All I Want for Christmas...

Ella has managed to lose both of her front teeth within the last month.  She was really excited because all of the kids at her school that are missing their two front teeth get to stand up and sing the famous song during their all school sing along.  She is loving all the attention with people asking if she wants her two front teeth for Christmas.  

Beautiful Ballerina

Ella had her first dance recital a few weeks ago.  She was super excited to get to perform on the big stage.  They have been practicing their ballet routine for over a month now and the girls were ready.  Ella did an excellent job and looked absolutely adorable.  Dance has definitely taken over as her favorite activity.  

This is the pose she does at the end of her dance. 

All smiles and ready to go perform. 

Away in a Manger

Sam with Santa and the elves. 

Waiting for her turn to perform.

Cutest kids in the pageant! 

Last Friday night, our church put on it's annual Christmas Pageant.  Both kids wanted to participate again this year.  Sam played the part of Sam.  In the play there are kids from modern times who are talking to Santa and asking questions about Jesus.  Sam was one of those kids.  He did a great job!  I think he spoke the most clearly of all the kids and he was so excited to receive many compliments after the show.  


Ella was a shepherd in the play.  Her part was not too big, which she was disappointed about, but they give the larger speaking roles to the older kids.  She looked adorable though in her outfit and performed well.  My mom and dad were able to make it to the play this year.  We were so excited to have them there to watch the performance and enjoy the reception with us afterwards.  

Teacher Appreciation

I am in charge of teacher and staff appreciation for my kids' school this year.  It is a much more time consuming job than I realized when I accepted it.  I never realized how many staff members are at the school.  But, I am happy though to recognize the people who are spending the day with my children and have such a tremendous impact on their lives.  

Each month I plan something to recognize their hard work and dedication. For December, each staff member usually gets a small monetary donation from our PTA.  This year we decided to make cute gift bags to hold the donation.  It took a lot longer than expected but I think the bags turned out great!  I might have to do this project again for something on a smaller scale.  

All of the completed bags. 

An up close look at our finished project! 

The Magic Tree

One Christmas tradition in Columbia is to stop by The Magic Tree.  The tree has over 44,000 lights and it is fun to watch the faces of young and old as they enjoy watching the lights change colors.  The kids and I enjoy driving by and stopping for a few pictures.  

Ella and Sam peeking around the tree!

Getting Ready for a New Little Paine

It is hard to believe but in two months we are going to have a new little Paine in the family!  We had Laura's baby shower to celebrate and help them get some things for the new baby.  The shower was at Christy's house and we were so happy that almost everyone was able to come and help celebrate.  
We did the traditional shower activities; food, a game and presents.  One of my responsibilities was the game which Ella and Sam were super excited about.  They made sure I got them at game time, helped get it all set up and helped with the presentation.  I think everyone had a good time and we helped get baby Paine all set up with some things he or she will be needing in a few months!  I can't wait.  

The guest of honor by the goodies!

The food table (I forgot to take the picture until most people had been through). 

Cute little onesie that Christy made to go with our theme!

Opening gifts 

 

Taking on the Teachers

The kids school has a chicken BBQ and carnival as their big fundraiser for the year.  It was a good time and the kids love running around and playing games.  Part of the event is a silent auction.  In the auction the teachers usually sell some sort of time with them and they become some of the biggest money makers.  
The first grade teachers sell a pizza party during lunch for your child and a friend.  The kids love to have special time with their teacher and that is what Ella was set on winning.  It took a lot of bidding but we won it and Ella enjoyed her time with the teachers.  
The fifth grade teachers needed something a little more exciting to get the fifth graders to want to participate.  They auctioned off a game of laser tag against the teachers for you and three friends.  We knew this would bring in a lot of money so we made a plan.  Sam's friend Jacob had his parents bidding on the event too.  His mom decided we should split the cost and let each boy choose one other friend to attend.  It worked and the boys won the party.  They were so excited that they were talking strategy at their lunch the day of the event.  They had an absolute blast and best of all they beat the teachers! 

