Happy Halloween

Soccer season is over, and I think it would be poor form for me to say I'm happy that's it's done (I am).  It was lots of fun, but the time commitment can be a bit much--we'd practice twice a week and games on Saturdays.  Of course, it's not like I have an overly busy schedule.  But Bode did have a lot on his plate--swimming, soccer, piano, violin, and he's started doing science club this semester.  Thus, I'm happy for him to have a couple days back to just be a kid.  The season wasn't great in terms of our won-loss record, but we did finish strong with a 3-0 victory.  Ashley took some action shots of the game (I was too busy coaching), but for some reason, she didn't get any shots with Bode in it :-(  She did get plenty of pictures of the boys during the post-game pizza party.

I might have mentioned I did some pickling of my cucumbers from the garden.  I've started eating them and find them to be quite tasty.  I think I might have overdone the dill on some of the jars, as it's a bit potent.

Today is Halloween, and we just finished trick-or-treating.  This morning, we awoke to snow, cold, and ice, and we dreaded the evening.  Fortunately, the weather cleared and it warmed up a tad.  Bode got a great haul of candy, and we all managed to stay warm.

Bode has a swim meet on Saturday.  Sadly, it directly conflicts with the Auburn-Texas A&M game.  Ashley has been hoarding her data so she can watch the game on her phone.  Hopefully Auburn does well; otherwise, Ashley's phone might end up in the pool in disgust.  Pleasant week to all.

Fall Carnival

Bode's school had its fall carnival this past Saturday.  Bode and Ashley both dressed up in their costumes.  Bode's is pretty awesome--he went as Slender Man (Google it if you don't know what it is).  Ashley was going to be a white walker from Game of Thrones, but there was a problem with the delivery of her costume; thus, she had to quickly find an alternative, which turned out to be a pretty cool looking Supergirl.  Here's a good picture of Bode in front of our house.

Next is a good shot of Ashley.

And finally, a picture of Mom and son together.

The carnival was fun.  This was the first time Bode went off on his own with his friends to do the various activities.  I did get a picture of Bode and Eli together.

Ashley and I hung out in the cafeteria, ignoring her smart phone so we didn't know what was going on in the Auburn game (we taped it).  We also participated in the silent auction, which was fun.  There was a pretty good item--tickets to the USAFA-Army game with some jerseys and other paraphernalia.  We put a bid on, but noticed there was this group that kept bidding on the item whenever someone outbid them.  Since all proceeds go to the school, we decided to try to push the price up.  When we started this, the bid was at $50; I think we got it up to $95 :-)  The carnival has various games in different classrooms, and the prizes are usually candy or something along those lines.  This year, one game gave away a living goldfish in a plastic bag as a prize, which I thought was horrible, especially when Bode brings me a bag with a fish in it.  I wanted to give it back, but Bode seemed to really want this fish.  Therefore, today, Bode and I went to PetSmart and got a little tank and other aquarium odds and ends.  Here's a picture of Bode with Mike the fish.

Bode took the below picture of Mike; I'm putting the over-under on how long Mike lives at 14 days, but you never know...

We had a nice weekend--Auburn won, Air Force won, the Steelers won...the only drawback was the Broncos, who played horribly against the Chargers.  We also managed to take Joey and Barkley to the dog wash.  Barkley was filthy--she wasn't really a black dog anymore but more of a dirt-stained brown.  Joey has been to the dog wash a number of times, so he's fine with the bath.  Barkley wasn't thrilled with any of the process, but in the end, we got her nice and clean.

Another week of work for Ashley and me.  Bode has a 3-day week, as Parent-Teacher conferences are Thursday and Friday, which is when we'll get Bode's report card.  Here's hoping it's good! :-)  Pleasant week to all.

Piano Concerto

Bode continues to excel at the piano.  I didn't tell him I was recording tonight's practice (which explains him burping a number of times), but it's obvious he plays the pieces really well.  He practices almost every day (under penalty of no electronics if he doesn't, so he's not quite self-motivated), but he doesn't complain (much) about playing.  The original video was too large, so I had to break it up into two smaller files, but I think I have a future as a movie editor :-)

The pumpkin vines are all dead.  We had a hard freeze the other night.  Fortunately, this was forecast well in advance, so Ashley and I harvested the pumpkins and remaining cucumbers.  I was surprised the raspberry plants survived--we still have about 50 raspberries that are ripening up, and the weather is supposed to be pleasant the rest of the week.

Ashley's new job is going well, I'm at about the mid-point in my semester, Bode's first report card is this Friday, and the ski resorts are making snow.  Bring on winter!