Rose Parade float decorating

 
 
 
 
My family and I traveled to Pasadena, CA to make the floragraph of Bronson for the Rose Bowl Parade. It is fitting that the parade will also mark the 2nd anniversary of his death. I can't imagine a better way to spend that day then to celebrate how Bronson's gift of donation has saved so many lives. We are so proud of him and this opportunity to celebrate him and tell his story.

The rule for the Rose Parade states that every square inch of each float must be covered in an organic material (i.e. flowers, seeds, coffee, grass, etc.) For Bronson's floragraph we used things such as cream of wheat, coffee, and lavendar for his beautiful blue eyes. Each of us did our part on the picture, but my mom and I admittedly are the control freaks of the family and were hovering and ordering most of the time. Luckly my dad and Erin are patient and quite frankly used to this. It was a memorable experience for us all.

The final product

 
 
 
 
The entire float process was pretty fascinating. It is much more difficult than you would think and we worked up until the last second when they were turning out the lights. We can't wait to see the completed float when we return for the Rose Bowl Parade from Dec 29 to Jan 2. Don't forget to watch the it Jan 1, we are supposed to be float #4 in the lineup.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 
Teagan had a little Thanksgiving concert and party at school. There is just something about 4 year olds singing songs that melts my heart. You might notice in Teagan's school photos that there are 9 boys and 1 girl in Teagan's class. Kelsey was in Teagan's class last year too and she is such a sweet girl. She will be a strong women one day after putting up with this.

Disney on Ice

 
 
 
 
The week before Thanksgiving we took the kids and my parents to see the Disney On Ice show. It was even better than last year and featured Cars, Tinkerbell, Lion King, and the Little Mermaid. Landry was fascinated by the lights and skaters and Teagan thought seeing the real Cars was very cool.

Field trip to the fire house

 
 
 
 
Teagan's class recently took a field trip to the local firehouse at the end of fire safety week. Teagan loved seeing where the firefighters sleep and eat and I actually learned quite a bit, too. The firefighters were great with the kids and Teagan even got to sit in the fire truck. Check one off this little boys dream list.

Goofing around

 

This is the kids doing what they do. Landry loves to dress up and is rarely seen without a tutu or this "hollywood" getup of sunglasses, purse, and pretties(necklaces). Teagan does his daily "setup" of all his cars and they are all categorized, sorted, and lined up. Scary isn't it. When "hollywood" messes up the "setup" watch out!

For the most part they play well with each other and love to play chase around the house or just stand on their heads being silly. They are fun to watch!

Photo shoot

 
 
 
 
We finally found a great photographer, who happens to be a mom at Teagan's school, and wanted to post a few pictures on the blog to share.

 
 
 
 

Happy Halloween...or not

 
 
So, Teagan is the official scrooge of Halloween. He hates this holiday and refuses to dress up or have any part of it. He originally was going to be a firefighter, but then at the last minute begged and pleaded to be Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe. He would not wear either costume to school, but did have fun playing games with his friends and almost won musical chairs. After Landry and I tore up the town he finally decided about 8 o'clock Halloween night to dress up and trick-or-treat. We decided next year to avoid all battles and save money on those expensive costumes and let him hand out candy in jeans and a t-shirt.

Landry's Halloween

 
 
 
Landry loved Halloween this year! It might have helped that she has an incredible sweet tooth, but she even loved dressing up too. She wore here Cinderella dress to Kindermusik class and then her kitten costume to the party at the library and church to play games. She was so much fun to watch!

Harvest House

 
 
 
 
We made our annual drive to Greenbluff to pick apples, eat pumpkin donuts, and ride the horses and wagon. It was a great morning!

 
 
 
 
Pumpkins always make the best backdrop of fall color.