All Good Things Must Come to an End...

Well...we finally made it to the end of soccer season!  It seemed like it went on and on and on...but 10 games later...the Rumble finished strong.  I think we ended up in 3rd place, which isn't bad considering we were a first year team and we only had like 5 practices.  We really did have a great group of very energetic girls.  They had a blast! 
Harper got more and more into it with each game.  At first, she would run just fast enough to stay right behind the ball...never close enough to kick it.  She got much more brave by the end of the season.  She finally got in the mix and kicked it several times.  She probably led the league in assists! :)  After our last game, she was actually sad it was over.  We will see what the spring season brings.  I don't know if I will be able to "trick" Richard into coaching again! :)  No, he really did have a blast!
Go Rumble!!!

One down...

Last week, Harper LOST her First Tooth!!!

Lost is an operative word here.  That tooth had been dangling for days...weeks for that matter.  She wouldn't let us near it.  Finally, when she came home from school, she was getting excited at the possibility of the tooth fairy coming.  I had her go get a kleenex and try pulling it herself.  She was, of course, not pulling hard enough.  Richard asked if he could look at it.  She let him "wipe it off" with the kleenex and when he did he gently yanked it out.  Funny part was...she continued talking to me for about another minute and then screamed with pain, "My Tooth!"  Richard showed it to her and she was so excited...no more tears!
She wrapped it up and put it under her pillow and the tooth fairy came to visit that night.  She came running in the next morning screaming, "I got $5 MOM!!!"  She wanted to put the money in her piggy bank right away.  Of course she started calculating the amount of money she will get for all of her teeth.  I told her...$5 might just be for the first tooth.  The tooth fairy may surprise us with something different next time!

We Love Taylor Swift!!!

In October, Harper and I...along with our friends Katy and Gracen, went "downtown" (as Harper refers to it as) to see Taylor Swift in concert. The girls didn't know until the middle of August (we bought the tickets in April) and it still seemed so far away. They got dolled up in the Taylor Swift shirts I made them and we headed to see the show.
We had super close seats and sat by some really nice people with some girls about Harper's age. Harper was a singing machine! When Taylor first came out Harper looked at me and said, "That is really her Mom. She isn't on a TV!" Needless to say, I was pumped to be there too! We danced and sang and had an absolute wonderful time. I can't wait for more Girl Rock/Country Concerts in our future!!!

Trickin' and Treatin'

This year was a Halloween First for us.  We only dressed up and went trick or treating ONCE!  Usually we dress up and go to several carnivals, etc but this year snuck up on us a bit.  However, it was also a first in that this was the very first time Harper and Owen have been trick or treating door to door. 

We started out the evening by having Grandma and Boppy over for Chili & Waffles (cornbread waffles...yummy if you've never had it!) and then headed out to find some treats.  I was absolutely amazed at the number of people trick or treating in our neighborhood.  We walked and knocked, walked and knocked some more...the kids' baskets actually started to overflow. 
Pistol Pete,Owen, loved going up and he would say "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you" each time.  He knew how to charm them into giving him for candy!

Belle, Harper, insisted on wearing the highest high heels she owns (her and Grandma T picked them up at the Goodwill a few years ago!)...but it was a good thing we brought along the Toms as a back up.  She changed after a few streets.  She probably would have continued around the neighborhood the entire night, but brother got tired and she wanted to come back and hand out candy.  When we started handing out candy was when I realized how many people were in our neighborhood...I was running out quickly.  I told Harper to shut off the lights when the candy was gone, but she wanted to hand out more.  She volunteered to hand out her own candy to the trick or treaters.  Made my heart SMILE!!!  We sure did get lots of treats this year!

Goo and Guts

...those two words totally describe how my kids feel about cleaning out the inside of pumpkins!  I love carving pumpkins, but the smell makes me turn up my nose a bit.  So...overlooking all of the negatives, the smiles, fun and the end product are fantastic!
This year we chose to carve our pumpkins at Grandma and Boppy's house.  The kids get so excited to cut the top of the pumpkin off and look inside at the "guts."  We scooped and scooped, cleaned and cleaned until the pumpkins were finally ready for carving.  Of course we put the seeds off to the sides for a super fun treat after carving.  This year, my mom and I baked the seeds in brown sugar, cinnamon and regular sugar.  YUM!  They tasted like those sweet, crunch pecans you can buy at the fair.
Anyways...as soon as the pumpkins were ready, Harper grabbed a permanent marker and started drawing on hers.  She drew round eyes and super squiggly mouth.  I cut it out for her but we both decided it needed a nose and ears also.  It was awesome!!!
Owen, however, was not interested in his at all...after the innards were out.  He was in love with candy corn this year, so we decided to make his pumpkin a piece of candy corn.  He knew exactly what it was when we showed him.
And the pumpkins were a huge success lit up on Halloween night!

