September / October Birthday Bash

Our celebration was at Greg & Kay's house, and it was a big one - lots of birthdays in September & October!

We now have a 16 year old, 15 year old, & 8 year old.  I won't mention the other ages.....

The birthday folks! 

Isn't she so cute - Elizabeth is growing up so fast!

2nd Grade Halloween Party

I can't forget another great Halloween party at St. MM!  Tammy & I have so much fun being room mothers!!  We get along great & can tackle a party via e-mail - love it!

Eating their treats before the games begin.....

We gave them puzzle pieces of a skeleton, and they had 2 minutes to put them together.  I love how the first group arranged the arms & legs - very fun!  Next up was charades, and they did great!  They laughed & loved playing & guessing VERY loudly each charade.

Halloween Fun & Activities

Trying on Halloween costumes started off the holiday!

 A witch?

 An angel?

Actually, the bumblebee costume is for Anna, but they wanted her to keep modeling!

We went to Jo's daycare for Trunk or Treat (just Anna, Jo & me).  Rosie & Pete were at their last soccer practice before the big playoff game.

Anna came from soccer practice, so she was...... a soccer player!  Jo is a fairy tonight.  Yes, we have lots of costumes at our house!  It was a nice evening meeting parents of Jo's friends - Lacey, Bryce, Dylan, Lexan, Arti (very diverse group given they are all doctors, nurses, etc at St. John's)

Trunk or Treat - 5th Grade Fundraiser

It was a beautiful night for Trunk or Treat, but Pete & I worked our tails off!  It was a 5th grade fundraiser for 6th grade camp.  Rosie's class is one of the biggest, and we are trying to raise enough for camp.  I'm pretty sure we had the biggest turnout at Trunk or Treat & the BEST Haunted House.  Jeff Jones outdid himself!!  Not too many pictures since we were working & running around.

Halloween Night at the Gombas'

 Almost all of the kids before they go trick or treating!

Love this picture! 

 Josephine considers Anna's friends her best friends too - they love her just as much too!

Jay Petry as the Mad Hatter!

Anna's Birthday Weekend

I am behind on posting, but I want to catch up before the New Year!  Here's my attempt!

I wrote about Anna's birthday on 9/11 (she turned 8 years old), but I did not post pictures from her very crafty party or the rest of her party weeekend.

She woke up to gifts on Saturday morning with a big smile (Anna has the best smile & turns it on for the camera every time!)

Party #1 - Putt Putt Golf at Tower Tee

Michael, one of best buddies, also turned 8 around her birthday.  We combined to have a Michael/Anna putt putt golf outing on Saturday night!  Very fun & a beautiful night!

The girls at Hole #1

Afterwards, we headed to Sonic for a treat & dancing - what a hoot watching these girls get down!

Party #2 - Arts & Crafts

On Sunday, we headed to a very cool store in South St. Louis for a combination party for Taylor & Anna.  The whole class was invited, and they loved making their very own bulletin board.

Anna & Taylor!

Receiving instructions on the various materials they could use - basically everything!

Yummy & pretty birthday cupcakes - you can't see them below the icing - pretty clever!

One more celebration - we combined Aunt Becky's 50th with Anna's at the end of September!

Breakfast with Santa

 The Boy Scouts at St. MM had their annual Breakfast with Santa after Mass on Sunday.  Jo said "I'm going to stand over here."  No whispering to Santa for her!  They had fun & we had a pretty good breakfast together - we missed Dad at home but brought him home some goodies.

This Christmas may be the best one yet with Josephine.  Is there anything sweeter than hearing her sing Christmas carols while she plays?  She has a Christmas book with buttons that play songs, and it is her favorite thing to do.  She brought it to Show & Share & the teachers said it was a big hit!

Trying to keep it together

I have lots of fun things to write about, but my priority is Pete as he recovers from foot surgery.  It's been harder for all of us than we thought - he didn't like his pain meds but he is mostly done with them now.  I feel like a hamster running every which way & then I have a quick meltdown.  Pete is my right-hand, so I'm not so good at some of his "jobs."  8 more weeks to go....

I think this is good for me (I think) as it should give me more patience.  Hopefully, I won't poison the kids & Pete as he usually does most of the cooking.  Fortunately, my mother-in-law keeps us stocked & a good friend brought over a delicious meal last night.  Thank you!

More on Rosie's birthday, Thanksgiving, Lauren's engagement, etc...

Chargers Win!!!

So fun & so exciting!  We won 3-1 today!! So excited for the team & Rosie!!  Thank you Mom, Dad, Pat, Mary, Joanie, Caty, Alison, Wil, and Elizabeth for coming to the team & rooting for St. MM.  It means so much to us!!!

Some other great pics of Rosie (#10) playing her heart out!  She played the whole game & did every throw in - very proud of her!

Other very FUN pictures from today!

Mary & Caty keeping warm! 

 The whole crew - my dad brought his horn (remember that noise during World Cup!)

Trying to escape!

My mom, Joanie & Elizabeth - Fr Jack & Pat made it to the game as well!

Playing sticks - Wil & Jo - they are going to have a great time on vacation this summer!