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After all of the complaints about having to wear a tie to school everyday, I was absolutely shocked when Forrest asked if we would buy him a suit to wear to Youth Convention. Of course we went that day...and I was shocked when he picked out not one suit, but two...because "Mom, think about all of the ladies that will be there, I need to look good". While I realize that I may be a bit partial, I have to say he looked great. (I texted him while he was at the convention and I asked how it was going. His reply..."I am totally rockin this suit"... have I mentioned how modest he is)?

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We had a very lazy Saturday...a rare treat. We missed Wall-E while it was in theatres... so we bought it, snuggled up on the couch and watched it together this afternoon.

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Each week Cammie is assigned a new letter. She and I go through magazines looking for pictures that begin with that weeks letter. She likes to take in at least two pictures...just in case someone else brings in the same picture, she'll have a back-up.

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Just in case you were wondering how big a 9 month old Saint Bernard's foot is...I wear a size 8...evidently so does he.

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Chloe made this noodle necklace at school in preparation for their Thanksgiving feast. I wonder if the real indians had brightly died noodle necklaces?

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My Grandma gave me this plant 14 years ago. She started it from a clipping from her larger plant. When she first gave it to me it was one little sprig with 3 or 4 leaves on it. (Pardon the pic...taken with iphone in really low light).

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Each of us got to take a rose from the funeral arrangements. I plan on hanging these upside down to dry and then attaching the bouqet to the corkboard in my office.

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The slide show is coming together. I'm soaking in each of the images, searching for details and answers to questions that I waited too long to ask.

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Mark and I are working on a slide show to play at the funeral. All of my aunts, uncles and cousins have brought us pictures of Grandma. I love getting to go through them all. This afternoon I found a huge plastic tote under the bed in Grandma's guest room. It was stuffed with pictures. I spent hours sorting through them and I loved every single precious second of it. My favorite pictures were the ones taken when she was a teenager and in her twenties. I would give anything to be able to ask her about them.

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My Grandma died this morning. I didn't take any pictures today...my camera was the last thing on my mind. This is the last picture that I have of us together.

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Chloe's class went to the Adventure Science Museum. She was so excited about her first field trip... but she was even more excited about riding on the school bus to get there. During a lecture about dinosaurs there was a Q & A session. The lady held up something that looked like a rock and asked if anyone knew what it was. The first kid said "a rock"... which was wrong. Chloe was called on next and she shouted out "dinosaur poop"...everyone cracked up laughing... the boys especially...something about the word "poop" and 6-7 year old boys. Oh, she was right...it was fossilized dino poo. (Please ignore the very poor quality of this photo and yesterdays photo...both were taken with iphone in poor light).

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Every Wednesday I volunteer in Chloe's class. I help the kids with their AR tests. Chloe loves to have me in her class room... and I love that I am able to be.

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Miss. Marley had an apointment to visit the vet this morning. 12 weeks, 32.5 pounds.

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The down side to volunteering to work the book fair... finding too many books that you can't live without. (This is the second haul).

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Allison at Maggie Moo's Mom made me these adorable custom hankies. (There are actually a few more but they are being laundered).

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I. Heart. This. Doggie. (Especially when he pouts).

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Staff retreat... things to read during down time...

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The Webkinz collection is getting out of control. When we asked Chloe what she wanted for her birthday, without fail her reply... "Webkinz". These are the newest additions.

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Supergirl has insisted on donning her uniform...(no, it is not a costume, it is a uniform) every single day.

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We have established that I am partial...but seriously, could a doggie be any cuter?

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We had a few spider balloons left over from the Halloween party. Cammie wanted to let one of them"fly away".

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Happy Birthday Ladybug!

I cannot believe you are 7!

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While at the school carnival, I thought it would be fun to torture Forrest by making him pose with the girls. Does he look thrilled or what?

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For the pumpkin carving contest the kids had to choose a partner and show up at the party with a hollowed out pumpkin. The actual carving took place during the party.

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Chloe and Cammie went to a Girl Scout trunk-or-treat with their Brownie troop. Chloe was a "snow princess", Cammie "supergirl) and their friend Madeline was a kitty.

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When my folding table is clear of laundry it can be used for other things... like a staging area for the Halloween party we are throwing for the youth group.

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I first heard of the class "basket" when Forrest was in the 5th grade. I think I sent in a $20 dollar donation. We did not attend the auction and I maintained the allusion of large Easter basket type baskets going for a hundred dollars or so. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the the term "basket" was used very loosely... the word "basket" actually means "room moms competing to create the most elaborate set up possible...and then it is wrapped in cellophane and referred to as a basket". Our "basket" was an oven donated by the Sears outlet.

