TRICKER TREAT

If you are from the Philly area, you didn't grow up saying "trick or treat."  It usually got slurred into "tricker treat!"

On Friday, Andy dressed up for work as "Mr. Moneypants!"  They had a potluck for lunch and he made some of his award winning chili.

Friday night Andy and I were invited to an adult only party.  We decided to dig out the 80's costumes and dress up alike as a couple.  We had a great time!

Saturday started off with a Florida vs. Georgia game brunch at the neighbor's.  Toni and Mitch are huge Georgia fans.  Many of our neighbors are big Gator fans.  The game is a huge rivalry and it's played every year here in Jax.  The Hunt's have hosted a brunch for the past 4 years.  It's become a favorite tradition for all of us regardless of who we cheer for during the game!

After brunch we headed home to carve our pumpkins.  We can't do them in advance here because the humidity will rot them too quickly.  Both kids are good about cleaning them out on their own and carving their own designs.  They make a big mess, but have a blast!

Ra's pumpkin was a 4 sided face and Sis' was a cat.  Mom carved a funny face.  Of course I forgot to take pictures of the finished products!  They went into the trash on Sunday because they would spend the rest of the week rotting in our record breaking heat!  89 on Sunday and 88 on Monday!  Geesh!

I decided to roast some of our pumpkin seeds.  I roasted them with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.  They were so delicious!

Here are our little tricker treaters!  Sis wanted to go as a cat and Ra as a football player.  They sure made my life easy and cheap this year!  I only had to buy the cat ears and tail!  

Our street barricaded the street once again and had the kids together for dinner and a parade.  Each house brings their treats out to the street and the kids can run free up and down the street without fear of cars or getting lost.
 

Some neighbors were cooking up "halloweenies" and others were busy handing out candy, baked goods, beer and cocktails to the adults, etc.  We love our street and this is a great example of why.  Everyone pulls together to make Halloween fun for the kids and for the adults.  It's a great place to live!  We ended our night at the Benz's house.  They are our kids' surrogate grandparents.  The kids love to go visit them and they are super sweet to Ra and Sis.

Harvest Centers + Book In A Bag Character Dress Up

The 2nd Grade has been working on reading and writing.  They did a book report on a book of their choice and talked about it to their classmates.  At the end of the week, they dressed up as a character in their book and then shared with the other two classes about their books hoping to interest others to read their book.  They decorated and wrote about their book on a bag and then inside the bag contained 3 items related to the story to help them explain their book.  It was a cute idea and Sissy really enjoyed it!

Here she is with her buddy Arabella.  She was dressed up as Kenzie, the gymnast in her book.

After they shared their stories, they had Harvest Centers.  Each table worked on a different concept.  This was them working on math using candy corns!

This is Jude...She says she doesn't "like" him, but we all wonder if there is any truth to that statement!

One of their tables was to create a scarecrow out of cookies, icing and decorations!

I am so pleased with her progress this year.  She and I both just love her teacher this year.  She is absorbing everything Mrs. C. says in class and teaches.  

Football Banquet

Last night was the MS football banquet.  Andy and Ra went to the banquet together.  It was an opportunity for the kids and coaches to reflect back on a fun season!  

Ra and his buddy Connor at the banquet

Getting his award from Coach Durden

Ra really enjoyed being a part of the team this year and is looking forward to what is in store for him in the future.

Let My People Go

Sis learned about Moses and Pharaoh this week in her Bible lesson.  They had to pretend they were Moses and write a letter to Pharaoh.  This was her letter - She was pretty firm in her demands!

Dear Pharaoh,

I demand you to LET THEM FREE! I am angry that they have to live in slavery!  SET MY PEOPLE FREE!  I'm MAD at you.

From,

Moses

Sense of Humor

The kids and I were behind this truck the other day...It cracked us up so we had to snap a pic of it!  