Bon Voyage

Well...it is something Harper has wanted to do for a very long time. Her and Grandma T used to talk about going on a "big boat" before she was even two and she has never forgotten it. We finally took the plunge and hit the high seas on a cruise to the Bahamas last month. It was truly an unforgettable adventure!
Harper, Grandma and I set out for Dallas on a Wednesday afternoon...did a little shopping...at In-and-Out Burger and headed to the hotel to get some early zzz's. We got up bright and early (well...dark and early!) and headed to the airport to catch our flight to Orlando. Of course the whole way Harper was reminding us that Orlando is where Disney World is...but I kept reminding her that we were going on a cruise...no Disney this time!
We met Aunt Mel at the Orlando airport and headed to Port Canaveral to embark! We were all amazed at how BIG cruise ships are. Our ship, the Carnival Sensation and the Disney Dream were the only ones in the port, but they were both massive. We got all checked in and headed onto the boat and up to the Lido Deck for a sunny lunch out by the pool. It was a few hours, but we finally "Bon Voyaged" out into the deep blue sea. During that time, Harper had to try out the water slides on board. She was already having a blast.

We got to our room a little bit before dinner and Harper was so excited that it had a window and two bunk beds. We all unpacked and headed to formal dinner. Super yummy, very fancy meal! We called it an early night because it was such an early morning that day!
The next morning we woke up and headed up to breakfast, again, on the Lido Deck. We wandered around the ship for awhile, but soon saw our destination in the distance. Nassau, Bahamas was not too far off! We got into port at around noon and disembarked shortly after. Once we were off the ship, we hopped on another (much smaller) boat to head to the Blue Lagoon Private Island. It was great getting to see the sights of Nassau as we passed by the shore. Of course , I got to see Atlantis! Somewhere I have been amazed with ever since I saw it on the Travel Channel. The water in Nassau amazed me. It was literally Crystal Clear!

We got the island and wandered around for a bit. Of course, Harper the fish was in the water as soon as we got off the boat. We even got to try real coconut milk. YUCK! Not sweet at all, but it was fresh...we watched the guy climb the tree to get the coconuts down.

Finally it was time for our Dolphin Encounter.  It was a little chilly this day, so we were all shivering when we got in the water, but warmed up with a welcome from our new friend, Salvador. I have wanted to pet/touch a dolphin for as long as I can remember.  Hello...former Zoology teacher! :)  Harper did great, she touched Sal, but then she saw the itty bitty quarter size black and white fish swimming in the crystal blue water and FLIPPED OUT!!! She started climbing up me like a monkey to get out of the water.  Finally, I put her back on the dock, so I could enjoy an absolutely wonderful hug from Sal.  This was an experience I will never forget!!!

Once we were back in Nassau, we hit to the streets to do a little shopping.  We ended up buying a few souvenirs and then headed over to eat dinner at Hard Rock Cafe!  Then, it was back to the ship before dark.

Once we were back on the ship, we went to the Lounge (aka auditorium) for some fun games.  We actually won two of the games.  Way to go Team!  Melanie and I stayed for the show that night and then hit the hay. 
Our next day was spent at sea on our return to Port Canaveral.  It was a very fun, relaxing day.  Harper and I got up early and ate our breakfast on the patio.  We laid out by the pool and then Harper got to make a Build-a-Bear in the Camp Carnival Kid's area.  Harper, Grandma, and me even went to a towel animal folding class.  Harper had a blast!  Of course, Harper talked me into swimming later that day...one word...SALTY!  The pool was salty ocean water.  I was not expecting that.  The slides were regular water but it was chilly.  I would rather be cold than salty!  We had  really good time going down the slides.  That night we go fancied up in our dresses and headed to formal dinner.  It was a great time and our waiter was so much fun!  We all went to the show that night and Harper and I went to the top deck to look at the stars before we went to bed. 

The next morning found us back in Port Canaveral, then on our way back home.  We had such a wonderful time together.  A much needed vacation!!!  Just tonight while I was putting Harper to sleep, she said, "Mom, can we go on another cruise tomorrow!"