Things I'm into these days

There are a few things I thought I would mention that I am REALLY into these days.

1. The Twilight saga. Yep, that's right. I finally got the first Twilight book and have read all 500 pages of it in just 3 days. I am totally hooked on the series!!! I honestly didn't think I would like a book about vampires, but it is so good. I am getting the 2nd book this weekend and I'm totally looking forward to the movie coming out in November.

2. Homemade fleece blankets: This week we went to JoAnn's (it's a fabric store) and bought some fleece for blankets for Halle and Parker. For Halle's blanket we got a purple with flowers and fairies on it and a bright pink, and for Parker's we got a green with dogs and a solid green. We ended up making the blankets where you just tie the two pieces all the way around the blanket. Both turned out really cute! I haven't taken a picture of either of them yet, but I will post them as soon as I get some taken.

3. Piano lessons: Halle started taking piano lessons. She wanted me to teach her, but I know from experience that it never works when the "mom" is teaching the "kid" piano. I hated it when I was young and my mom would tell me what I was doing wrong on the piano. So, we decided to send her to a good friend of the family who teaches piano. She has been going for about 2 months now and she LOVES it!!! She is flying through her books. I can't believe how quickly and easily she is picking it up. I love sitting with her at the piano and going over her songs for the week. A lot of the songs have a teacher accompanist part, so once she learns her part, I usually play along with her.

Early Halloween

I just love Saturdays. Today, we stayed in bed until about 8:30- that's good considering Parker was awake at 7am. He got in bed with us and snuggled with us and watched cartoons. We got dressed and then the four of us headed into The Farmhouse Family Restaurant in Lapeer. It is this restaurant that looks just like a farmhouse. It has old machinery outside, and the inside is divided into rooms, and there is a little store with country-ish items. I would definitely compare it to a Bob Evans. We had never been there before, but had heard that it had really good breakfast. It definitely lived up to it's reputation. It was really good!!! I got their "Southern Omlette" and Brad got some huge meal with everything you could possibly think of. Halle got the Mickey Mouse hotcakes! Parker ate a little (actually, a lot) off of everyone's plates. This afternoon, downtown Lapeer was having a special Halloween day for kids. The kids got dressed in their costumes and went "trick-or-treating" to all the downtown stores. There were a ton of people there!!! It was really cold out, but Halle wanted to go to every single store that was participating. If a store was participating, they had a huge pumpkin in their window. So, she was on the look-out for pumpkins (so was I-hey, I like candy just as much as kids do). 1 1/2 hours later, we mwere heading home with buckets filled with candy. Parker was extremely exhausted, so he took a nap once we got home. Brad and I actually both fell asleep on the couch and Halle made a cake with Mom D. It was a very relaxing afternoon.

Parker was a MI football playerHalle was a MI cheerleader. We recycled her Upward uniform and "glitzed" it up Halle doing cheerleading moves
This evening, we had dinner with the Massers. They are some old friends from the church we used to attend when we lived in Michigan before. They have a little boy, Riley, who is about 4 months older than Parker. They are a sweet couple and we had a nice time catching up with them. I made Apple Dumplings (I got the recipe from my friend Betsy's blog) for dessert. Everyone liked them. I will proably make another batch of them soon!!

When we got home, Mom and Dad had just rented Leatherheads and were starting to watch it, so we put the kids to bed and watched it with them. It was a cute, funny movie.