Pumpkin Patch Fun

We typically wait to get pumpkins here in the Sunshine State because the humidity will rot them within a day or two.  We picked up Sis from practice and dropped Ra off at church for youth group.  It was hard to be upset that this wasn't going to be a family affair like we originally planned since he ditched us for his first youth group on Wednesday night.  Now that football is over, he has the time to attend.

Anyhoo...Andy and I took Sis to the Pumpkin Patch and she savored the time with both of our attention!

Here she is with her Prince Charming!

This little pumpkin keeps growing!

We had a blast picking out pumpkins together and watching Sis have a ton of fun going through the mazes, playing on the hay bales, crossing the bridges, etc.

Can't wait to see what the kids carve on Saturday!

Compare & Contrast

Sis came home from school talking about how they've been exploring the concept of compare & contrast in reading. She was excited to show me that she understood how to use a Venn diagram. She created on on how she & I were alike and different.

When Andy came home from work, she did the same with him. It was so cute to see what she came up with as things that are the same and different from her Daddy. 

Her list of contrasting items cracks me up!  She is "good" and Dad is "bad!"  She is a gymnast and Dad works.  Dad likes beer and she doesn't!  

The comparison was equally as funny. She typically argues against her similar characteristics to her Dad. She insists that she's like Mommy not Daddy!  She wrote down that they both like ice cream and music. They both fart - but she was quick to say that everybody farts!  They both like to dance with each other and are both a bit crazy!!!  

Well, it appears she should be able to ace her fresh read test this week!  lol!

More Fall Baking

It's safe to say my boys are happy and full these days!  Ra devoured two of these bad boys in one sitting!  We love apple dumplings, especially in the fall.  You can take me out of Pennsylvania, but you can't take the Dutch Girl outta me!  

Flying High

Sorry for the poor quality.  I really wish Blogger would upgrade it's video link to HD.  It looks so good everywhere but here! 

Sis is going to be a level 3 gymnast this season but she's been working hard with her teammates learning the level 4 routines.  She still struggles with her kip, but does well with the rest of it.  Here is part of the level 4 routine from the cast squat on.  They are having the girls practice on the low bar as if it was the high bar.  They are so clever in how they set things up so the girls gain confidence instead of being scared (and it's easier to spot on the low bar verses the high bar with little ones).  

I'm so proud of her.  She's doing so well!!!  I can't wait for her Warm Up meet in Ocala in December!

End of an Era

Our favorite little local coffee shop is closing it's doors on 10/30.  We are beyond saddened by this news.  When I talked with the owner 2 weeks ago she said it was because of an issue with renewing their lease.  So many of my friends, neighbors and I are disappointed they couldn't find a way to keep this staple here in our community.  I got the impression that the landlords had someone else ready to move in, but I could be wrong.  Lillie's has been a great supporter of our beaches community.  They are what brings the people in to support the other local businesses.  It's ALWAYS crowded, no matter what time or year or day of the week.

Andy has fallen in love with Lillie's too.  We've been going there on Saturday mornings for a coffee date for about 6 months.  It's something we both look forward to each weekend, especially after a travel week.  We share a bagel and I enjoy a cup of Joe while we talk about everything and anything.  We are going to miss Lillie's and their staff.  I'm sure there will be some other place to move in - I remember when it was Shelby's before Lillie's but now that I'm a beach resident, Lillie's will be hard to see go...


My last FREE mocha from Lillies.  One more Saturday morning coffee date this coming weekend.  :(

I Feel the Need....The Need For Speed!

Usually we are in Vegas over the 3rd weekend in October for the Monster Energy Cup Supercross race.  This year I asked if we could stay home - it's such a long flight just for a 3 day weekend.  I wanted to do something different and the boys (along with Uncle Jason) are headed to Daytona for the Supercross race this winter.

Because we stayed home, we were able to catch the Sea and Sky Air Show.  This year they were at the beach.  Every other year they switch from NAS Jax to the beach for the show location.  We got to watch the jets practice Thurs and Fri before the 2 weekend shows.  

