Happy Halloween!!!

Little Miss went as the White Witch from Narnia (wonder where THAT costume came from??) to the Chassell Lions Club Halloween party this year.  She came home $7 richer (2nd place) and a whole-lot sugared up!! 

Houghton Halloween Parade and Party

Mrs. Gillis' class was invaded by arachnids today, but nobody seemed to mind.  Reagan selected to attend the shin dig as Tiana from Princess and the Frog. 

Pumpkin Carving

This little girl did the WHOLE THING, all by herself.  That is astounding to me!! GOOD JOB, REAGAN!!!

Cider Making

THIS time, making cider with the Squires, we got smart.  Instead of the labor-intensive process with our teeny-tiny cider press, we brought out the big guns.  We borrowed a huge press from a friend, and are now subsequently suffering from big-time cider press envy (hey Santa!  Are you reading this????)
We were able to process double the apples, for double the cider, in half the time.  Still a lot of work, but the boys were all about cranking that thing.  Something about crushing apples and grinding them to a pulp just appeals to boys, apparently.

We now have nearly six gallons of cider to sell in the near future, as a fund raiser.  Anyone want to buy a cup??  It's REALLY GOOD.

 

 

Treat Street

I don't know how it got to be Halloween already, when yesterday was August.  Too fast, too busy.  Life.

This year for Treat Street, we had Merida without curly hair (it was raining. Even red-haired Irish girls' hair goes flat in the rain), a cowboy, and an 1800's gunslinger.  Bring on Halloween.

Feast Day Fun: Saint John Paul II

 

We had a Polish meal tonight for dinner - Kielbasa and kraut with pirogues.

 

 

 HAD to recognize this one, because both Rob and I are huge fans of John Paul II.    Huge.  To celebrate his feast day, I got out my books, and we shared pictures and stories about Karol Wojtyla's life, from birth to death.  It might.... have gotten a little long.  Maybe.    Every time I'd turn a page and ask the kids "and what do you think happened next?" they'd answer "He died. The End."  NOPE.  He didn't.  There's more.  He lived a long life, and had 26 years as Pope, kids.  Settle in.  It got so bad, I had to tell Quinn to get up off the floor where he'd sunk from his chair.  And Reagan just about "broke", being quiet for so long (she doesn't take shushing very well).    At one point, I paused to turn a page and take a breath, and Colby jumped in.

 

"AND IN CONCLUSION....." he said loudly, with an expectant look in my direction.

 

Dang kids.  They just don't get what a rock star this guy was.  Brilliant, strong, humble, generous, loving.  Christ like.  But maybe they will get it.  Someday.  Someday. 

 

 

Apple Picking with the Squires

Lucky us, we get another beautiful fall day!!  I keep thinking "this will be the last one", preparing for the worst.  It did freeze last night, but the day warmed up, and was just beautiful for apple picking and fritter making.  YEAH!! (Taking pictures of young men amongst apples trees is not an easy task, by the way). 

 

 

 

 

Feast Day Fun: St. Ignatius of Antioch

The writings of St. Ignatius of Antioch (AD 35-107), disciple to St. John and 3rd bishop of Antioch, are high on the list of "Why I'm Catholic".   His witness of the early Church cemented many things for me, and today is his feast day! To celebrate, we're having a traditional Turkish dish: sigara böreği.  And, because the man was eaten by lions in the Roman Colosseum, we had lion-shaped pumpkin pie for dessert. 

I love celebrating these feast days.  We learn so much, and it gives us an opportunity as a family to realize that we are part of this long, unbroken history of Christians, from Christ to present day.  It puts the whole world, and all of history, in perspective.  We are a part of the "communion of saints", one organism, one body of Christ, here on earth and in Heaven, together.  And that is an awesome, awesome thing.

Happy feast of St. Ignatius!

Visitors from the South

Rob's Aunt Joan went to be with her Heavenly Father recently.  She was a lovely lady, who was never without a smile.  Her husband, son, and granddaughter drove up to the U.P. to visit this week.  It was so good to see them all.  Blessed to be part of this family!

The Pumpkin Patch

NINETY degrees on this beautiful October day.  Unheard of.  Unfortunately, we were obligated with meetings and work and grocery shopping and and and.... which means we didn't get to enjoy the day like it really deserved to be enjoyed.  Which made me very crabby.  At 5:30 pm, I told the kids to hop in the car, because dang it, we were going to do FALL right then and there.  We drove 45 minutes to a pumpkin patch, got some pumpkins, then drove straight home.  Colby's face shows just how thrilled he was with this activity.  It wasn't how I imagined it either.  We are TOO BUSY.  Much much much much too busy, and all I really wanted to do was be outside and enjoy the absolutely spectacular day the U.P. was giving us. 

I've got my camera at the ready for a fall photo shoot.  Now we just need another nice day and some TIME before the leaves fall.

 

Pink Panthers Season-Ender

The Pink Panthers ended their season in the semi-finals during playoffs, with a soul-crushing 4-3 defeat.  But they played great, and learned lots, and really worked as a team.   Definitely proud of these kids.