Halloween 2011 ~ It was SUPER!

We got into Halloween much more this year than what we usually do. There were more parties, including our Spooktacular Sleepover posted earlier and Ella's Party/Playdate. We wore several costumes including a cat, Snow White and Grumpy, Sleeping Beauty, a volleyball player, Ramona from Ramona and Beezus, and all of us were Super Heros. Thankfully, we have a great dress up box and some talent!

This was my FAVE!!! We were The Barretts! You know, like The Incredibles,... The Barretts! ha. The best part was that we all made our costumes! Emma made hers ALL by herself and did the sewing on the other capes. I sewed the emblems on but each girl designed their own emblem and helped cut it out. They also picked out their own fabric at the store and made their own wrist cuffs and masks. It was so fun.

Eliza Ramsey had a costume birthday party that we all enjoyed to kick off our dressing up events.

Our church Fall Festival was Sunday. Here are the sweet Ellas.

Monday, Eva Grace had to dress like a book character. She chose Ramona from Ramona and Beezus. If ever a book character matched a kid, this would be a great match.

Emma got to wear her costume she made to school. I'm so proud of her for making hers all by herself. That is impressive for a 9 year old to do.

Ella FINALLY got to have her Halloween party/playdate this morning. She was SO excited! Ella Mae and Faith came over for a little while. We played a mummy wrap game. Faith didn't want to play but Ella Mae and Ella Ruth looked super cute.

Halloween night we did our traditional trick or treating hayride at Nanner and Poppy's with our friends. Tonight Ella was Snow White and Burt was Grumpy. Ella was so excited about her "date" with Daddy. "We are going twick or tweeting togeter."

I don't know what these 2 did but Ella's trick or treat bag was twice as full as Emma and Eva Grace's. :)

Passing out candy was as much fun as trick or treating!

Our Crew this year! Hunter, the Reeds, Abby Lynn Bunch, the Parkers, Leah Hendrix and Zeke.

WORLD SERIES, Game 7, Cardinals WIN, Burt and Poppy went!!

It was a once in a lifetime, bucket list opportunity! Burt, his dad and his life long best friend went to the World Series Championship Game. They bought tickets before game 1, on a chance there would be 7 games. It was a fabulous, nail-biting series! Cardinals won, Rangers won, Cardinals won, Rangers, Rangers, Cardinals (at the very last minute in the 11th inning) and Cardinals. They had great seats in right field 3 rows up from the bullpin. What a euphoric feeling to be watching your lifelong favorite ball team win the most important ballgame of the year. This was the Cardinals 11th World Series win in 2011.

Billy, Burt, Monte (works with Burt), and Dondee

I'm packing a suitcase and I'm packing a....

Adam came over after church tonight and took us out for a treat... YOGURT! The whole family went and we played an old family traveling game on the way there and back. The first person starts packing a suitcase and each person builds on that, also remembering what each person in front of them has packed. If you mess up the order or forget, you are OUT!

Emma started packing the suitcase and packed
yogurt,
toothbrush (Eva Grace),
chicken nugget (Adam),
chimichanga (Amy),
1,217,000 feathers (Burt),
ice cream, (Eva Grace out)
go cart,
headlight,
bed cover,
double bubble,
pop tart, (Burt out)
a piece of Mama's hair,
a box of Twinkies, (mama/me out)
a cd,
a baby blanket,
a balloon,
toenail clipping, (Emma out)
ADAM WINS!

Emma taught her church class tonight :)

Emma got to teach her Wednesday night class tonight :) Mrs. Bonnie lets them all rotate and teach if they want to. She worked hard to prepare her lesson and was very pleased with how it turned out!
She taught Psalms 56:3, "What time I am afraid I will trust in thee." Her class made the glow balloons with glow sticks. They made a face on one balloon side and wrote the verse on the other side. She ended the lesson with prayer requests and a prayer. I'm so proud of her! :)

Bedtime Stories

"Once upon a time...."

Sibling banter

Emma (aggravated)- "Eva Grace, you STINK!"

Eva Grace (complimented)- "Thanks!"

(She did stink. Not sure what she got into but it was pretty bad.)

SpOOktAcULaR Sleepover

Eva Grace had a Spooktacular Sleepover last Friday night. 10 of her closest friends were invited to join in the fun. All came but one, Sophie, who got sick at the last minute. :(

Here were our invitations and the scavenger hunt list.

Emma, Eva Grace & Ella enjoyed helping me put everything together and come up with decorating ideas. I had as much party fun as the kids did. I hope they remember it for years to come.

For a late night snack we had Frog Eyes (grapes), Jackolantern cheese balls, body part gummies, blood bath punch (with a severed hand floating in it), poison apples, and pumpkin and ghost sandwiches. Amy Reed also made ghost pretzels.

The tables were covered in spider table cloths so we made our plates into spiders! We even froze spiders in the ice cubes to float in our blood bath punch.

We made several crafts through out the night. Here we are making popcorn hands. We also made ghost suckers and mummy bars. My favorite was the mustache on a stick.

back: Emma K, Chloe, Graci O, Avery C, Becca T. Front: Abby B, Peyton C, Lucy C, Eva Grace, Baile.

