Happy Halloween

The weather for Halloween was a spooky surprise. The wind was blowing and there was a chill in the air. We ventured out to the coffee shop for cinnamon rolls, chai tea, and hot chocolate. At home we enjoyed a very lazy Sunday. The girls played, we napped and watched tv. As evening came, Chad and I attempted to make a ghoulish dinner for us and The Hitchings. We made frog eyed slush, vampire slush, spider and eyeball poppers, ice scream balls, and appetizers with ranch applesauce dip. (All creepy recipes from the Schwan's catalog.) It was edible. The girls all wanted to trick or treat, so we put on our costumes and hit the streets running. After doing just 3 neighborhood streets, the loot in the bags was overflowing. The girls (and adults) were all cold and ready to call it a night. It was a Happy Halloween for all!


Cooper as a softball player.
Campbell as a cheerleader.


Campbell (cheerleader)
A (purple Care Bear)
Cooper (softball player)
T (vampire)


Cooper & Campbell's loot bags at the end of the night. So much candy!!

Prepping the Pumpkins

It was a delightfully warm sunny day. We spent the morning tailgating at the KSU vs. OK St football game, and despite a loss we all had fun. Our afternoon was filled with playtime outside and naps inside. Then it was time to carve the pumpkins. Chad gathered the supplies and the girls drew the faces on their pumpkins. Then Chad began carving out the pieces. Always great fun to watch! The other neighbor kids that were outside playing stopped by to take a look at the new jack-o-lanterns. We were almost ready for Halloween.


The girls working on their pumpkins.


The finished jack-o-lanterns.


Cooper and Campbell show off their artistic works of art.


The best part of carving a pumpkin is cooking up all the seeds afterwards. We love pumpkin seeds!!

PT Conferences

Today we attended Parent Teacher Conferences for both girls. We are proud to say that both girls are doing fantastic in school. Campbell seems to be helpful, polite, and involved at preschool. She plays well with her friends and is kind to the teachers. Cooper continues to excel in her academics. Her Reading and Math skills are outstanding. She is helpful to the teacher and other students. She participates in activities and enjoys being at school. We are so lucky to have two girls who enjoy going to school and will enjoy learning.

Paging Dr. Lohman

At preschool today, Campbell needed to dress up as something she wants to be when she grows up. Out of the costume choices we had, she chose a doctor. I think Dr. Lohman sounds pretty good.

Family Reunion

We leisurely got up and around on Saturday, ate breakfast and went back to Uncle Wayne's house. Today there was going to be a family reunion and we were excited to have a chance to see so many people we hadn't seen in years. The reunion was at this old historic hotel and it was potluck with fried chicken. Being close to Halloween the kids were able to decorate pumpkins, do crafts, and watch Emma teach some Science experiments. All the while the adults visited and reminisced about the past. Pictures are a must at family reunions, especially ones with important people like Granny there. We were very happy and pleased that everyone took time out of their schedule to attend and make memories that will last forever.


Campbell was such a chatterbox and told Granny all kinds of stories.


My sister, dad, and me with Granny. Three Generations!


My sister's family, my family, my dad & stepmom with Granny. Four Generations!

After the reunion we went to Uncle Jimmy's house. He lives on a farm as well and the kids loved feeding the goats and seeing the bulls. It's great to watch my kids experience new adventures and enjoy them.


Cooper feeding the goats.


Campbell feeding the goats.

Granny

My sister's family and our family followed each other on the drive up, as my dad & stepmom went a day earlier than we did. We broke up the drive on the way going there and stayed the night in Davenport, IA. To drive straight through would take between 10-12 hours depending on traffic, construction, path, and of course stops along the way. We were happy to arrive on Friday afternoon and check into our hotel and grab some lunch. Once that was all underway, we drove to my Uncle Wayne's house and met my dad there. Uncle Wayne & Aunt Sharon live on a farm, what used to be a pig farm. They have no children of their own, but I remember having so much fun at their house during the summers as a child. My sister and I would ride in the combines during harvest while the hay was getting bailed and my dad would walk the field moving the bails, until one day he found a snake cut up in one. That was the last time we wanted to do that. It was great to show Cooper, Campbell, Bailey, & Ryland around the farm. We then loaded up to drive out to Granny's house.

