We let Miss McKenna have a Halloween party this past weekend, and boy did we have fun. The kids were just crazy. You couldn't have asked for a more enthusiastic bunch. We stuffed them full of pizza and treats, and played some really fun games. The favorite game of the evening was the Donut Game. My Dad used to take us to his friend's house every Halloween time for a Halloween party. Those parites are some of the best memories from my childhood. We used to play the Donut game. It is alot harder than it looks. You have to race to finish your donut tied to a string, with your hands behind your back. It was so funny when Jaycee's donut fell off the string and onto her nose. lol

I got a strobe light, and they had a blast dancing in front of the thing. Boy did they cut loose. They were not shy in the least bit. We also let the kids bob for apples. I always load the apples up with quarters. It makes the kids try real hard to score one. It really was a fun party. Adults and kids had equal fun. Put us in the perfect mood for Tricks and Treats this week.

We Decked The Halls,

And Set The Table With Fiendish Delights,

Put On Our Best Costumes and Waited For The Guests To Arrive!

Halloween Bat

And A Steely Batman

Can You Believe They Put Me In This Ridiculous Getup?

Yeah, Pup, I can believe it :0(

Our Lovely Witch Hostess With Her Pup

Party People In The House

Yummm...Pizzza!

Who Gave This Guy A Deadly Weapon?

Pinata Time

Candy Scramble

The Donut Game Was Hilarious

The Donut Fell On Jaycee's Nose LOL

Dance, Dance

Bust A Move

Doin' The Robot

Dance Till You Drop

Can't Have A Halloween Party Without AppleBobbing

Gardens, Pumpkins, and Scarecrows

We recently went to Powell Gardens to their Jack-o-Lantern Walk at Dusk. The garden is such a different place in the fall. The annuals and perenials in bloom were just an autumn treasure. Gorgeous chrysanthemums, snapdragons, sunflowers, and mums were on display in an array of fall colors. That coupled with the gorgeous color of the changing leaves made for a picturesque scene. The garden at night seems to take on an almost dreamy like quality, a place where fairytales and haunting tales could come to life.

Everything was aglow at the gardens.

The statues in the pond took on an eerie glow.

When we arrived at the garden's visitor center a fairy princess directed us to take in all the pumpkins that were on display. She also informed us that there were scarecrows on display throughout the garden. We would have the opprotunity to vote on our favorite scarecrow at the end of the evening. We then left the visitor center and continued on to search the section of the gardens with the scarecrows for our favorite ones. The scarecrows were very creative. My favorite was one of a cat fishing for catfish.

Burt's was called Corn Field of Dreams, which had a scarecrow dining on corn.

McKenna's was called Stop and Smell the Roses.

Brendan loved them all. lol

After picking our favorites, we continued on to the Jack-o-Lantern trail. The pumpkins gave a delightful glow to the garden path. The bridges were also illuminated by string lights. The kids had so much fun roaming around and picking their favorite pumpkins. Here is a slide show of some of the pumpkins they saw at the garden, and some from a pumpkin carving display we went to this year.

When we finished the tour we boarded the trolley and headed back to the visitors center were the kids were given a candy treat. It really was a visual delight to be at the gardens at night in the fall.

Dining With Dinos

The kids and I went to the coolest restaurant. It is located in the Legends Shopping Center. The name of the restaurant is T-Rex.

It is a dinosaur themed restaurant with animatronic dinos throughout the place.

It was so cool, and the food was just amazing. The dining experience includes a dino bone dig area, learning center, a mine filled with geodes, and a Build-A-Dino Workshop(the same as Build-A-Bear). Brendan and McKenna each made their own dinos. McKenna made one for Andrew, and Brendan made a t-rex. I had to giggle because he named the thing Pooney. He first went with Ballo, but decided Pooney was a much better fit. lol Makes me a little nervous over what my future grandkids will be called. I guess it will be ok, because Ashton used to want to name everything Jonkey. lol I have no idea (and I don't think she does either) were the hell Jonkey came from.

T-Rex was huge. The animated dinosaurs were really impressive. Andrew's eyes were like saucers when he saw them. There is an enormous Giant Squid hanging from the ceiling when you walk in, and a wall with the image of hot lava pouring down on one wall.

Upstairs is the Ice Crystal Cave. It was really pretty. There is also a dino dig area. Brendan was so funny when he laid in the sand flapping his arms and legs to make "sand angels". He also loved the beautiful geodes.

The Legends itself is a beautiful shopping center. It boasts some of the most interesting restaurants in the KC area. It also has a huge fountain area that the kids love.

We will definitely be making a trip back to T-Rex.