After crafts, we played some games. We tried to play Pass The Orange. You know, where you pass the orange from under your chins and can't use your hands. They found this hilarious but could not do it! Then we were going to do the Lifesaver toothpick pass, but they were all grossed out by this. Those were some of my favorite games growing up... We finished up the games with the Scavenger Hunt. This was one of their favorites of the entire night. They were split into teams. 1/2 went upstairs, 1/2 went downstairs. The first to find all the items on their list won. There was a rat on the main floor that was worth extra points. FUN!

After games, it was bedtime. They all piled in the basement and watched Hocus Pocus and Spooky Buddies. This picture was taken around midnight, between the 2 movies. Silly girls!

Our Spooktacular Breakfast... Ahh haa haa haa...
Bone pieces (frosted flakes), Eyeballs, poison apples, Lizard Eggs (cocoa pebbles), Frog eyes (fruit loops), and Franken Fruit, along with spooked milk.

Here are some of our spooky decorations...

We put glow sticks in green balloons then added alien faces and put them in the bushes and hanging from the trees. They looked really cool at night!

EVA GRACE GOT HER FIRST HOME RUN!!!

Last game of the season. Hit it to right field, past first base and past right fielder! I can't even type it without wanting to scream. I ran and picked her up, then Chloe grabbed her and hugged her, her team hugged her, Nanner cried, everyone screamed. ...Great night, proud moment.

Emma's Zoo Field Trip

Emma had a field trip to the Memphis Zoo today. In our group were Caden and A'aliah. Ella also got to go. After the zoo, we checked Emma out and went to Gigi's Cupcakes and Michael's. Two of our favorite girly stops.

Ghost Painting Project

We did this parent painting activity at church where we made ghosts out of our kids' feet.  I was reminded that Eva Grace is VERY ticklish on her feet, making her part very tricky!  I look forward to displaying this many years to come.  It was fun to do it together with all the other moms from church.

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Ella, what are we trying to say???

I think it is much cuter in person than the picture. :)

Eva Grace and Emma descriptions

just learned to ride a bike.

sings songs during worship at church.

just asked Jesus into her heart... or says she did when she was 3, we are just now taking her serious but still waiting a while before baptism.

played her first year of soccer and loved it.

finished up 2nd year of Upwards Basketball.

starting first year of softball in a new league, coach's pitch.






Emma
Plays piano well.

doing well and making lots of new friends at new school, NIC

loves to cook and doing a lot of independent cooking lately!

A huge help with younger sisters.

learning about money and how to earn it, and spend it.

Very grown up lately. Grown up mannerisms, (and a little attitude sometimes...)

Got her very own sewing machine for Christmas, taken a few lessons from Joanna's mom. Going to start more this summer.

Spookilicious

It's our snack week at Preschool. We had a little fun with it :)
Jack-o-lantern cheese balls and ghost poop

(We also took lots of fruit to even out the junk).

Here Comes The Sun

Ella's "homework"

ERB, 4 years old, 10-2011

The most important news of the day comes from the car rider line!

Barrett News Of Day:
Ella wants to be a princess cat super-hero for Halloween...
Eva Grace bribed a boy at school to show her his very hurt and gross finger by giving him a cotton boll from the cotton fields. She even got to ask questions. What a fair trade...
Emma ran a MILE in 6:45... not a typo!! Fastest in her class, boys and girls!!!
Burt and I got a bill from Ella's ambulance ride to Le Bonheur for $1600. Just a ride!! I need to run a transport service!
Breakdown from bill...
Pulse reader one time (band-aid thing on finger) $20
Basic ambulance fee $565
Mileage $13.50 PER MILE!!!
Grand total = $1600

October 7, 2011
Els 4, EG 7, Em 9.

Walking in high cotton 2011

Walking in High Cotton! Our annual trip to the farmland in Missouri. This year we went with Nanner and Poppy, Mylo, Molly and Zeke.

Favorite memory from the day: Burt was trying to teach the girls the cotton life cycle. Eva Grace took away from the lesson she wanted to go "cotton bowling." Then she was trying to get a family game together. ha.

All the girls enjoyed collecting cotton from the fields and bringing it home to share with there classes at school.

Our Weekly Fall Schedule...

This fall Jonesboro started offering league soccer and softball (new for fall), and Emma is old enough to play school intermural sports! I LOVE fall ball!! The temps are perfect for outside. Sometimes you need a blanket, sweatshirt and hot chocolate but you hardly ever have to fight off mosquitos or wipe away the sweat! It reminds me of going to watch my dad play softball when I was growing up. I loved it then too!

Daily Breakdown
Monday: Burt & EG- softball
Tuesday: EG- soccer & softball. Emma- volleyball. Burt- softball.
Wednesday: church.
Thursday: Eva Grace- soccer. Emma- piano. TEST NIGHT!!
Friday: .... usually something fills this space...
Saturday: Emma- volleyball. Eva Grace- soccer. Occasional sofball tournament.
Sunday: Church. Emma- volleyball.
**Don't forget school activities and studying for tests!! Busy, Busy.

I can't leave out Ella. Thankfully, at every event she has friends her age to play with, but she whines that she never gets to do anything fun! Her time is coming.

Here we go! This night Burt had a double header and Eva Grace had a double header. Both of them got home runs too :)

Eva Grace's lifelong buddies ~Peyton, EG, Chloe and Sophie~ We all have to cheer for each other even though we are on different teams.