Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

A happy girl, and a very proud mama

Claire came home from school today with two special papers- a coloring contest and a math test.  Her class of 36 each colored their own cornucopias, and hers was the winner!  Go, Claire!  The math test is the first of 18 weekly tests, with prizes for perfect scores.  So she came home with two prizes!
  

While not a creative drawing (aside from the stem she added to her plum),
it does show her fine motor skills. If you look very closely in the upper
right corner, you will see the word "winner" written in yellow!




The kids have a new test each week and are given two minutes to complete it.



Super Taco

Why Super Taco?  Well, just look at the photos below!


Taco keeps the kids clean and...



makes them laugh!

 But most importantly, she is a playmate and a friend. That's super for sure!

Claire, the early rising artist

Claire woke up before me both days this past weekend and surprised me with drawings on my bedside table!

I love the hemline and the stripes on this dress!



I love the fruit bowl, the chandelier and the high heels!

I love everything in this one!

Family Day

The whole family went to Greenville yesterday. We went out to lunch and then spent the afternoon at the Children's Museum of the Upstate. The kids had a great time. And the grownups had a great time, too!

Claire running the bucket loader in the construction area

Max loading the bucket loader

Claire's on break

Back to work, Claire! Here comes Max with another load of bricks!

Here they go again!



Max enjoying the "river"



Claire is running another bucket loader. This one is a lot more work as the buckets are full of water.
Looks like she's working hard, eh?



Halloween Fun

Robin Hood and Princess Claire at Downtown Clemson's Trick or Treat Event

The kids and I headed to Clemson for their Downtown Trick or Treat yesterday afternoon.  They close Main Street to vehicles and all the merchants hand out candy. It's kid nirvana.  We met up with some friends and the kids enjoyed seeing all the costumes. 

Then we headed to Camelot, and older neighborhood known for excellent trick-or-treating.  We met up with more friends, and the kids had a wonderful time running from house to house filling their treat bags.  And those bags were pretty full by the time we headed back to the car.

Claire had insisted on wearing her dress up heels, saying they were part of the costume and that her feet wouldn't hurt. She never complained while we were trick or treating, but when we got in the car, she said "Mom, my dogs are barking!"  And when we got home, we discovered that she had worn the soles completely off those little heels.

I didn't make Claire's costume this year, but I did make Max's. After initially saying he wanted to be a swordfish, he changed his mind and asked to be Robin Hood instead. Phew! How do you make a swordfish costume, anyway? I knew how to make a simple tunic, but I was stumped with the hat.  After a quick Google search, I found this Robin Hood Hat Tutorial. It is super simple and took just a few minutes to make. Add a feather and it's done!