Halloween & Dio De Los Muertos Cookies

 Instead of door-to-door trick-or-treating, we decided to make frosted sugar cookies to celebrate both Halloween and Dio De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

We had fun making the cookies this evening.  Ramsey's favorite thing is licking the beaters!    

I liked painting the frosting with the edible paint.

Trunk or Treat!

 For Halloween, Ramsey said he wanted to be "Maverick" from Top Gun.  He said he wanted to dye his hair black!   

With the aviator glasses and bomber jacket, I bought some temporary black spray for his hair.  On the day of Trunk or Treat, he decided against the black spray.  I didn't fight his final decision.  

When we arrived at the yearly tradition Trunk or Treat event, there had to have been THOUSANDS of people there.  Rows and rows and rows of trunks were open, all designed with fun themes and people dressed up in fun costumes, passing out candy.  It was seriously overwhelming!  Finding a parking spot was a treat, but we managed.  ha!

Halloween isn't Ramsey's "thing".  He doesn't care about the candy or dressing up.  He basically goes because I love it... and there's bouncy castles!!    I was a bit sad at one point, as Ramsey said to me, "Mom, I feel weird.  No one knows who I am supposed to be!"  My child was unsure of himself and feeling self-conscious.  I reassured him that a LOT of people knew EXACTLY who he was (he had many compliments on his cool bomber jacket).   Halloween should be fun, so we stayed as long as Ramsey was willing.

This year, they had a laser game.  Think of Mssion Impossible or Oceans 11.... with criminals in black cat suits ducking, dodging, and stealthily moving through a maize of red lasers in order to get to the priceless jewel.  

Before Ramsey went in, he watched other kids on the video monitors try to avoid the green lasers.  Many didn't do so well.

When Ramsey went in, I watched him.  He restarted once, but then he moved through the laser beams like a panther, avoiding them completely.   I was impressed!  And, he made it in good time!

And... Ramsey's main reason for going to Trunk or Treat:  the bouncy castle.  It was a maze, with slides, bouncy stairs, and all sorts of obstacles.   Ramsey went through a few times before he started overheating and decided he'd had enough.

We forewent getting any candy (too many people for Ramsey and too many lines).  I dragged him to one place with a short line so I could get some chocolate!  Then, we buckled up and left.    We had decided not to go to the other two Trunk or Treat events.  Instead, we grabbed some McDonald's from the drive-through and went home.  I think Ramsey's highlights were the bouncy castle and the chicken nuggets.  ha!

October View on the Lake

 It's been a GORGEOUS October.   I don't need too many words to describe it.  Just check out this view from the kayak, taken close to the North Bridge, facing south on our lake.  Incredible!

Can Somebody Get this Kid a Haircut?

 Ya, it's official, between my lacadaisical or procrastinating nature, plus Ramsey's disdain of haircuts, we've pushed it a little too far.   This kid needs a haircut!!  Gah!

Pumpkin Challenge Winner

 Ramsey and I stopped in to see Nana Karen for a bit.  We had some errands to run, plus Ramsey wanted to show Nana his new Top Gun Maverick aviator glasses.

When we arrived, Mom wanted to show us the pumpkins that some of the residents had made in a little art class they had.  Residents, staff, and visitors would be voting on their favorites and the winner would receive some sort of prize.  

Mom asked us to guess which one was hers.  I had a clear favorite, but, just in case that one was NOT hers, I played a bit coy, stating "they're all beautiful!".   She fessed up which one was her creating.  Whew, I nailed it!  My favorite was the one that she had made.

It had a funny little witch on top and the rest of the pumkin had pretty sparkles and a flowers and dog theme.

I guess we will see if Mom is the victor in a few days.    UPDATE: Yup, Mom won!  Good job, Momma!

On the way out, we had to get a picture of Ramsey next to one of the longest lingering residents.  hehe

Creative Writing Assignment; "Frogs"

 Ramsey is growing up.  He quickly reminds me of this when I see some of his assignments he completes at school.  Ramsey had been telling us about a fun project his entire class had been working on for quite a while - all about the rainforest.

When I arrived at conferences, his teacher showed me all of the essays that the kids wrote about an animal they were assigned.   Ramsey got "Frogs".  :-)    Each child had to research the animals and note factual information, then draw and cut out their animal for the bulletin boards that reside in the hallways for all to see.

All of the creations by the kiddos were very impressive!  It was a wonderful display of creativity, talent, and hard work.

Here's Ramsey's frog!   I had to chuckle, as it looks very animated and happy.   Good job, little buddy!

All of the 3rd Graders' essays were also posted on the hallway bulletin boards for others to read and learn about the rain forest animals.

Sabaton Concert!