My dad is #3 in a family of 7 kids. Granny's house is the only house I've ever known Granny to live in. Papa passed away 8 years ago, so she has been very lonely since then. The other kids that live there take care of her and look after her at home. Granny's house is on 6 acres of land and as long as I can remember my dad's oldest sister lived on that land with her family as well. Which meant anytime we came to visit Granny & Papa, we could play with our cousins. Of course when your a kid and your cousins are older and all boys, they tend to want to run in the fields, play in the dirt, jump out of the barn, and climb on the roof. All things my mom would NEVER let us do, but when dad took us for a visit, he would let us play and have fun. All good memories. It wasn't quite the same feeling of excitement driving up to Granny's house this trip. Time has taken a toll on every material thing there and on all of us people. It was sad to see, but good to be there sharing that with the kids.

Granny looked very good. She was watching tv and carrying on conversations. And despite having had a stroke about 6 months ago, she knows what is going on but the words just won't flow as quickly as she would like them to. All the kids were great about sitting and talking and being kind to Granny. My Uncle Jeff was there and his wife takes care of Granny. We sat and visited for a while telling stories of past times and enjoying each others company.

After our visit we headed back to Uncle Wayne's house to eat dinner with Aunt Carol and Uncle Jimmy and their spouses. It was delicious food and tons of it. Uncle Wayne hooked up the Wii for the kids to play while us adults just chatted the evening away.



Me, Granny, and my sister visiting Granny at her house in Michigan.


Chad, Cooper, Granny, Campbell, and me. It was so nice to see Granny again.

Michigan

Today we started a long overdue journey up North to Michigan. Both my mom & dad are from a tiny (so tiny it is called a Village) place called Berrien Springs, Michigan. My dad's family all still live up there and my grandma' s health hasn't been the greatest. So my sister's family, my family, and my dad & stepmom all signed on for the weekend trip up North to catch up with the Hance side of the family.

His arrival

After a very long week, Chad arrived home tonight. It was exciting to be able to pick him up at the Manhattan airport. We waited as patiently as we could. We had balloons. We had a big sign. We had plenty of excitement. And finally he was here. A week was just TOO long for him to be gone. We missed him like crazy and are very thankful he is home with us again.

Madness in Manhattan

I took the girls to experience the Madness in Manhattan, aka the unveiling of KSU's men's basketball team for the upcoming year. Campbell was a overjoyed to cheer on her favorite player, Jacob Pullen!!!

Asleep

I asked Campbell to clean up her very messy room. Five minutes later when I checked on her progress, this is what I found. Peacefully asleep amongst the mess.

Goodbye Daddy

We took Chad to the Manhattan airport bright and early this morning. He is off to Napa Valley, California for a week's worth of internship with a good friend Grant. This is his once in a lifetime opportunity to do something he has always wanted to do and even though we will miss him dearly, we must let him go.

Our little Pumpkin

How can one little girl be so darn cute? Halloween is just around the corner and her red hair just puts that added color in all our Fall pictures. She is our little pumpkin.

Joining Brownies

This is year 3 of Girl Scouts for Cooper and Teagan, which meant that it was time to join Brownies. Their troop leader, Ms. Sara, has been great and returned this year with the split Daisy/Brownie troop. The dedication ceremony was great fun to watch as all the girls are growing up and learning what it really means to be a Girl Scout.


Ms. Sara spinning Cooper around as she sings the Brownie song.


Ms. Sara pinning Cooper as a Brownie.


Campbell and Cooper after the ceremony.


Cooper and Teagan officially Brownies.

KSU Football

KSU football schedule gave us a Big 12 game on Thursday night this year. KSU vs. NU was a fun night out. The weather was warm and everyone was ready to cheer on the cats. We enjoyed tailgating with all our friends. Here is the view from our seats.

A lost tooth and a bad bruise

Cooper has no fear when it comes to pulling out her loose teeth. She succeeded today and pulled out another loose tooth. She proudly shows it off. Top right side next to her front tooth.



Campbell is "Little Miss Accident Prone" and somehow finds a way to get injured even standing still. Here is her latest bruise. Ouch! Right underneath her chin. Poor girl.