All ready to go! 

The teachers have on their game faces. 

Sam was Gladiator and was so excited to have the high score! 

This how we kept entertained while they played.  

A Spooktacular Time

We had a good time this Halloween!  It started with the parties at school.  I am Sam's room mother this year so I was in charge of his party.  We did a minute to win it theme and the kids really got into it.  They were excited and I was so glad they enjoyed their party.  Ella had fun at her party too.  Our friend Christi did her party which was a camping theme.  They had a pretend fire set up that the kids sat around and ate s'mores and told stories.  I was a little jealous I could not attend too.  

Then it was home and time to do a few things before getting dressed in our costumes.  Ella wanted to be Saige, the American Girl doll this year.  Her costume was really easy since they sell outfits just like the dolls at the store.  So with a pair of boots, a look a like hair do and some drawn on freckles she was good to go.  Sam decided to be Uncle Si from the television show Duck Dynasty.  We raided John's closet for some boots and camouflage and a blue t-shirt (I still can not believe that he and John wear the same shoe size).  I went on line and found a pair of fake glasses, a beard and a hat and Sam already had a tea cup so we were ready.  I think they both turned out really well. 

Sam's class doing one of the Minute to Win It challenges. 

Sam having fun at his party. 

The campfire at Ella's class party.

Ella enjoying herself. 

Ella and Saige

Ella, Saige and some of the ghost lanterns we made.

Sam as Uncle Si

Out trick-or-treating

The kids and I headed out trick-or-treating a little after six o'clock.  We just walked some of the streets in our neighborhood.  They trick-or-treated for a little over an hour when they decided to head home.  About that time John texted and said we were almost out of the seven bags of candy I had bought that week.   I couldn't believe it!  I thought we would have left overs for sure.  Luckily, the trick or treaters were slowing down and we just turned off our light a little before eight when it was mostly the teen agers.  It was a fun night and the kids have plenty of candy to eat in the upcoming months! 

Carving New Memories

The pumpkin carving at our house took place the night before Halloween.  This year Ella decided she did not want to make her pumpkin with me she wanted to carve with her dad.  Sam of course, wanted to carve with John too because that is the tradition.  So, I got relegated to searching the internet to help both kids search for patterns that would eventually become their jack-o'-lanterns.  The good news is they both basically cleaned their own pumpkins so we did not have to help much in that area except to clean up the mess they made on the table in the process.  
Ella wanted something spooky but I wasn't quite ready for the creepy pumpkin and I managed to talk her into a bat that I thought was pretty cute.  Sam took forever to decide on his pumpkin.  He wanted a Duck Dynasty jack o lantern at first but the patterns were all too difficult, then he wanted a sports theme but couldn't find one he liked so we eventually went back to the Halloween theme and picked out a mummy.  I think they turned out really well.  

The finished products; Ella's jack o' lantern she did herself, the bat she did with Daddy and Sam's mummy.

Pumpkin Carving Party

Our friends the Hoyts have an annual pumpkin carving party that is so much fun!  Megan is a great party planner but we haven't been to one of the parties since Sam was a toddler because we have lived in different towns.  They just moved back to Columbia and we were so excited to get an invitation to their event.  Unfortunately, Sam had his last football game at the same time as the party so it was just the girls attending. 
Ella even cleaned and carved her own pumpkin.  My only job was to cut off the top.  I think she wanted to be like Molly, our friend who is three and half years older.  I was amazed at what a good job she did.  We had a fun time and are looking forward to next year when hopefully we can all attend. 

Ella cleaning out her pumpkin

Molly getting ready to start carving.

Ella's face painting.  She wanted a snake and a mustache!

Some of the finished products.  Ella's is in the very front. 

We Knew it Was Coming, Just Hoped Not Yet

Well, our Tigers suffered their first loss of the season.  Things were looking pretty good with a 17-0 lead at the start of the fourth quarter but our luck wore out quickly.  We had not really played well all day and ended up losing to South Carolina in the second overtime.  
There were some good points to the weekend though.  Scott came to tailgate and go to the game with us, we got to see some old friends from our college and John's medical school days, and we had some good weather.  I guess we can not be too disappointed with all of the fun that we had.  

