October & November 2023

 The next day was October 1st.

We flew back home and were ready to rock October.

October was a bit crazy.

As I look at the calendar trying to ignite my memories of what happened in October, I am amazed at the fact that there is literally something written on every day except Sundays.

The first Friday of October, Katie and Mikey's high school held their "I Can't Believe It's NOT Homecoming" event.

The theme this year was "Party at the End of the Universe".

Attendees (and volunteers) were encouraged to wear space themed attire.

Mikey busted out a Star Wars tie.

I dressed as Ripley from Alien.

You can't see my military green jumpsuit because I had the top part unzipped and off.

No pre-event pictures of Katie because she was already at the event setting up.

They had nifty lights, good music and student-created space themed decor throughout.

You probably can't see her, but Katie and a friend are jamming in this picture.

Towards the end of the evening, Mikey, Katie and a few friends were still dancing.

Mikey invited his friend, S, to attend with him.

The event was very successful.

It took a while to tear down all the decor though. Yikes.

SO MUCH CONSTRUCTION PAPER TO RECYCLE.

Dances are the best events to chaperone.

Yes, you have to deal with teenagers.

Yes, they can be annoying.

But you get to dance.

I mentioned Katie's beginning photography class in last month's entry.

Here's an example of the whacky projects they had to do.

This one was taking a picture of an egg with dramatic lighting.

She didn't like how any of the pictures at school came out, so she tried at home.

Problem was we didn't have a white egg, only brown.

So, she had to paint it.

Bet you didn't know that eggs used umbrellas in the rain.

Mikey was very proud of this exhibit board he made for history.

An October shocker!

We have RABBITS in our yard.

Okay. We always have rabbits in our yard.

Ralph loves to bark at and chase them.

I like to watch them eat our ferns, and weeds, and flowers, and grass.

Watch as Katie attempts the IMPOSSIBLE!

Will she be able to lift 500 grams?

I think, if given the choice, Mikey would spend all of October like this.

This month, Huzbend got his first shingles vaccine, and we all got our flu and updated Covid vaccines.

As a result, at various time through the month, we felt like crap and our arms hurt.

Yay for pokies.

Ralph loves walks.

The main reason he loves walks is because he finds random things to eat.

On this day, it was grass.

Um.....you've got a little something hanging....Nevermind.

The last weekend of October, Katie and Mikey's high school had ANOTHER event.

This time it was the Costume Carnival.

Katie was off volunteering again, so I didn't get a picture of her.

Sad face.

I was also volunteering. I helped at the "donut bobbing" station.

Mikey and some friends came to visit.

The event had carnival games, free cotton candy and popcorn, a walk-through haunted attraction and music.

The best part was that the weather behaved, and it was a great night be outside!

Even a member of the Demon Slayer Corps has to take a break every now and again to enjoy some cotton candy.

Halloween was RIGHT around the corner!

I can't remember if I mentioned this in another post, but Mikey agreed to do the yard work over the summer for an allowance.

As things were winding down, he was in charge of leaf blowing.

We've got a lot of leaves.

I'm guessing that he misjudged the warmth of the day......

Ralph took advantage of the spring-like Fall weather.

Here he is literally biting off more than he can chew.

Since it was the Sunday before Halloween, we had to get to carving our pumpkins.

Katie was at work, so she had to do hers when she got home.

This year we had....

The flag from "Our Flag Means Death" - Huzbend
Team Rocket from Pokemon - Me
Hollow Knight - Mikey
Ghostface - Katie

Katie also got a Halloween themed "Decorate a Macaron" kit.

Time for Halloween!

Tanjiro and Ghostface were ready to conquer the candy.

They were soon joined by Chandler Bing.

When they got back, Ghostface was a little, uh, soggy. Ew.

The annual dumping out of the candy.

They got quite a haul this year.

"Candy?

Did someone say CANDY?!?!"

Happy Halloween!

Say hello to Joe Romano.

He's a real guy's guy.

 Joe made his debut in the local high school Drama Fest event.

Drama Fest is a series of one-act student-directed plays.
The one-acts can be existing material or written by students.

Mikey played Joe in "Bad Auditions by Bad Actors".

The premise...open auditions for a community production of Romeo & Juliet.

Joe, auditioning for the role of Romeo, "cause I ain't no girl.", pounded his chest and ran around the stage to psych himself up for his performance.

Best part was he got to act across from S, a longtime friend of the family. 

Here he is getting warmed up for his audition.

This was his first time on the "big" stage at the high school.

He did a great job.

There was a special guest at the show who asked for a picture for her grandkids.
Oh wait, she asked for a picture with a grandkid.
Ohhhh.

There were two venues for shows at the high school.

The next night, the shows flipped locations and it was Katie's turn to be on the big stage.

She wrote and directed a one-act play.
It was a murder-mystery/supernatural thriller.

Katie picked a great cast, and they did a fantastic job with her material.
I was most excited to see her main villain come to life. 

Another Drama Fest in the books.

The last for one and the first for the other.

Sniffle.

We went to get ice cream as people do when they wrap up weeks of rehearsals.

I include this picture because it was cute seeing Huzbend carry the tiny box.

What was in the box?

This GF/DF ice cream cupcake.

We brought it home for Katie who couldn't join us for dinner.

She dug right in.

Kids, this is what happens to your teeth when your diet is 95% sugar.

Grandma was here for a quick stay.
We snapped a quick photo before she jumped on her flight home the next morning.

The next night, the boys were off on a musical adventure.

Katie and I went out to eat at a local Mexican place.

She ordered some flan.

The boys had tickets to see Kiss. 

It was Mikey's first concert ever.

From what I heard about it; Kiss put on an amazing show.

It was a great first concert experience for Mikey.

I'm not sure anyone will be able to top it.
Huzbend enjoyed the show as well.

Sigh.

This is what happens when you have a Labrador during prime shed time.

Thanksgiving time!

Here are the kiddos enjoying some downtime watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Ralph was enjoying some downtime as well.

Well.

I mean when DOESN'T Ralph enjoy downtime?
When does he not have downtime?
Does he sometimes feel like his life is too busy?

So many questions.

This guy was busy slapping a turkey.

Many hours later.....everyone gathered round to fill up their plates.

Mikey ate more than just crescent rolls this year.

Katie ate all of the pie, with a side of whipped cream.

That weekend, Huzbend and I went on a date.
We tried out a pizza place that had some good reviews.
It was pretty good. Better than other pizza we've had locally.

We walked to a fancy grocery store so I could eat dessert.

Katie had a photography assignment, so we were up bright and early to capture the sunrise.

Did I mention it was FRIGID?

It was the perfect time to get some photos though.

We stopped at Starbux on the way home so she could warm her hands.

Channeling Steve Urkel NOW....

"Did I do that?"

"What?"