Fashion Show

This past Thursday was the fashion show I was involved in. I was asked to be a model in the show!! I got to go to The Red Tag Store in Oxford and pick out 3 outfits-an evening gown, a professional outfit, and a casual outift, plus all accessories (purses, sunglasses, shoes, jewelry). After work on Thursday, I rushed home, changed clothes, picked up Hal from school, stopped by Grandpa/ma Park's house to wish Grandpa a "Happy Birthday", dropped Halle off at home, and then headed to Deena Hutton's house to get my Mary Kay makeover. Deena is a MK consultant and the one who asked me to be a model for this fashion show. Jessica ended up going with me, which was nice. I love Mary Kay products!!! I loved the look that Deena gave me. I got to use all the new "holiday" products. She really picked a good color scheme for me to match my outits. We then headed down to Kalloway's in Oxford- that's where the fashion show was. There were 5 other models, some teenagers, some collge aged, and one older woman. We had two small bathrooms to do all our changing in. At first I thought it was going to be so crammed, but actually, it worked out well. We started off with our casual outfit.

My casual outfit was khaki pants, a cream turtleneck, brown boots, a teal tweed coat, and a yellow purse.

Everyone kept asking to see my boots, so I ended up just walking around with my pants rolled up!My professional outift was a black suit, black pumps, and a blue and black silk scarf. I also had a big black bag and sunglasses. I was mad to see that one of the "red tags" was sticking out the entire time I was modeling this outfit. Oh well.

My evening gown was a black Calvin Klein dress. It was SO long. I had really high heels on and this dress still drug on the floor. I had to hold it up a little just to make sure I didn't trip while walking around. I wore black strappy heels that had rhinestones on the straps-very pretty! I also had a silver clutch purse.

I had alot of fun! Who knew I was model material?? I actually wasn't nervous once I started walking out in front of everyone. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. There were about 60 people there, so I thought it was a good turnout. Everyone had to pay to get in, but there were a bunch of desserts and coffee, plus a ton of give-a-ways and free gifts. Mom D, Jessica, Halle, Allyson, and Kellene all went. My mom couldn't go due to work. Halle mentioned on the way home (when we had 6 girls in the car) that it was like a fun girl's night out. She said it felt like we were in a limo, because Mom D's car is big and black and it was full of girls. It was just missing the drinks!

Cheerleading Clinic

I'm quite behind on my blogging (I feel like I start most of my blogs this way lately) and I feel bad about it. Every night I tell myself to get online and just blog a little, but something always comes up and before I know it I am zonked out in bed. So, hopefully, I can play catch up tonight while I have some time.
Last Saturday (the same day as Jessica's Homecoming), Halle went to a cheerleading clinic at Lapeer East. Their cheerleaders held an all day clinic from 9am-4pm for 1st-6th grade girls. They got a t-shirt, hair bow, and had lunch with them. Halle came home having learned 6-7 new cheers. She had a lot of fun and to top it all off, all the girls got a chance to cheer with the "real" cheerleaders at Lapeer's Friday football game. So, this past Friday (it's almost been a week ago now), we went to Lapeer East's football game to watch Halle cheer. They got to cheer for the entire first half of the game. Halle did really well. She looked so cute all bundled up cheering away. She is SO good at learning the moves to each cheer. She does them all perfectly.

There's Hal with the pink gloves on- It was freezing out there!!The winter coat went at the 2nd quarter