The Blue Angels were the big headliner.  The BA went into Providence and spoke to the Upper School.  Ra was pretty excited about that.  He came home telling me all about the pilots, the planes, etc.  We saw them practicing over our house and they were flying over our car on the way home.  We headed out to the beach and got buzzed a few times before practice was over.

Saturday morning we loaded up our bikes and rode down to Jax Beach to get a better view of the show.  There were paratroopers, bi planes, sky writers, jets, etc.  We had a blast!  We packed a lunch and spent the entire day on the beach being entertained by the show.  

The stars of the show!

These two are super cute...Such good friends.

The show also took place on Sunday as well so around 2:30 we headed down our street to the beach to check out the Blue Angel show one last time.  It was great to see it from both locations.  We saw more in Jax Beach, we we got overhead fly bys in Atlantic Beach.

First Field Trip of the Year

The second grade took their first field trip of the year on Friday.  We went to Fort Clinch in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island.  This is a barrier island just like the one we live on in Atlantic Beach - except our island is unnamed.  Fort Clinch is across the St. Mary's River from Cumberland Island in Georgia.  The fort was created to protect the river entrance and the Cumberland Sound.  It was built with bricks from Georgia and from Pennsylvania.  Construction as started in 1847.  The fort was instrumental during the Civil War.  It was a Union fort - Crazy, right?  A Union fort in Florida?!? But that's where the part of it being on a barrier island played an important role.  It was a base of Union operations in the area during the war.

Sissy and some of her friends.  All three of these girls were in class together last year.  Abby isn't in class with Sis and Arabella this year but we were all in the same group for the day.

Arabella is also a gymnast.  They were in class together last year too.  These two have become pretty close this year.

We took a hike on the Willow Pond Trail through the hammocks with large Spanish moss draped live oaks.  We saw alligators, lots of spiders including black widows, frogs and big beetles.  

The fort is double walled and right along the shoreline.  It's a pentagon shaped fort.

Half of the second grade together having fun!

This flag was HUGE.  It looked so patriotic.

Lots of cannons were used in protecting the fort from the confederate army.

Afterwards, we left early instead of eating lunch at the fort.  Sissy was happy to ride home with her friend Gabriella and have a play date until their big brothers were finished with school.  She had a great day!  Those two buddies aren't in the same class this year and they really miss each other!  It was great to let them have some play time together.  

20 Years Just Flew By

We celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday, October 21st.  

Sadly Andy spent the entire week in Texas so the kids thought dinner at Angie's Subs and a rowdie game of Sorry would cheer this momma up! They are so sweet.  We had a great time together as we always do when we hit up Angies.  

Andy did a great job in celebrating our relationship with a surprise date night on Saturday.  Here we all dressed up but I still didn't know where we were headed.

He surprised me with a huge flower arrangement that included stargazer lilies just like the ones from our wedding day!

He took me to Ruth's Chris Steak House for dinner.  Neither of us have ever been there before but his boss has raved about how great this one in Ponte Vedra is before so we were adventurous.  We were seated with a Happy Anniversary and a card signed by the entire staff!  The table was also decorated with rose petals.  We had a very delicious meal and a wonderful time together.  When we were finished, our waitress took our picture and brought it out to us in this little card.  

She also brought us dessert!  Isn't it super sweet?  

We had a fantastic time but decided to top off the evening with a "real" dessert at one of our favorite special occasion restaurants, Eleven South.  We love going there just for dessert - well, one dessert in particular.  It's a Banana Genoise Cake.  It's got Ghirardelli chocolate marscapone, white chocolate ganache, blurred bananas, spiced candied pecans and Navan Chantilly cream.  Totally worth the splurge!

It was a great way to celebrate all the ups and downs of the past 20 years.  We've been having fun talking about our favorite memories from our wedding day.  I finally found our videos and sent them off to be converted into DVDs.  That was my gift to Andy this year.  I can't wait to get them back and relive that day with him.  I think the kids will enjoy seeing their family members from 20 years ago too.  Uncle Kevin had hair back then!  ;)