the process...

from painting the logo...

and paper mache and paint...

to the school halloween parade!

he did an excellent job!!

and then we have "TIM, the teenage zombie"

this is the first year i've okayed a scary costume...

we even have blood from the people the "zombie" eats

(my actual camera is still on the bottom of the snake river... so... sorry about the bad phone pictures!)

the soccer scoop!

• 250 plus AYSO regions applied for teams to go the AYSO national tournament...


• 24 AYSO regions were picked (and 12 of them were california regions?!)...


• idaho falls was one of the regions picked...


• there were 25 kids in idaho falls who tried out for the team, and jacks made the cut!!
  

so we will be in west palm beach in july watching him play soccer on the international polo club's fields! and you maybe you're wondering if ryan is all bunched up about not making the team... and the answer is a big, fat no. because he doesn't have to fundraise, practice or do any of the hard work... and yet he still gets to go on the family vacation to florida and even get to play in the soccerfest on the day before the tournament. yes, it is good to be ryan!

* * * * *

a caramel macchiato update:

• we went to starbucks to get the prototype
  
• went to the library for the opaque projector--for a supreme logo reproduction
  
• the cup has been made out of paper mache and chicken-coop-stuff
  
• we're painting the cup tonight with the first coat
  
• we're still working out the eye-holes and who'll carry the bucket due to the irony of being vulnerably encased in the cup...

this time last year, i was desperately painting bones for jacks' skeleton costume. so knowing we're not paper mache-ing on wednesday makes me feel like we're ahead of the game!! why we can't just buy costumes? i'll never know...

gardening...

i'm not a gardner, i don't enjoy spending all of my free time out there, but i'm always amazed about gardens--those untended, especially--start to take on a life of their own.

for example, did you know that pumpkin leaves turn black, black, black after a hard frost?

we tossed the seeds from our jack-lanterns out there after carving pumpkins last fall; and now with the leaves dead and dying, i can see our very own pumpkins are growing big and orange... well, yellowish orange, anyway! the boys are so excited to have their very own pumpkins!

then with all of the pumpkin leaves black and wilty, i was able to see all of my tomatoes... and see that some were finally turning red! our summer was brief here, and i was thinking that i was going to have to make fried green tomatoes or aunt bonnie's green tomato pie... now, i might be able to make salsa or something.

then i stopped and looked my boys, and realized they are kinda like the pumpkin seeds... we throw them out in the world (aka school, sports, activities), we never know what they'd grow into. but when the leaves of life are pushed aside and we slow down and take the opportunity to see what's growing, we get to see that these little kids are growing into a pretty neat people--despite our "garden" tending. they are kind and smart, they like to have fun and to laugh, and they makes us very happy...

and i hope that i'll never stop thinking this is the most precious sight in the world--i love watching jackson mow the grass and laugh at whatever thoughts he's got going thru his head!

a good day in the garden, i think...