They got to use the cheerleader's pompoms for part of the time

We only stayed for the first half because we don't know anyone at Lapeer East. We unfortunately missed Lapeer West's game, which they won. We were so cold afterwards, we went to Tim Horton's for soup and hot chocolate. It was a nice treat to warm us up after being out in the cold for a while.
On Saturday, Brad took Halle with him to Aunt Terry's house. He has been remodeling her entire house since we moved back to MI and he is finishing up on the roof. Halle ended up playing the entire time with the next door neighbor girl. She had a lot of fun, I guess. Brad has some pictures of his work somewhere, so I will post those as soon as I can find them. Once they got home, we headed into Flint and started looking for Halloween costumes. We have had a hard time deciding what Parker and Halle are going to be this year. Some ideas we have thrown around were: Princess and a frog, horse (I saw a horse costume in Parker's size) and a cowgirl, Pebbles and Bambam (from the Flintstones), chicken and an egg (I saw an adorable homemade chicken costume), and a football player and cheerleader. Halle couldn't make up her mind what she wanted to be, so Brad made the decision that they should be a football player and cheerleader. I kind of liked some of our other ideas better, but we figured we could get Parker an actual jersey so that he could wear it later on and we decided to reuse Halle's Upward cheerleading uniform for her costume. All the cheerleader costumes at the stores were $25+ and weren't that pretty, so we went to JoAnn's and bought some glitter glue and a bunch of rhinestones, and we have been glitzing her uniform all up. I acutally think it is going to look really cute when all is said and done. We got Parker a U of M football jersey and when he wears his coat underneath it, it looks like he has actual football pads on. There will be lots of pictures to follow once the costumes get finished.
We then spent the evening over at my parents. My mom wasn't home because she was in Detroit on a work trip, but my dad made monster steaks (they were the size of a plate) and I made a salad, mashed potatoes, and really good cheesy bread. I also threw a frozen pumpkin pie in the oven and we had that for dessert. After dinner, Allyson and I went up to Family Christian Store and Old Navy. I wanted to get a book to help me with making my Sunday School lessons for church and also buy Halle a Bible. This kind of looks like the Bible I got Halle. Her's is all pink though and has a strip of glitter going across the front. It's right up her alley.We went over to Old Navy afterwards and found really good deals. There were shirts/tanks for $4 and I got Brad, my dad, and Andy all a men's polo shirt for $1.99 each!!! I ended up buying like 6 articles of clothing all for $19 (that's including tax)!! I was happy!!!

On Sunday, we had church in the morning and I spent most of the afternoon at the Red Tag Store in Oxford, MI trying on clothes. I am going to be in a fashion show tomorrow night if you can believe it!!! The Red Tag Store is a store that sells name brand clothing for 50+% off. They mainly have the brands you would find at your upscale department stores. That store, along with Mary Kay Cosmetics and Great Clips Hair Salon are throwing a fashion show. I was asked to be a model!!! I have to model three different outfits, get my make-up done by a Mary Kay consultant, and I could get my hair done at a Great Clips, however, I won't have the time to get to one, so I am having Jessica do it for me. Jessica and Mom D went with me to pick out my outfits. I was so thankful they went with me!!! I had to get an evening gown, a professional outfit, and a casual outfit. We spent over 2 hours in the store figuring everything out. We also had to get all of our accessories and shoes picked out as well. It was a lot of fun, but tiring. There were 2 other models in the store at the same time as me, and I have to say my outfits were the best. We forgot to take pictures, but I am going to have people take a bunch of pics tomorrow night for me, so I will post those soon. Pray that I don't fall on my face! I am getting nervous!!!

So, that was our weekend in a nutshell. This weekend is going to be a busy one too, but I will blog about that later. Hope you are having a good week too!!

Homecoming

This past weekend was Lapeer West's Homecoming. Although I did not graduate from there (I went to a small, private school where football and dancing were NOT allowed), I still enjoyed all the festivities. On Wednesday, Jessica played in the Powder-Puff game. We didn't stay for the entire game because it was late and Halle and Parker were both really tired. The seniors won though!! On Friday, I got to sub at West, which meant I got to come home an hour early because they had a pep assembly last hour.

Jessica with the other "Top 4" girls at their assembly Jessica was nominated for Homecoming Court. She made the top 4, so she got to do all the fun stuff that those on court get to do.

After Halle got out of school, we got all dressed up in our "Panther" clothes and went to the Tailgate Party. We were planning on getting there a lot earlier than we actually did, but Brad didn't get home from work until later than expected, which just put us all behind. We did make it though and Halle and Bailey got their faces painted, got balloons, and jumped around in the bounce house. We didn't pack a dinner (because I ran out of time), so we stopped by good ol' McD's and picked up our dinner and ate it once we got there. The game started off horribly for the Panthers. Within the first 10 minutes of the game it was 21-0 (we were losing). Thankfully, our team got their act together and scored a few touchdowns in the next two quarters. We still lost though!

