Halloween

I've slowed down on my posts because life has sped up. As I stated when I first began this thing, I'm not a good writer. Given I lack this elusive talent, it takes me a lot longer than I'd like to write a post. Can I just mention how much I love the Fall? Living in Texas made me forget how beautiful trees become during this time of year:



Our kitchen was completed in the nick of time. I was able to bake the cupcakes for Mateo's Halloween party at school on Thursday 10/30. Wed nite I also had to translate for an open house at school, come home and help Chayla finish her Power Point on the Pueblos, bake cupcakes, and put together a Halloween costume for Mateo. Exhaustion doesn't begin to explain what I felt. Chayla goes to school early on Tues and Thurs so I can take Mateo to school on time. I had to co-op for the Halloween party so I had to be there early, but I got to partake in the festivities, which is a bonus. Here is Mateo and friends in all their glory:





After his party we booked it to Chayla's school to hear her presentation. She worked so hard over the last few months to learn and create with such detail and care. I'm so proud of her:





Halloween was so much fun. I invited the neighbors over for dinner. The adults helped the kids get ready and then we separated into two groups:





Sarah and I took the "babies" out and these novices performed like veterans. They rolled up to the first house and without prompting yelled, "Trick-or-treat!" They were so cute as they looked up at the candy-givers in such disbelief. They almost couldn't believe they were getting all this candy without a fight from mom. The best part was their reaction when no one answered the door: "WAKE UP!" Talk about persistence! Mateo & Audrey managed to hit up at least twenty houses and could barely wait to dig in when they got home, well past their bedtime:



Luckily for me the election coincides with the end of the grading period so I have had a long weekend. Knowing this I was able to put aside quite a bit of time to hang out with the kids on Sat and Sun. We went to the park on both days and also took a little field trip to the nearby stream. The weather was amazing, the foliage gorgeous, and the kids had a blast with the rocks. Mateo threw every "rocky-rock" (as he called it) in his peripheral and Chayla collected them- very telling of their personalities.







Here's a neat video of the kids as they enjoyed a day of outdoor exploration and just being kids: