey Game and end of the year Banquet: Believe it or not, the girls ended their season "undefeated!" Claire was so nervous about losing her last game, and the team they played kept the game close, but in the end, the girls pulled off the win. At the banquet, the coaches gave Claire an award called "Practice Makes Perfect," because it was Claire's first year playing and she practiced so hard that she played amazing during the games. We are all so proud of her.

Claire with her coaches - Will and Sheryl - getting her awards.

Our Island Halloween and Actual Halloween: We celebrated our Island Halloween on Sunday at our friends, the Whitlatch family's, driveway. They provided pizza, a cauldron of soup, beer, water, and prizes for a costume contest. They even put together a haunted house through their garage! Claire went as Hermoine Granger - a character from the Harry Potter books/movies, and Will went as "Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town" - a character from the Pokemon shows. The reason I put that in quotation marks is because, when people asked Will who he was dressed as, he told them "Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town," the same introduction the character Ash uses to introduce himself in the show.

And, since I can't seem to just let Halloween pass me by, I dressed up as "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead." It was actually my replica of a funny comic drawing/play on words I had seen a month or two before. People thought it was so funny to see me laying on the ground in my homemade costume that I ended up winning the prize in the Adult Female category.

Our friends, and party hosts, Colin and Maggie Whitlatch

On actual Halloween, I had a few tricks up my sleeve. I decorated the dining room for a spooky dinner, and since the kids love Papa John's (which went out of business in our area) I drove to the Annapolis Papa John's while they were in school for a carry-out order. I had a pizza made to look like a jack-o-lantern, and a bunch of their favorite bread sticks.

When the kids got home from school, I gave them an after school fruit snack that looked like a candy corn in a jar. Then I tried to serve them jello shaped like a brain - but my kids won't eat jello. Then I told them I made them pumpkin pie for dinner. Even Chris looked at me upset because he's not a fan of pumpkin pie. That's when I surprised them with the Papa Johns! (Get it? Pumpkin Pie, because the pizza pie looked like a jack-o-lantern!) They were all excited to not have to eat real pumpkin pie. To drink, I gave them a goblet of Bat Blood. Will cried and said, "But I don't want to drink Bat's blood!" I said, it's not really bat's blood, it's Pomegranate juice. Will said, "I don't want to drink that either!"

Chris surprised the kids with a few of the Harry Potter movies, which they put on straight away. Our friend Christian handmade the kids wands for Halloween! Will decided he needed to hold one through the whole Harry Potter movie.

Christian's amazing wood work!

Our spooky dinner

Candy corn in a jar - pineapple, cantaloupe, & whip cream

Will is ready to use his wand!

Something Sweet - Fall Foilage and Girl Scouts: Claire's Field Hockey season is ending just as Girl Scout cookie season is getting into full swing! We had our first booth sale in Annapolis this past weekend and it was a big success! Also, last week had a share of gorgeous mornings, making my early walks even more enjoyable.