Here's all the cousins at the game...Who knows where Halle is? Obviously, not in the pictureHalle and BaileyBrad and I with our matching West t-shirtsHalle and Brad The Panther teamBy the end of the game, it was cold out. Parker liked snuggling with daddy. Halle got a football painted on 1 cheek and a panther paw on the other
During half-time, the Homecoming Court was announced and Jessica didn't win. Bummer. :0(After the game, a bunch of people came over and we got pizzas and had a bonfire. Most of the teens were outside the entire time while the adults sat inside. Todd and one of his friends from college, Durant, came home this weekend for Homecoming. We just sat around and talked with them seeing as how we really don't know many of the parents. It was fun, yet I was exhausted by the time everyone finally left.

On Saturday, Jessica and I went to get our nails done. She got hers painted really cool. Instead of a traditional french manicure, she got hers painted purple going on an angle. I totally forgot to get a picture of them, but they looked cool. I just got mine done in the traditional french manicure.

The rest of the day was spent getting the outside of the house ready for all the kids and parents that were coming over to take pictures. Plus, we had to help Jess get all beautified for the dance. She did her own hair and make-up and I painted her toenails for her. I thought she looked really pretty (like always).

Preston and Jess

Parker wasn't too happy about getting his picture taken

Sophie (the dog) kept Halle and Parker entertained while the kids got their pictures taken

This was the group that came over for pictures. I'd say there were 40-50 people here, including parents/siblings.

Jessica's dress was by far the prettiest of this bunch. I didn't care for many of the other girl's dresses. The red one (on the end) was my 2nd favorite.

After everyone was sent off, the fam headed into Outback Steakhouse for dinner. We just love Outback and of course, the Bloomin Onion. It was an enjoyable dinner with everyone. Afterwards, Mom and Dad D took Todd and Durant back to school and we came home and watched Iron Man. I honestly still haven't seen it because while it was on, I was trying to get everything together for the Sunday School lesson. I am now teaching Halle, Bailey, and Corey during church (we are just meeting at Grandma's house right now because she is too ill to get out of bed anymore and she enjoys us doing church with her). So, I need to watch that movie. I hear it is super good!!!

Things I love about Fall

Well, please don't think I'm not doing my job, but I am subbing today and have over an hour to just sit here and waste time until my next class comes in. It's technically called a "conference hour", however, I don't have anything to do seeing as how I am not the real teacher of this class. So, I figured I would use my time wisely :0) and blog.
Our weeks are so extremely busy lately. I can't believe it is already Thursday! With Brad orking and going to school full time, Halle in school and taking piano lessons, and me working almost full time most weeks, I barely have time to breathe. This week has been packed full and the weekend if even busier, but I will write more about that at a later date.

Seeing as how I have time on my hands, I thought I would post some of my favorite things about my favorite time of year- Fall. Although I love North Carolina, I truely missed the real fall feelingwhile living there. Nothing beats the cool breeze, warm sweatshirts, and trees changing colors when you live in MI. I'm so glad we moved back before Fall so I could experience it all this year!

Isn't this a beautiful picture?

Nothing is better than driving down the road and seeing colorful trees surrounding you Or having it look like it snowed leaves everywhere- the only crummy part is if you have to rake those leaves so they don't kill your grass!!

I thought this was a cool picture

Pumpkins

I love carving pumpkins every year. It's so cool to see a bunch of lit jack-o-laterns on a porch while trick-or-treating.

Scarecrows

Carmel Apples--YUM!

I thought these were cute ideas for decorating apples

Who doesn't love cider and donuts?? This is from the orchard that we went to this year-Past Tense- Their apple cinnamon donuts are the best!

Bonfires

Candy Corn

Kids Trick-or-Treating on Halloween

Apples- even without carmel apples are delicious this time of year!!

I love Fall!