THREE Front Teeth

Excuse the just-rolled-outta-bed Christmas morning hair, but look who just lost another snaggle tooth on Christmas Eve!!

That's THREE front teeth, missing on Christmas.

First this one fell out a few months ago...

And then this other snaggle-tooth was suddenly plucked out when he was standing next to me in the kitchen. He was so proud.

 We're a bit slow on the tooth loss. I was the last of my friends, too.

Now just waiting on those permanent teeth to grow in. This little man knows the secret of the Tooth Fairies that visit us, so his sister begged to help the fairy with the note beneath his pillow, along with $1 and a special surprise... a shark tooth!
Santa and the Tooth Fairy all in one night made for an extra magical Christmas Eve!

Halloween!

I think it's fair to say that of all the holidays, Halloween is the one we are all over-the-moon about celebrating. Especially at "Nightmare on 131st Place."

When the Guzzos moved in, they brought along their love of Halloween. And so our cul de sac collectively decided that, while the east 131st Place turned into "Christmas Place" every December, our little western cul de sac would become "Halloween Place" - "Nightmare on 131st Place."

And this year, Mark and the kids surprised me with this super tall inflatable, who just MADE the whole yard, along with our pumpkin carriage that we've had for several years. Aren't they fun?!

 Bob, Joe and I-forget-the-other-name, scurrying up the house.

 Our graveyard beneath the old tree.

I've always loved this sign. And I've always loved witches. Maybe it's the family history in the Salem Witch trials.

Pumpkin man.

Nights are when our cul de sac came to life!

 The Barteks.

 The Beissers.

 The Guzzos. This purple guy was new this year and added an eerie touch!

 One of our firepit and chili hangouts with all the neighbors gathered in lawn chairs.

Boy do we ever love our neighbors!

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch with the plane crash. The kids think this is so mysterious.

 Our neighborhood puts on an awesome Halloween parade along the trail that ends in the park.

The grown-ups donned tees. Because 131st Place is the hood life.

 Neighbors.

Pumpkin carving.

It's so sad that this is the last year Lorelei has school parties! She couldn't find her bat girl mask so I bought a new one that morning and surprised her!

 Spiderman!

 The girls in L's class.

And at last, Halloween night! (Don't you just love Mark's Mama Bear robe and pajamas in the background? Ha!)

 Happy Halloween!

The Kids' Very Own Baking Club

The kids had a scrumptiously creative idea (after watching The Great British Bake-Off and Kids Bake-Off Challenge on TV) to create their own Baking Club. At slumber parties the girls would pore over recipes and plan the whole club, writing out their ideas in binders that they made just for this. The boys pitched in with ideas, too. So I blocked off a few dates on the calendar, sent out invitations, and asked the kids what ingredients they needed. They did all the rest!

Soon, word traveled around the neighborhood and school about this innovative club, and more and more kids gathered in our dining room and kitchen, mixing ingredients for contests with blindfolds (Mark and I were usually the judges). I'm so proud of their creativity and initiative! What a hit!

Star Destroyers Soccer Team

 It's not so easy to get a great pic of the Star Destroyers in the hot sun after a game, but here's what we've got. Grateful for those coaches Darren and Joe and for all those fun second grade boys! Gryffin suddenly LOVES soccer and has become a great strategic player. He plays a lot of defense and we've gotten lots of great comments from parents on his team about his soccer skills. He and Mark practice a lot at night with a glowing soccer ball, and his hard work's paying off!

First Day of 3rd/5th grade

It was tough to say goodbye to summer 2016. The back-to-school ice cream social, where the kids' classroom assignments are posted to the door, sneaked up on us like it always does!

Lorelei was thrilled she got her first pick for teacher, but a bit crestfallen that her closest friends were together in a different class.

Lots of Gryffy's buds wound up in his class, and he had a new teacher to HRT.

Still a bit crestfallen, but at least this friend lives two doors down! (Lorelei ended up making many wonderful friends in her class, and all is well!)

Neighbors.

Everyone descends on the gym to pick up school supplies and attend to sign ups at various stations. Then they head to class, G with his supplies in tow.

Gryffy met Mrs. Castilla for the first time, his third grade teacher. She turned out to be great, and I love that she's really stirred in him a love of history (especially around the Mayflower, which he's super keen on).

 And Lorelei just adores Mrs. Gafney! They're always doing something fun and creative, and get to listen to music like Harry Potter all during the day while they work. Perfect match!

She's a FIFTH GRADER!!! Still trying to wrap my head (and heart) around that...

On the first day of school, the Backpack Fairy arrived with the goods as usual. But Buddy wanted nothing to do with pictures.

He's warming up just a bit by the time Ava arrives to carpool.

Sherry and I drowned our sorrows at sending the kids off for another year over some Caribou coffee, our fave hangout.

 And by the time the kids came home, they both reported having a great first day. Then Gryffy pulled out his library books and my heart fluttered! He ditched Captain Underpants for classical studies. My determination to get the kids out to see the world and to appreciate art and history and the humanities seems to be paying big dividends. I've seen their minds and curiosity about the world expand so much!

And then there was the neighborhood Back-to-Pool party, sombreros included. Our last splash of the summer!