Cousin bonding!

The girls playing in the car.

Sam enjoying some tailgate goodies. 

House Decs

We learned a valuable lesson about house decorations this year...go early.  We left the basketball game at half time because there would still be an hour left of house decs.  Well, we got to see a lot of the scenes but did not see one skit.  Poor Ella, she had really been looking forward to it.  We waited at one skit for over twenty minutes while they waited on the judges before deciding to move on to a new location.  The problem was we kept missing the skits everywhere we would go.  We did manage to still get a few cute pictures.  

Ella did get to fish for a duck and win a piece of candy. 

Waiting for the house dec that would never start. 

Next year I promised we would do house decs before any other activity.  

Return to the Hearnes

So, I know we have had a lot of Mizzou on this blog lately and that trend is likely to continue since this is a busy time of the year for sports fans.  Last Friday was the "Return to the Hearnes" and the start of the Missouri Tigers basketball season.  The game was held in the Hearnes Center where old people like me used to watch basketball.  My kids had never been to a basketball game there and were amazed at how big it looked when they opened up the top sections that are usually covered during volleyball matches. 

The purpose of the night was to honor the 1993-1994 Tigers who went undefeated in the Big 8.  Yes, that was when I was in college when we had an old arena and Missouri played in the Big 8.  It was fun seeing the old players that I used to root for as a student.  The crowd was great despite so many other events occurring around campus since it was Homecoming weekend. 

The current Missouri Tigers started their season with an exhibition game against Oklahoma City.  There were a few rough spots for the Tigers with all of the new faces on the court but they should have a good season.  We were only able to stay for the first half but I am looking forward to getting back into Mizzou Arena and nights filled with basketball.  

Truman repelling from the ceiling.  He used to do this at every game at The Hearnes Center.

Game Time

Ready to cheer on his Tigers. 

GO Tigers!

We have become big fans of the volleyball team this year!  They are having an amazing season, and after the football loss yesterday, they are our only undefeated team.  Last Friday we headed over to the Hearnes Center for their match against Georgia.  They have a kids' carnival before hand so we went early to participate in the activities.  Ella and Sam made posters to hold up during the match.  Then, Ella played in the bouncy house while Sam played basketball on a hoop they had set up in the field house.  
The match was a good one.  The Tigers won 3-1.  It was fun cheering them on to victory! I think we are heading to watch them play again this Friday night. 

An A"Maze"-ing Adventure

Last Friday night we headed out to Shryock's Corn Maze.  It is owned by my friend Debbie, that I used to work with in Auxvasse, and her family.  I had taken my classes there on field trips when I used to teach and they loved it! I had wanted to take the kids last year but we were just too busy.  Our church was having a campfire at Shryock's Friday night and we were free! So, everything worked out perfectly for us to go.  
We arrived early because I wanted to do the maze during daylight.  The kids had fun inside playing in the corn box while I talked to one of their teachers who happens to work there in the evenings.  They also loved the gum ball maze.  I had been telling them about it on the way out and was so glad it didn't disappoint.  It is a really cool thing to watch.  

Outside the big,red barn

Sam is burying Ella in the corn kernels. 

The gum ball coaster.

After the tour of the barn we headed outside to the maze.  The maze is huge and takes quite a while to navigate.  There are check points along the way where you stop and answer questions and get a hole punch.  We only found 5 of the 8 checkpoints before it got dark but had fun searching.  Then it was back outside the maze and to the fire pit with our church group.  They provided hotdogs and the makings for s'mores.  Sam loved cooking over the fire.  Ella wasn't a fan of the smoke but loved the chocolate bars and ate way too many! It was a fun time and I'm sure they will be begging to return next year. 

Racing through the maze

Found a checkpoint! 

Sam is going for two at a time!