Fall, Halloween and Red Ribbon Week

Fall here in Texas is just not the same as my home state of Michigan.  This is the time of year I truly miss Michigan (the state, not the people---I miss them all the time).  Fall in Michigan includes beautiful colored foliage, cider mills and pumpkin patches.  Here in Texas, it's often still really hot in October (it was this year) and the leaves just don't change the same way---it's rather a one tree here, one tree there occurrence, and sometimes they just drop without the color change!  We did try out a local pumpkin patch after some friends said it was "awesome".  When we drove up to find a flat field with pumpkins strewn about, I wasn't impressed.  Add to the fact that it was 99 degrees and we had  a bummer of a "fall" experience.  But we did get pumpkins!

We ran into one of Kendra's besties in the corn maze.  The sheen of sweat on them indicates the heat, right???

We had big plans for these two pumpkins.  Sadly, time got away from us and they were unadorned for Halloween.  :-(  The skinny one was going to be painted and be a candy corn.  The round one was going to have holes drilled into it for a polka-dot effect with a candle.

Halloween:

This year, Kendra decided to trick or treat for canned goods instead of candy.  Actually, she did more than that.  She chose to do this as a value project for her Personal Progress for Young Women in church, and she proposed to her principal that it become a school-wide project.  She met with the principal, who loved the idea, and then it became the first project for the new Leadership Club.  They did posters, went on the announcements, made flyers, and hyped-up the "cans instead of candy" campaign.  She collected 62 food items, and the school had more than 500 items collected for a local food bank. 

The dog throws her off--she looks like Dorothy, but she's actually Wendy Darling from Peter Pan

People in the neighborhood were really kind and supportive to Kendra as she collected cans!

My first costume of the season--I was a "Party Animal" at our church party

 RED RIBBON WEEK:

Red Ribbon Week always falls on Halloween week-=which makes for a ton of dressing up.  This time was especially exhausting, but also fun!

On Jersey Day, this cutie surprised me by wearing my team!!

Nerd day was fun!

We had a Science Hat Vocabulary Parade and my team decided to be Mad Scientists.  Yep, that's my real hair, all hair-sprayed up and crazy!

Halloween Parties:
This was an odd thing for me---this year Kendra was invited to a Halloween party and I had one, too, on the same night.  It was weird for us to be at our own different parties!!  Just the beginning, I know...

Kendra with two friends at her party--Cookie Monster was the hostess. 

The whole group!  It was a super fun party, according to Kendra!   The mom did a Fear Factor game with them, they got to spray paint on their fence (on butcher paper), there was a trampoline, great food, great decorations, and GREAT kids.

My party--hosted by the Ballards.  They turned their home into Hogwarts.  This is just one stunning example of the extremes to which they went--it was AWESOME.  No stone was left unturned...the details were amazing.  I wish I had brought my good camera (again!). 

On my way to my party---from the feedback I received, I make a pretty awesome Maleficent.  I wonder if my students agree with the "wicked queen" label... ;-)