David takes 3rd in the Spelling Bee

David won 3rd place in the spelling bee again like last year.  These kids are brilliant and for a while, it didn't look like there would be a winner anytime soon!  Super proud!

Thanksgiving Family Time

Our Thanksgiving break was extra special this year because my parents traveled from Hawaii to stay with us and also to visit our family in Dallas.  They have been in retirement for almost a full year and since they are so far away we are very blessed to spend time with them.  This video captures the best toddler entertainment there is... the get the spider game!  I'm fairly certain my Dad was playing this with me when I was a baby but I know all his grand children have loved it!

Thanksgiving was at my cousin Stephanie and Paul's beautiful home in North Dallas.  I'm glad we got a family pic!

Look at all of us... Crazy!

On Friday, we had some free time to visit the Dallas Zoo.  We had beautiful weather and really enjoyed our time there.  The grounds are beautiful and the kids enjoyed some time to be silly as you can see in these pics.

Webelo Woods (Scouts)

David headed off to camp on his own (without Dad) this weekend.  Webelo Woods is where the Webelo cub scouts get a chance to check out what it is like to camp with troops they might like to join.  David said he was in charge of showing the Webelos how to pitch a tent... his specialty.

 (I was wondering how they put up tents in the dark)

I am very thankful to the Dads who post pics of my boy having fun on our troop's Facebook page.  When I get to see him smiling, I worry less about him.  ;-)

Marching Band Competition

Our family was new to high school marching band this year but wow, what a ride!!!  These kids pretty much eat, sleep and practice from July through early November.  This YouTube video is their 2017 competition show, This Changes Everything.  I was sad to see it for the last time on Saturday.  But goodness, I'm glad Emily can finally have some free time!

Happy Rainy Halloween!

Halloween 2017 costumes include Isaac as Catboy from PJ Masks, Lia as a black cat, David as left brain (Math) and Emily as Right Brain (Creative)

Yes, it rained cats and dogs!

Meow!  I got to do her face paint.  :-)

Halloween Pumpkin Preparations

Our busy high school freshman had only enough time to sketch out her bat so I got to carve Emily's pumpkin this year.

Lia did some of the cleaning out of the pumpkin guts... but I got the brunt of this job too.

David had big plans for his pumpkin until something got cut off that he didn't want.  It ended up being an opportunity for him to experiment with 3-D pumpkin effects using toothpicks to hold it all together.  I call it a great save!

David's 12th Birthday

We celebrated David's 12th birthday with the Sunderman's and enjoyed another round of Escape the Room.  They chose the Clock Tower this time and they escaped just in time!