Campbell

At Campbell's last den meeting, the boys made their own boats for the Raingutter Regatta. And at the pack meeting last week, they got to race their boats.

They also played a game of Turkey Bowling. They're actually tossing a frozen Cornish game hen at the pins.

I'm really glad we got involved in Cub Scouts. It has been a great experience, so far. I hope that Campbell stays with it, becomes a Boy Scout, and eventually an Eagle like so many of his family members. I would love to send him to Philmont one day.

Helene

Here's a little of what Helene's been up to lately. As always, her imagination and creativity astound me. In the picture below, you see Mr. Pillow on the left (wearing a purple tutu and a crown). Ms. Vacuum is in the background (better picture below). They got married here on the landing, then had a baby mouse together (the greenish creature wearing the flowers on her head). I'm not sure why Tobie is in the scene. Helene laughed at the preposterous idea (which I put forth) that perhaps Ms. Vacuum and Mr. Pillow had a cat baby as their second child.

Here is Ms. Vacuum. It was her creation which started the whole saga. Her body is a toy vacuum; her head is part of a gumball machine, decorated with stickers. Her hair is the handle of the vacuum, with ponytail holders and ribbons on it.

Helene attended a birthday party recently at Lollilocks. The girls wore pj's and flip-flops, and got their hair and nails done. I think my first spa manicure was before prom!

Halloween

About a week before Halloween, we had a big costume party at our house. It was a lot of fun. John and I dressed as Uma Thurman's character and one of the Crazy 88s from Kill Bill.

We had spooky food, like vampire blood (sangria), . . .

. . . monster toes (pigs in blankets), bones (taquitos), monster claws (popcorn and candy corns in a glove), etc. Silly, but fun. This was a family party, so the kids loved it.

One group had some fun with Rock Band.

Helene was a bat princess.

I had a couple of girls in the neighborhood help me plan some games, and they were in charge of running all the activities for the kids at the party. They were a huge help. Here's Campbell after bobbing for apples.

The party got a little wilder as the evening went on. Here's candy corn poker . . .

. . . and Halloween Twister!

We had wonderful weather for Halloween this year. No coats or mittens necessary! Lots of neighbors were sitting out on their front porches to hand out candy, just enjoying the evening. John, as always, was wearing his gorilla costume and pretending to be stuffed until some unsuspecting trick-or-treater reached for the candy, at which point he would move slightly or make a little gorilla grunt. Even the kids who knew what to expect (from previous years) would jump and scream.

Helene dressed as a Baylor Bear cheerleader. Yes, we're Aggies, but the grandmother who sewed this for her is a Bear. Oh, well. Campbell dressed as a fireman.

I don't know what this look is about, but it's a good spooky/zombie kind of stare, so I thought it appropriate for the holiday.

I always hang these two fall wreaths up here in October and November. This year, I decided to move our B (for Bradley) over with them. Only one person commented on it spelling out "BOO." I wonder if anyone else noticed . . .