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We went to early vote today. I forced my silly son to go with me so that he could see how it works... I must admit, the thought that this goofy kid will have a say in the next election is scary. Just kidding... what really scares me is that he will get hisdrivers permit in 3 months.

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This is my new favorite iPhone game...Wurdle. It's simliar to Quordy only there are more letters and they look more like Scrabble tiles.

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Cammie began drawing these owls last week. Since then, they have been turning up around the house. This particular owl is a boy...because only a boy owl would have blue hair...according to the artiste.

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The foliage this year is unusually vibrant. I think it seems that way because all of the trees lost their leaves early last year due to the drought. Regardless of the reason it is gorgeous!

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Over the summer Chloe decided that she wanted to collect snow globes. If she hears you mention that you are going on a trip she will casually say "I bet they have snow globes there. Did you know that I collect sow globes"?

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Sidewinder is a local plumbing and sewage company. Click on the picture to get a closer view of what is written on the bumper. I thought this was HILARIOUS! (I was so happy that I had remembered to put my camera in my purse).

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I have an aversion to checking the messages on my machine. I always check the caller-ID to see who called though. Once a month I will go through and delete all of the old messages. Weird.

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Forrest is constanly switching out the artwork on the back of his bedroom door. Every time that I go into his room I check for his newest drawings. This one cracked me up.

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Mark has been trying to convince me to give up my "paper" calendar and switch to Outlook for a few years. Since the iPhone synced so easily with Outlook I decided to give it a try. After a three month trial run, I switched back. Not only did I switch back, I bought an even larger calendar than I had before the switch.

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While putting away the coffee cups, I decided to clear out some of the clutter that made the cabinet over-crowded. Even though the kids haven't used a sippy-cup in almost two years, for some reason there were all of these sippy components in the cabinet.

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Have I mentioned that we didn't tell Forrest that he would have to wear a tie and sweater vest in the Fall and Winter if he got into JPII? We knew that he would be less than excited about his required attire. Right before school started we told him...and to say that he was a wee bit disgruntled would be an understatement. Today was his third day in tie and vest...he claims he is choking...poor kid. (Doesn't he look cute though)?

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Have I said that I LOVE these doggies? They are so sweet together. There were a few moments after we had paid our deposit but before we had brought Marley home that I thought "what have I done"? I am happy to report that there has been no feelings of remorse. These puppies are the best.

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The moon was HUGE and bright tonight...I wish we had a telescope.

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Fall makes me happy...

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In a moment of domestic bravery I broke out the ironing board. I know, amazing isn't it? Don't be concerned, there were no pleats or creases to worry about, and no clothing items were harmed in the filming of this event. The shower curtain made it through safe and sound.

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side note: I had to go out and buy a new iron. After using the old one to put a hem of "stitch witchery" in a costume at church it somehow got misplaced. I hadn't noticed that it was missing until yesterday. When did I use it to put that hem in? Last Halloween.

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Winston...mourning his fall from "top dog" status and the loss of his beloved air vent.

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Meet Marly. She moved in this morning and promptly took over Winston's beloved air vent.

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Winston...in a state of contentment and happiness...secure in his "only dog" status. Poor guy, he doesn't realize what tomorrow is...

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Today was not a good day. I walked into Forrest's room to get the empty hangers out of his closet and I was confronted with this bold statement of rebellion. He seems to think that he is "too old" for Bionicles. It's "not cool for an almost 15 year old to have toys layin' around his room mom". "Mom, seriously...I'll be driving in a few months. Don't you think it's time to put that stuff up"?

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My answer..."NO, I most certainly DO NOT think it's time to put that stuff up".

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sigh.

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Unfortunately, he's right. That's what I decided after spending most of the day looking at old pictures of him and figuring out how many days I have until he leaves for college.

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My magnet board is officially full. Two more are in the works.

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This is what I see 50% of the time when I walk into his room (the other 50% of the time he is bent over his sketch pad...his recent fixation is political cartoons). He has great taste (ahem...no, I'm not partial) in music and he is constantly pushing himself to learn new songs. It's good for me to remind myself that even though he can drive me absolutely insane at times...he rocks.

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Theses two have the biggest "personality clashes". To see Forrest teaching Chloe how to play Rock Band gives me hope that eventually they settle into one another.

p.s. please excuse the super blurry photo...very low light.

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I heart Hannah. I cannot believe how big H is. It's so strange thinking of her in middle school. Stranger still is thinking about her moving up to the youth group next year. .