Off kilter

Something's amiss when I get this in the mail

before the kids even get out for summer vacation.

Or put on their new swimsuits.

Four more days (and counting)!

Both of my daughters are heavily ensconced in studying for finals

all the way through Thursday.

On the other hand, Mother Nature has cooperated by giving us entirely UNsummery weather.

The better to study for tests, my dear.

Boo! review

Usually we carve pumpkins earlier in Halloween week 

but this year we "saved it" 

(read = I never got my act together) 

until Halloween afternoon. 

This meant only three of the five of us were there.  

Which is why it looks like I only have two children.

Sam, bless his soul, crafted his costume on his own 

using things we already had on hand.

He went trick-or-treating with two of his friends,

(plus all the dads).

Maddy and her friends established many weeks ago 

that they would go together as a theme: angels and devils.

(Remember seventh grade is high pack mentality age?)

She went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood

with two of her friends, stopping here

to dump off candy midway.

Lauren is in the pep band and they had a football game tonight 

where they played.  But they wore their costumes and,

according to L, had an "amazing" time

(this is the most common adjective she uses right now)

I made her pose for this late tonight when she came home.

Hence the sleepy eyes.

It was a beautiful, starry night.

60 degrees.

I'm guessing we had around 300 trick-or-treaters.

(I ran out of candy and

 had to raid the kids' candy haul at the end there.)

The night was not without drama.

(Remember 7th grade is ripe with drama?)

A couple of hours before trick-or-treating time,

Maddy's friends called and informed her they were no longer going as devils.

Instead, they were going as Sarah Palins.

Maddy was disappointed that the theme was (so arbitrarily) broken

but she rose to the occasion and  handled it graciously.

Like a good angel should.

;)

Thank you for Flying Summer Airlines

Bye.

6:50 a.m.

Buh-bye.

7:15 a.m.

Bye now.

               8:15 a.m.                                

Enjoy your stay in school land.

Come fly with us again next year.

{wink}

{wave}

The good and the not-so-good

Last Week.

Good: We went on a Great Outing with Louie

Not-so-good: It ended with the need for a makeshift, plastic-bag doggie diaper

Still: We had a good hike through beautiful grounds
and have a funny story to tell.

Good: G and I went to the North End (Italian section) of Boston for an evening

Even better: We ran into a charming street festival 

(St. Anthony's festival. It seems like there's a festival 

every weekend there) 

with food, music, crowds, and this cute band (I want that backdrop!):

Not-so-good: The kids called and were spooked by a strange sound
so we came home early. 

{We found later that the sound was a bicycle helmet falling off a hook.}

Still: we enjoyed the time we had 

and strolled arm-in-arm in the perfect weather.

And our kids are old enough to leave on their own. Usually.

Good: We went to the White Sox/Red Sox game Saturday night.

Not so good: This (below) is the best shot I got of the night.

I think G enjoyed it a bit more than he's showing.

Still: The Red Sox won, we did the wave, Take Me Out to the Ballgame,

& Sweet Caroline & caught every green light on the way home.

Other not-so-goods: Lauren had several days of mysterious hives so we spent some time in the ER and doctor's office this week, I spilled an entire bottle of Febreze on myself at Target (and embarrassed Maddy in the process), and our beloved pond closed for the season.

Great: We *love* all our neighbors 

& got to know them better at a Labor Day cookout

{who knew that the guy down the street manages rock bands? 

or that the new couple on the corner both teach high school? 

or several neighbors had such great doggy advice?}

Good AND not-so-good: Tomorrow's the last day before school starts for the kids!

{And it's the first day of school for me.} 

The Silly News

Maddy and Sam like to video themselves doing newscasts. They write the scripts, dress up, create props, and tape it with our home video camera--the whole business. Then they assemble us all for a screening of The 22 News, which is actually a lot of footage of laughing and had-to-be-there joking on tape. Trust me, you really had to be there.

I came across a yet-to-be-shot outline for their next production, a brainstorm list of stories and assignments. Here it is, as written (with typos and all):

• men's fooseball olympic match (US against Japan, 9 - 9, US get goal, win championship), (Sam)
• "You Dance Good" finale (Sam & Maddy dancing contest)
  
• Ron the Clown (Maddy) interview by Sam
• Pickle famon in Zimbabue: officials begging others for pickles (Maddy)
• Local Ikea has to close down because of lack of meatballs (Sam)
• This Day in History (Maddy)

Although not strictly in the news department (but--hey--local news is constantly airing infotainment segments, right?) I'm especially looking forward to the "You Dance Good" {I'm imagining a neanderthal dance contest where the judges grunt "You. Dance. Good."} and the Ron the Clown segments.

And to get the full funny, you have to understand that Sam really likes the meatballs at Ikea. And pickles.

Now, back to you...