Story Book Parade!

Our elementary school celebrates reading every year with a fun-filled week of events - contests, guest author visits, and my favorite, the Story Book Parade. EVERYONE in the school dresses as a book character and parades through the hallways to the applause of hundreds of clapping parents. It's a big deal! The teachers on each grade level choose a "theme" for their costumes (last year we were the characters from Hey Diddle Diddle - I was the moon!) This year, we were all Miss Frizzle from The Magic School Bus!

I had the most fun making my costume. Just painted wooden shapes and velcro on a goodwill dress. Cooper insisted I wear the wig while I painted and prepared the costume - he loved that we both had red hair! Too funny!

Coop dressed up as Clifford the Big Red Dog - wasn't he cute?! He was very nervous about wearing the costume (he's always been this way!) but I was so proud when he even agreed to put on the hood for a few pictures.

Adorable! (And don't you just LOVE the little girl dressed as Princess Kate sitting next to him?! Only in the Woodlands would People magazine count as a "book"!)

Coop with a few of his buddies from my class.

And his hysterical teacher, Miss Fields... you could hear the squeals of laughter from the kids when they saw her hair! (And trust me, we laughed pretty hard trying to get it to stay on, too!)

Here's my class of characters!

And (almost) all the Frizzles! Miss Fields conveniently scooted out of this one...

It was a successful parade and such fun!

And in an unrelated story, Cooper's Lolli came to talk to kindergarten about being a nurse for Community Helper week (happened to be the same day as Story Book Parade!) Can't you see the pride on his face?

Pumpkin Head

This kid looks GREAT at a pumpkin patch. It must be his hair and skin coloring (my friend Ashley would say if he's a season, he'd be a "fall") My camera can't get enough photos of him with those pumpkins!

Not sure how he plans to carve this teensy pumpkin, but it sure is cute. Maybe we'll paint it or glitter it or something. Speaking of projects, just wait until you see the purple TCU pumpkin we've got in store for our front porch!

Love this pumpkin head!!

Sick Day

Coop was under the weather so we both took a day off from school to rest and recover.

We spent the day playing cards, folding laundry, and coloring with markers. I realized how much I love just being at home. No list, no schedule. It was glorious! (well, minus the puke...)

Cooper worked for an hour on "hard work" - handwriting and workbooks. I enjoyed sitting beside him and marveling at how smart he's become. He wrote and illustrated a story about a horse and said, 'I can spell it myself, Mom." It's times like these that I think I would enjoy homeschooling (even part time) if that opportunity ever arose.

We got a little stir crazy after lunch and Cooper decided to bust out the balloons. The balloon pumpkins were all Cooper's idea. I just offered the green ribbon for a stem. (The original plan was the fill the bathtub with balloons!)

He may have just inspired a project for my students at school!

We're thankful for a day of rest together. Cooper should be up and at 'em soon!

Picture Day

Hair brushed and gelled.

Little collared shirt ironed.

"Fancy" sperry shoes on.

Worth a picture to document!

TCU Football Game

What originally was a quick trip for a doctor's appointment turned into a fun family weekend in Fort Worth. My parents and Hudson joined us for a walk around campus, snacks at Dutch's on University, and the football game against Portland State.

For all my fellow frogs, check out the view from the new student center! The campus is absolutely beautiful, down to the smallest details. But I hardly recognized the place! (Now I know how my dad felt when he kept telling me that Worth Hills used to be a golf course. I rolled my eyes and thought, He's so old...)

We spent a considerable amount of time throwing pocket change into the fountains on campus - I'm considering it a contribution to the scholarship fund.

The boys liked Frog Alley with the games and bouncy houses. I loved seeing their friendship grow as they get older. Cooper just adores Hudson!

My dad was in heaven watching TCU football with his two grandsons. (And eating purple italian ice made it even better!!)

TCU football family weekend will definitely be a tradition we'll repeat!

A kid and a box

And a water hose, of course!

I came outside to find all of Cooper's summer clothes dumped in a pile in the garage (thus the empty clear bucket!) and my little guy taking a bath in the front yard. Oh my.

It wasn't long before he requested his sharks and whales from the bathtub. This does look like a perfect tank for Shamu. Big splashes - just like at SeaWorld!

Then it started "raining". You should have seen the look of joy as he ran for the umbrella. Umbrellas may be one of his most favorite inventions ever.

All that fun saved me from having to water my lawn! Win/win!