Halloween



Happy Halloween from the Mad Hatter, Dash (from the Incredibles), and Strawberry Shortcake.

 



That's a lot of candy (and this is only about a quarter of it).   The real "trick" will be if I can stick to my diet and not dip in to the pile.  Dear Lord...please give me the strength!

"Witching" You A Happy Halloween

Happy Birthday Grandma Ellen!

6 Years Later...

Not a day goes by when you're not thought of, missed, and loved.

Pumpkins

Yesterday's huge Gopher Football victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers was the inspiration for how I carved my pumpkin this year.  Rah Rah Rah for Ski U Mah!!!

Thank You to Grandma and Adeline who also helped with the task of carving this year.  Careline and Buddy were so anxious to buy the pumpkins but were virtually MIA when it came to the messy and time consuming business of cleaning them out and carving them.

Fall Festival



It's one of our favorite Sunday's of the year today...Fall Festival Sunday at our church.  The kids, Grandma Ellen, and I had lots of fun (and donated lots of cash to the church) playing games like the cake walk, ring toss, and BINGO. 

 



 

This year, to add to an already fun line-up of events, there was a petting zoo in the church parking lot.  How cute is this camel?!  The "little guy" was just 16 months old.  Grandma Ellen and I even got a chance to feed him.

 







 

Queen Of The Selfies

If you're not familiar with the term "Selfie"...it stands for self portrait.  The amount of self portraits taken and posted on the Internet has drastically increased over the recent years with the ease of taking your own photo with your iPhone.

I can always tell when Adeline has been playing with my phone because she returns it to me with a handful of new self portraits of herself.  She's so with the times!

Off To A Student Council Meeting

As a member of the Kaposia Student Council, Careline attends meetings one morning before school every other week.  Between athletics, Student Council, and the two clubs that she's a part of....she sure keeps herself (and us) busy!

Time To Retire The Bird Bath For The Season

A Room With A View

The Bubba Tree, with it's brilliantly colored maroon leaves, makes the present view out of our bedroom window a beautiful one.

My Message To Mother Nature

What a strange day out there today weather-wise.  It was sunny yet very chilly and rainy.  And then at one point this afternoon hail pellets fell from the sky for a good 15 minutes straight.  At least it didn't snow...but I hear that it's not far off.  Ughhh!

Fun With Bubbles

School Photos

Oh The Times (and the leaves) They Are A Changin

Friday Night Lights

It's Homecoming here in Packers territory and the big kids and I just got back from cheering the football team to a homecoming victory.

An A+ Student

For the second time already this year Buddy's Teacher called our house today after school with good news to report about Braden.

Braden stayed home from school yesterday with the flu bug but because he didn't want his homework to be turned in late he sent it to school with his Sister.  Our neighbor, Inga, happens to be in Buddy's class this year and brought yesterday's homework assignments to him after school.  He completed it all (including the tricky extra credit questions) and turned it in to his Teacher right on time today without skipping a beat.  His Teacher was so impressed and said that in all her years as a Teacher, no student had ever before gone to the lengths that Buddy did.

That's our Buddy...not your typical kid.  Proud of you Braden!

Soccer Fundraiser

If you're looking for a reason to go out to dinner tonight I may be able to help.  Careline's soccer team is holding a fundraiser at the WEST ST PAUL APPLEBEE'S to earn money for equipment and tournament entry fees.  Anyone who eats at Applebee's tonight between 4 and 9 pm and gives the following flyer to the waiter/waitress will have 15% of their bill donated directly to Careline's soccer team.  The Packer's Thank You so much if you are able to join us!

Remember...it's the West St Paul location only and you must have a copy of the flyer.  To print it, simply click on it and print.

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

When I got home from work tonight Pat told me that I would be interested to hear that Adeline informed her entire day school that I have a baby in my tummy.  Rest assured Mother (and anybody else concerned with my sanity) that I AM NOT pregnant and will not (ever) be bringing any more McLaughlin munchkins in to this world.

Gosh...and here I thought I was looking pretty good after dropping 15 pounds in the past couple of months!

Soccer Jamboree

Today Careline and her Packer teammates played in the Fall Soccer Jamboree.  Tomorrow is her last game of the season and then it's time to hang up the soccer cleats for a while and break out the basketball shoes.

Happy 10th Anniversary To Us