Kansas City Renfest '08

The kids and I headed out to the last day of the Renaissance Festival in Bonner Springs this past Monday. We had so much fun. We had a perfect day. The final day was much less crowded than on the weekends. It was also cool and overcast, which made for a really pleasant day.
The Renfest is always a blast for the kids. It is like walking back into a fantasy realm. They love the costumes. They enjoy sharing time with fairies, ladies, knights, royalty, wizards, and pirates. This year they had a puppet show with a large dragon puppet. In the show the dragon is born from an egg. After he is born they ask for a name for the dragon. The fairy princess picked Brendan and asked him what his name was, and decided he and the dragon would share the same name. Brendan was thrilled that he and the dragon shared the same name. As the showed continued the fairy princess picked a “volunteer” to go on stage. That “volunteer” was none other than yours truly. As part of my public humiliation I was goosed by the dragon. The kids cracked up, thinking it was hysterical that someone was doing this to THEIR Mom. Brendan was also picked to go on stage and act out a skit with the Brendan the Dragon. He was so cute, especially when he peeked inside the “egg” to see what was behind the dragon. When we asked him what he saw he said he saw a hand. lol
They also added a Wizard’s wand school to the Children’s Enchanted Realm. The kids really liked making their own wands, and then took them to be “tested” by the Wizards. This was a thrill for two Harry Potter fans.
The Renfest is always a great time. If you have the chance to attend one you should. The jousting, food, music, and shows make it a really unique experience.

Fall Time in Missouri

"Nature" is what we see—
The Hill—the Afternoon—
Squirrel—Eclipse—the Bumble bee—
Nay—Nature is Heaven—
Nature is what we hear—
The Bobolink—the Sea—
Thunder—the Cricket—
Nay—Nature is Harmony—
Nature is what we know—
Yet have no art to say—
So impotent Our Wisdom is
To her Simplicity."
~Emily Dickinson

One of the great things about living where we do is the COUNTRY!

Our house (actually it is more like a cottage) sits on 8 acres. To the south of our home is the pond. To the west is a huge corn field. Turning east is acres of woods leading up a hill. If you go north , you hit the creek. My family loves to explore the many areas surrounding our house. Nature and wildlife abound. From the deer that walks by our house, to the heron that fishes our pond. There are creatures and plants of all shape and form right out my front door. Some of the animals that I have encountered by just literally opening up my front door include rabbits, deer, snakes, groundhogs, and coyotes.

The woods provide endless hours of exploration for the kids. Our neighbors own over 60 acres, and we have access to most of the land. The woods leading up the hill is full of trails. The kids like to go quading on the trails. Our neighbors are moving their horses over soon. They want my husband to teach their daughter how to ride. He was raised on a ranch, and is proficient in riding. We will have access to the horses when they come over. Burt keeps threatening to get our own horse, but if we end up moving back to South Dakota he doesn't want to transport a horse. I guess it will be neat to have our neighbor's horses to ride. Actually, it might be better, all the fun without any of the expense or work! Can't wait until Mustang and Portia move over here.

Brendan and McKenna like to go on nature walks. Brendan likes to pick out walking sticks. This one might be a little too big.

His favorite thing to do down at the creek is to pitch rocks. The bigger the splash, the greater sense of satisfaction he gets.

Lilly is already 6 months. I can't believe how much time has gone, since we brought her home. She really is the sweetest pup. So good with the kids. Boston terriers really are the best dogs with kids. If you are looking for a small indoor dog for kids, you can't go wrong with a Boston. Lilly loves to go trailing with the kids. Sticking her nose into everything.

Lilly looks so stylish in her new dress.

McKenna's favorite thing to do at the creek is to find rocks. She is a rock hound.

She likes to find round rocks, which she uses in our ceremonies. The creek provides many rocks.

She also likes to pick wild flowers.

She managed to convince her brother that her flowers were mistletoe, and he owed her a kiss.

Fall here in Missouri is just truly beautiful. It is my favorite time of year, and I feel truly blessed.

The Halloween Hare

The Halloween Hare

Gave the kiddies a scare

Late on a Hallow's Night.

Popping out of his hole

With a mask black as coal

Giving the Tricksters a fright.

Not a minute he wastes

Gobbling chocolates in haste

Left while taking their flight.

Louisburg Cider Mill

Burt and I took the kids to the Louisburg Cider Mill in Louisburg, KS, this weekend. We really had a good time. The Louisburg Cider Mill makes the most delicious apple cider I have ever had. They have a 100 year old cider press that squeezes the fresh juice out of the apples. You can watch the cider being made from the apple washing to the bottling. The kids were really fascinated by the whole process. They were really impressed by the machine that screwed the caps on the jugs, and they liked the fact that they could then taste the final product. The mill also makes cider doughnuts, which are amazing. Brendan is a donught feind! He loved watch the batter drop and watch them sizzle down the conveyor belt. The donughts were as tasty as the cider.



This weekend was their fall festival. Crafts, music, and good food abound. There is also a corn maze and pumpkin patch. The kids loved picking out their pumpkins, taking great care to find the "perfect" one. We tried the corn maze, and boy was it tough. There is over 7 miles of maze. After awhile we were just beat, so we cheated lol. We cut through to get out.



It was the perfect place to get us in the mood for the fall season. Bring on Halloween.