It is becoming a tradition for Brian's siblings to gather our families for an evening of jack-o-lantern creating. All the grand kids haul their pumpkin patch finds to their grandmas kitchen. Each jabbering their creative concepts above the voices of the other.
Tastey treats and a warm pot of chili, do their part to tame our bellies.
The aroma of spiced cider hanging heavy in the air in stark contrast to the crisp autumn cross breeze cooling as they work.
Wrinkled noses, oohs, and giggles accompany the removal of innards. Next Sharpies are wielded marking one of a kind designs.
Carving tools, from butcher knives, to battery operated mini saber saws, scattered across the tables are ready to do their part in the metamorphosis from pumpkin to art.
Our final products this year: Harry Potter, Zombie Brains, little Myla Face, a ghostly ghoul, and a Peyton Manning Bronco.
Some days it would be easier to believe that
we are not meant to do the things we have been called to do, for then we could
abandon with no consequence.
But when
you know that what you are doing is EXACTLY what you were meant for, the cost
of persevering is miniscule to the cost of quitting.
For the second year in a row my mom and her husband planned a fabulous weekend get away for all of their kids and grand kids. This year we went to the Hilltop House in Mesa Colorado. This place was HUGE, comfortable accommodating all 18 of us. 2 grand parents, 4 children and their 4 spouses, 7 grand children, and one friend of Madison's made the trek this year.
My mom and Dan are so creative in finding fun activities for us all to do. The first morning we had a fishing derby, complete with 6 pink Barbi fishing poles, and one yellow-very boyish-pole, power bait, fish eggs, awards for biggest, most, and first fish, and 2 adults for every kiddy fisher... the only thing missing were the fish... not a single bite.
They also hung glow-in-the-dark stars in the bushes around the cabin to provide fun star watching during the Blue Moon weekend. The kids were captivated with a nature scavenger hunt, going on a hike and trying to spot animal poop and prints, flowers, insects, and even some man made items like fence posts and power poles. Dan took the older girls (Madison and her friend Gracey) on a hike up to the flag pole on the summit of Beehive Mountain.
Thanks to Kristen we had a tie dyeing adventure, where all the kids came away with a brightly colored shirt, and us ladies turned our shirts into pretty amazing scarves.
Amazingly all the kids behaved and played really well together for the majority of the weekend, making it a pleasant experience for the rest of us.
Brian had to work so my mom made a cardboard cut out of his head so he could be included in the fun event pictures. We got a lot of good laughs and great entertainment by placing Biran in random photo ops. I was thankful that he made it up after work on Saturday to help me cook dinner, and we managed to get in a family picture as well.
A HUGE thank you to my mom and Dan for putting all this together for us, it is greatly appreciated and completely enjoyed by this Caster Clan!
My sister-in-law's husband Rob celebrated his 40th birthday last weekend, of course the event couldn't go unnoticed, or even creep by quietly! What a fabulous party it was! Myla wanted Rob to have a giant water slide bump and jump, and it was a huge hit with all the kids.
Christie and I spent the entire morning making Rob's bouquet and birthday cake. The bouquet was an idea I found on pinterest months ago and had been saving specially for this day. The cake was an idea Christie found and modified. Since we had a Jack Daniels theme going we spice the home made butter cream frosting with a few teaspoons of Jack Daniels, and WOW! it was amazing. We had so much fun creating these two special gifts for Rob. Rob absolutely loved them, and they were a big hit at the party.
The next one will be Carrie's( years away), and we are already making plans for her big day cake and goodies.
Learned: Using fondant was way easier than I thought, hot glue guns are miracle workers, and a morning spent crafting makes for great memory making.
For the first time in, I don't know, possibly ever, I left the school on our last pre-student work day feeling completely prepared for the masses to arrive early Monday morning.
The extra hours I put in to get there were totally worth it, as I completely enjoyed my last official weekend of summer (post upcoming). But the best part, I was really able to focus on my motherly duties getting the kids ready for their first days. I made the whole family delicious lunches, and got up early enough to make a real breakfast- French toast and scrambled eggs.
Maddox has been begging, hoping and even preparing himself for first grade all last week. He forced himself to get up early, and abstain from naps,"because I am not going to get to nap in first grade mom!" this seemed to work out great as this morning truly was the smoothest in Caster history!
The after school report from both of them, though vague, leave me with high hopes and a positive outlook for the year.
As for me I made a lasting impression on a select few 6th grade students as I slipped in my heals and went flying into their classroom, landing practically on my face and splaying the stack of papers across the room. This was their very first experience of middle school; whether it made them laugh or realize that nothing they could do would ever be that embarrassing, I'm happy to provide them with a bit of humor and confidence. Since this happened first thing I also had a great first day of school horror story to share with all my classes. (and comedic relief for some staff as well.) The only saving grace I have in this is I *think* my dress managed to stay put around my bum and not fly over my head....
Both my kids looked amazing, and all too grown up. And truthfully I'm no worse for wear, my ankle was already sore.... All in all a good memorable start to the year!
Remember my super secret goal of running it in under 2 hours, well I met it! 13.1 miles in 1:56:01. Needless to say I am do ecstatic about the results.
Here are a few pics from the event. I have a few more on flicker that I will share later.
