~Halloween 2011 in pictures~

~baby come back!~

[Stephen, At the Pumpkin Patch, Kindergarten, 2003]

How can this not be yesterday?

♥

~best halloween card~

From my niece Megan!

~birthday sneak attack~

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

Stephen turned 14 yesterday. He was a great sport with Mom & Dad's sneak attack.

Stephen - I am so proud of you. Your humor and kindness are a bright part of our lives. I love how hard you work at your commitments. And I especially love that you are my son!

~Region 25 Marching Band Contest~

Last Saturday {October 15}, the Collinsville Pirate Band competed at Regionals.

I love hearing these kids perform!

The crowd always gets into it!

The judges liked it too...we got all 1's!!!!! WoooHOOOO!

That means we are moving on to Area Competition on October 29th.

You can see/hear their show here

Oh, and here's my favorite Tuba player. Recognize him?

~Little Brown Bean is ONE!~

Elias turned 1 on Saturday!
We didn't get to attend the Birthday Bash because Stephen had a band competition the same day.

So we stopped in for a visit on Sunday bearing gifts!

I think the Poppity-Pop Musical Dino was a hit.

And he was AdOrAbLy ready for Winter in his RACOON HAT and MITTENS!

♥

I love you sweet Elias! Happy Birthday precious boy!!!

~band treats~

Disclaimer: Photos taken with my crappy camera phone. {le sigh}

If you've never mixed candy corn with roasted, salted peanuts you are missing out on an essential October treat, babeee! I LOVE the stuff. So, when I realized it was my turn to provide some treats for the band, this mix flashed immediately onto the smartboard of my brain!

Then, of course, I had to come up with packaging! I bought a this pdf
from etsy and LizAnn customized it for me. Bonus good luck: It was already had one of our school colors [maroon]. *score 1* Which worked out really great because I was just going to print them in black and white (color prints are expensive peeps!) But FedEx messed up and printed them in color for me for the same price I would have paid for black and white! *score 2*
{eye twinkle}


Score 3? Lots of snacking as I assembled the bags!
♥

~FOOTBALL~

My best girlfriends ever are Sam and Cindy Shuppert. Except, their last name is no longer Shuppert. They're twins and we've been best buds since we were 4 years old. They are identical, but I've always been able to tell them apart!

Friends like this are awesome because no matter how long it has been since you last talked to them you pick up right where you left off. No discomfort. No "getting to know" each other again. You just fall right back into the comforting cushion of your friendship. And you know it's a safe place to rest. I have never in my life worried about being talked about, judged or misunderstood by these two women. It's an awesome thing! And I know I'm blessed!

So what does that have to do with football?

All of our boys play! In the same district, but different schools.

Sam's son, JD, is in 8th grade just like Stephen.

Their teams played each other last Thursday.

Stephen got a few tackles on JD.

And JD got past Stephen for some SCORES!

It was awesomeness.

Cindy's son is a Sophomore and plays on their High School varsity team.

{We text each other throughout the games. Silly fun!}

Cindy got some great pictures of Stephen and JD on Thursday.

And, of course, she shared them with me!

That's what best girlfriends are for!

~meet Madalynn Sue~

Complete sweetness!

I have a new grandniece - Madalynn Sue, born October 3, 2011. Miss Madalynne - October is the absolute BEST month to be born in! ;)

I haven't officially met this bundle of deliciousness yet. But, I will. And soon!

♥