Happy Halloween!

This was a fun year for Halloween. It was the first year that Shelby really got into it. She picked her costume, she wanted to decorate and looked forward to trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. We got together with a couple other families and the girls set out in our neighborhood together. I walked around only a short while before returning home to pass out candy with the other ladies while the guys finished the door-to-door route......I had a long day and just did not have it in me. In about 45 minutes, the girls returned with full buckets and smiles on their faces. In true Shelby fashion, she would have played and played and played, but we finally had to pull the plug at about 9:30..

Here's to my sweet Olaf, another memory in the books and a couple of my favorite Halloween crafts that she brought home this year. That ghost cracked me up every time I walked by it!  Next year, I'll have two sweeties :)

Who Let the Dogs Out

One evening I was wearing my Turkey Trot t-shirt that featured three turkeys. Shelby asked me what the big turkey was saying and I burst into the 90's anthem "Who let the dogs out." Why? I have no clue, but Shelby thought it was the most amazing song she had ever heard and took to "raising the roof" instantly. We may or may not burst into Who Let the Dogs Out Dance parties around here now and again....

Progress!

I asked Shelby to write her name and she cam back with the below. Progress!

Olaf!

If you thought Halloween was only one day, you are mistaken. We are nearly a week out and we have been to three different Halloween functions. I guess it makes that $30 costume all worth it, right? Shelby picked an Olaf costume  - the snowman from Frozen. It is funny to see other kids get excited about her....they point and say "look mom, Olaf!!"

First, Shelby's school had a little carnival on Friday. These are hard for me to get excited about after a long day, but they are important to Shelby and I do enjoy the opportunity to see what is going on in the classroom a little bit. Jack was done at 5pm, so he was able to make it too.

On Saturday Jack's gym hosted a really cute event for the kids. We had a PACKED day, so we were only there for about an hour, but they did a very nice job. Shelby enjoyed the balance beam and getting her nails painted :)

On Saturday night we went to our neighborhood Halloween function. We left the camera at home, but it was a very cute, well-attended function. We feel fortunate to live in a community with so many nice, young families.

Getting Spooky

Shelby and Jack are quite the duo when it comes to completing projects on the weekends. Today they took on Halloween decorations. As Shelby says, "now our house is spooky!."

Soccer Saturdays

Shelby has turned out to be quite the little soccer player and I dare say, the star of her team. Her first and second game got off to rocky starts, but man....once she got the hang of it, she has never looked back. This Saturday she had a really wonderful goal (three total!), where she was running down the field and actually slowed down the ball to realign her angle to the goal. It was impressive.. As for the Monday, post-work practices, they are tough on all of us, but an important part of the process. I love my little "soccer rocker."

After she scores, she is so proud of herself and tosses her arms in the air. It is precious.

The Pumpkin Patch

After two immensely busy weeks at work, I was simply craving some quality time with my sweet Shelby Pie. I watched her dance class at school and then picked her up early so we could do lunch and naps together at home. On our drive home, she spotted a pumpkin patch along the road and asked if we could go. I recall from the past that the pumpkins were OUTRAGEOUSLY  expensive, so I knew we'd just be going for the other things, but the attractions are what pulled her in anyway.

You can tell from the pictures that Shelby had a great time. I made a huge mistake of riding a ride that went in circles....I was nauseous the rest of the afternoon. But it was worth it :)