Old Time Christmas

The weekend after Halloween we headed down to southern Missouri.  Friday night we spent in Springfield.  We picked up Sam's friend Lucas and met Dana and Hannah for dinner at Newk's.  Then I took the boys back to Lucas' house for a sleepover.  We really miss seeing Lucas and his family and it was nice to catch up on what all they have been doing and the boys enjoyed time together just hanging out and playing.  The rest of us stayed at the Lowe's house and enjoyed more time visiting with them.  

Saturday morning John went hunting and the kids and I headed down to Branson.  Saturday was the start of Old Time Christmas at Silver Dollar City.  The kids always enjoy seeing the lights and parade and we had not made it down there all summer.  The weather was wonderful which was good and bad.  It made the day nice but it also made the lines long.  We are limited in what we can ride with only one adult but we had a good time on the rides we rode.  I think everyone's favorite of the day was Thunderation which we must have been on five times.  The nice thing about it was that the line was always short.  The parade and all of the lights made a great end to the evening. 

After Silver Dollar City we met John at a hotel in Branson where we had a late dinner and slept well from our busy days.  The next morning we hit the outlet mall for a few good deals.  Sam got a new pair of tennis shoes, which must be his third pair this year.  Every time I turn around his feet just keep getting bigger.  He now wears shoes that are bigger than mine!  That kid is getting expensive.  

After the outlet mall we headed back to Springfield where we met the Lowe's at Lambert's.  There is nothing better than their southern comfort food!  It was also nice to have more time with family.  After stuffing our bellies and a short trip back to Kevin and Dana's we headed home.  It was a busy and enjoyable weekend! 

Lovely Landscape

When we moved into our house we knew we wanted to do something with the landscape.  It was pretty sparse and did not have a lot of interest.  The thing that bothered John the most though was the yard.  John is a lawn guy and the back yard was no way up to his standard.  We have had bad yards before and he has spent so much time trying to make them look nice.  He decided this time he would just get new sod in the back so he could work more on maintenance than starting from scratch.  I will say the results are awesome! 
We were kind of thinking more along the lines of trees and grass with some nice plants but our landscaper went beyond that.  He added a great paver patio some awesome rock walls and a nice berm that really adds to our yard.  We have large windows on the back of our house and now we can smile when we look outside instead of dreading the work that needed to be done.  

Before:  This is the back and part of the side of our house, unfortunately I don't have an after of the same angle.  The new rock wall below is where the old castle retaining wall was.

 After

Before:  Basically the view off our back deck 

 After view off the back deck.  It actually looks like a yard instead of a field and the castle rock from above was reused to make a little garden spot to grow things next spring and summer.

Before:  This is taken from the deck but what you used to see out our large living room window.

After:  Our new berm with trees that will grow and give us privacy from that other house. 

 Our new rock wall and paver patio

 The rest are changes to the front of the house and one more up close of the patio! Everyone will need to come and see the changes.  

Treat Time!

Our Halloween did not get off to the best start.  Ella had been home the day before with some sort of stomach bug.  I thought she was doing better but right before school she was sick again.  The poor thing was so upset to miss her first Halloween party at school.   I was supposed to attend and help with games.  So, I had Sam wait with her in the car that morning while I took things into her class so they would have what they needed for the party.  The kids in her class were so cute asking about Ella and if she would be able to trick or treat that night.  I told them I didn't know it would depend on how she felt.  
Luckily, the sickness did not last and by trick or treat time she was feeling well and ready to go.  
Sam was a lego man for Halloween.  When I found directions for the costume on line I knew this was going to take some serious time and effort.  So, I simplified the costume from the original but it was still pretty labor intensive.  Luckily, John was willing to do a lot of the work too.  There is no way that my mind, which lacks any spacial sense, could have got the trapezoid shaped body to work.  We worked hard though and I think the costume turned out great!  It was a little tricky for Sam since seeing down was hard, and neighbors usually had steps to ascend to get candy but he was proud of the costume.  
Ella wanted to be an Olympic gymnast.  We made her costume too but I will tell you that it was super easy compared to Sam's.  If I include the time searching and shopping for the materials I still do not think it took us over two hours to make.  Ella enjoyed helping me to make the gold medal and I think it turned out super cute!  

They both enjoyed trick or treating in our new neighborhood.  Lots of kids were out and about and they got to see a lot of their friends from school.  They also returned with a serious amount of candy.  Plus, I overbought not knowing how many kids would come to our house.  So much for eating healthy before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.  

Jack o' Lantern Time

Time to make the jack o' lanterns!  As per our custom the last few years, John and Sam worked on his pumpkin and Ella and I worked on hers.  Ella wanted Ariel, but the only pattern I could find on line did not fit her pumpkin.  So, she decided we would make a spider and his web and save Ariel for next year.  Here is to hoping we remember to buy a long skinny pumpkin come next October.  The spider and his web turned out to be a lot more difficult than I had planned but I think it turned out okay. 

Sam picked out an even more intricate design.  A spooky, haunted house.  John worked on that pumpkin for a long time.  I think Sam later wished he would have picked something a little easier so he could have done more of the carving himself.  We will see if he remembers that next year also.  Overall we had a good time and the jack o' lanterns turned out pretty well I think.