 To say it had been a LONG TIME since we'd been to a great concert.... massive understatement!   For my birthday, Eric purchased tickets to see one of our favorite bands, Sabaton, who were to be performing in downtown Minneapolis.  Ramsey would have LOVED to have gone, but he doesn't care for extremely loud environments, even with headphones!

Sabaton is a metal band from Sweden who write songs and sing about historical military battles, heroes, etc.  Their music incorporates Nordic chant, Celtic influences, thrash, ballads, a ton of energy plus nostalgia to boot.  

We drove down early in the AM, checked into the hotel for a quick snooze, then met up with some friends for a few beers at a local brew pub.

When we arrived to the venue, there was a line.  It kept going... and going... and going... and going.  It wrapped around the block, into the parking ramp, and around and around and around.  For such a small venue, who knew so many people would fit?   And, next time, Eric knows that he will not drink beer before standing in line for an hour!    Eric was not impressed with the line. 

When we got into the venue, Eric pushed his way to the front to get us an incredible [standing] spot in the pit!   A band called Epica opened up.  They're a cool thrash metal band who has a redheaded soprano as the lead singer - quite the dichotomy!   We hadn't heard of them before, but they were good!  At the end of their performance, a slam-jam style mosh got going in the middle of the floor area.  We steered clear of that mess.

When Sabaton came on stage, it was quite a theatrical show, opening up with a video about the start of WWI and The Dough Boys.  The song they opened with was "Ghost Division".

We had been wondering if the venue was large enough for them to set up their iconic drum platform; a tank.   It was soon revealed!

At some point, Eric left to go get a refreshment and to use the biffy.  Then, he never came back.  I moshed on and "threw horns" amist a crowd of strangers.  

Sabaton soon played one of our family's favorite songs; "Attack of the Dead Men", about toxic (now banned) chlorine gas that was used in 'The Great War" (WWI), during a fight at Osowiec Fortess, between the Germans and Russians.

The gas masks came out and the crowd went bananas!

Back to Eric...

After the concert, I would find out that Eric wasn't able to get back into the general area after his bathroom break.   He did, however, pay a fee to get up to the front (on the opposite side of the stage) for a better view (he got better videos too).  Then, he had to use the biffy again... and he lost his spot in the front.. again.  He watched the concert from the far back for a while. 

While he was standing in the back, he started chatting with an obvious metalhead, donning tight leather pants and long hair.   The gentleman revealed to Eric that he was part of the opening band, Eroica!  They had a nice convo until some other fans came up who had recognized him.  

We left the next day to get back home.   When Ramsey is a bit older, we'll take him to one of these concerts (with ear protection).  He truly would have LOVED it!

Pumpkin Picking!

 Oh October, how we have missed you.... and all the fun traditions this month holds.

We had a gorgeous day on Saturday... a terrific day for pumpkin picking at the local pumpkin ranch!

The Pumpkin Ranch always has some nice fun photo opps!   And, we get to visit Mr. Horse.    They have hay rides and hot chocolate, and you can go anywhere on their little acreage and pick your own pumpkins, gourds, and good-eating squash.

That said... it was SO NICE out that there were bees... everywhere! LOTS and LOTS of bees.   Ever since Ramsey's "bee incident" at school (he got stung right before he got on the bus to come home), he is scared to death of bees.   So.... we didn't stay for hot chocolate and hay rides.   We QUICKLY picked out some pumpkins, paid, and got out of there.

The nursery just down the road had been promoting their new colored pumpkins, so we had to stop in there as well.   We did manage to pick out some pink, camo, and white pumpkins before Ramsicle decided it was time to make like a tree.

We got a few smiles out of him though at their photo area.  :-)

Learning to Roller Blade

 There was no school on Friday, due to "staff development", so we had visitors; the sweeties down the road that we commonly refer to as "The Girls".

These little gals and Ramsey are big time buddies; they consider themselves siblings.  And, they all look out for each other.

The Girls came over with their roller blades, so we broke out Ramsey's trainer skates and pads so he could learn.

Ramsey was wobbly and uncertain, but the girls were helpful and very encouraging!

The Girls both play hockey in the winter, so they're seasoned skaters.   Ramsey was quite pleased with himself after their outing.

After an inside snack, they retired for a few games of chess.   Chess is more Ramsey's "safe zone".  :-)

Ramsey's First Communion

 In the church we attend, anyone at any age can take the classes and celebrate their First Communion.  Typically, third and fourth graders take part in receiving this sacrament.  

On Saturday morning, First Communion classes were held at the church.

Ramsey learned more about this special event, what it means, tried a host, and even drank wine for the first time. (Incidentally, he was not impressed!)

Then, on Sunday, at church, the entire congregation celebrated with these youngsters as they received the Eucharist for the first time.