Trick or Treat!

Yep, I'm well aware that Halloween was a week ago.  I'm a bit behind in my blogging. Chalk that up to going out of town right after the holiday and being sick.  So we're back in town, but....I'm still sick.  As in, I lost my voice last Friday night only to finally get it back yesterday.  I kid you not!  I couldn't believe how long I was without a voice.  Needless to say doing all of our schooling was a bit tough.  (I don't think the dumplings minded a bit though. lol)

Anyway, let's back up to Halloween here for a moment.  Ever since last Halloween, Caleb told me that he wanted to be Jesus this year.  Easy enough costume to make.  However, I had to hand sew the hem on the sleeves and bottom of the robe plus narrow hem stitch that enormously long drape, as in 10 yards of narrow hemming.  I couldn't wait to be done! lol

 Our neighbor's two dogs got loose with so many people coming and going.  So at one point, all the men, including precious Caleb, went out searching the neighborhood for them.  I guess all ya gotta do is call on Jesus. ;)

 Madeline wanted to be Alice in Wonderland.  I already had a pattern on hand but wasn't crazy about all the extra embellishments it said to include because they're not part of the original dress.  So I left them off. The bodice came together nicely.  But I have a problem sewing garments for Madeline that require a zipper closure.  Her torso is so skinny that I really need to make big adjustments. And well, I didn't have time for that.  I simply made it longer for my tall girl and called it done, knowing that the ties in the back would help to pull it tighter.  Oh, and please ignore the lamp growing out of her head.  We were all a bit anxious to start trick or treating, and none of us were in any mood to attempt another shot of the two of them together.  And if you noticed in the first shot of this post, little Miss Havi chose not to wear a costume.  So we let it be.

 The sunset was pretty that night, and the first houses the kids stopped at were our neighbors on the cul-de-sac.

 So after we were about half way through all the houses we thought we'd stop by, Havi finally realized that her brother and sister were coming back with candy and decided she would join them.  Thankfully she had a dress on. So she wasn't mistaken for a boy. lol

 Then we came back to the house to hand out candy.  The kids were really looking forward to doing that.  Madeline was a bit sour about it because Caleb was in charge of the bowl, being older and bigger and more capable.  Those adjectives didn't mean much to her. lol

 After handing out candy, they came back inside to check out their loot.  This was Havi's little pile.

Well, we really enjoyed trick or treating in our new neighborhood.  We missed hanging out with our friends in their neighborhood, but the kids wanted to see what it was like to trick or treat in their own new neighborhood this year. What was great for me was that we met a few of our neighbors that live down the way a bit and found out that one of them homeschools.  Very cool.  And one of the high school helpers in Madeline's dance class last year came by.  She thought that was pretty neat.

Anyway, now that I'm caught up on Halloween, I will be sure to share photos from our camping trip this weekend.  We also had a very big day on Tuesday.  We celebrated 6 years since Caleb was first placed in our arms.  Six years!!!!  I just can't believe it.  Caleb has blessed our lives tremendously since he was put in our hearts and placed in our arms.  We are so proud of the boy he is growing up to be.  He loves Jesus, his family, and tennis.  That about sums him up. Hee hee.  We took him to the Magic Kingdom along with his sisters to celebrate his Forever Family Day, and I have lots of photos to prove it. 

To the pumpkin patch!

We did it!  We managed to make it to the pumpkin patch before Halloween!  We just squeezed in our visit the day before.  So the pickings were slim.  Very slim.  There were basically very teeny tiny pumpkins, large pumpkins, and rotted pumpkins. 

Havi carried this one around with her for a long time, but I finally convinced her it was rotten in places.

Then wouldn't you know, but we happened to run into one of the girls from Madeline's dance class.  So the girls looked about together while big brothers went searching on their own.

The dumplings finally settled on their not-yet-rotted-from-the-Florida-heat-pumpkins.  So I snapped a photo or two.  

Don't you love their pumpkin patch attire?  I know everyone dresses their kiddos up in all sorts of cute fall clothes.  Not us.  We go with what we have on at the end of the school day.  And thankfully, Havi was wearing clothes. lol And isn't she funny sitting on her pumpkin?! 

After returning from the pumpkin patch, Caleb wanted to hit tennis balls against the house....what.....a.....surprise.  And then he asked me to take some photos of him serving since I had my camera out.  

And you know Havi....never wants to be left out.

Well, we just got back from another weekend of camping and tennis.  It was quite a weekend.  I was sick with a cold the whole time, so not much fun for me.  I did manage to snap a few photos despite being sick and all the rain that fell.  So I'll share those adventures soon.  

Have a great Monday!

A ton of family fun

Well, we started off this past weekend with a little bit of tennis.  Caleb played in a Junior Grand Prix tournament that was held at the country club my sister and BIL got married at 10.5 years ago.  If you had told me at their wedding that I'd be watching my Chinese born son play tennis there with his two Chinese sisters watching, I probably would've thought you were crazy.  But those are the plans God had for us, even though we didn't know it at the time.  And boy, are we thankful He knows best!

 In attendance on Saturday was my sister Deb and BIL Andy plus their two treasures.  Also, Andy's parents happen to live in this community.  So they came on over to watch.  And not only that, but a friend of my sister, who also lives there, came by.  She just happened to lead her Florida 40 & over 3.5 Women team to a National Championship.  So she might know a thing or two about tennis. lol  Congrats Stephanie!  And it was great to finally meet you!

Caleb ended up playing 4 matches, and at the end of it learned he was tied for first place with another player, Nicholas.  So they asked the boys to play a 1 game playoff.  They were in pretty good spirits.

 Even though he was down 15-30, he brought it deuce and won!  Solo 1st place!

 He was so proud and such a good sport too.  He always had something complementary to say to his opponents.  He's just so sweet.  I honestly didn't watch too much of the 2nd and 3rd matches because I was chatting with Stephanie.  And if I glanced over at the court, I had no way of knowing if he was winning or losing a match because his attitude throughout the entire tournament was just so uplifting.  He hustled and skipped and smiled relentlessly.  He's just such a joy to watch.

On Sunday, we headed back that way after church because my aunt and uncle, Alison and Bob, came down for a quick visit. Since they were driving from Tallahassee, we had them meet up at my sister's place.  Before they arrived, the kids went down to the pool area for a little Halloween crafting.

 That's my sister walking with Havi, not me. I wanted to snap a few photos of Havi on the walk over, but she was only interested in giving me an attitude.

 The kids stuffed plastic gloves with candy corn fingernails and popcorn.  The bigs embellished theirs with spider rings.

 They grabbed a few Halloween tatoos and candy and then skipped on over to the playground.

 I was determined to snap a photo of all 5 cousins, since Havi was left out of the last attempt.  And I wasn't too particular about where I took.  Just get the two littles to sit still please...anywhere.

 And then I thought a brother and sister shot might be nice.  I probably could've asked Caleb to put down the nerds in his hand, but I'm not too particular I guess.

 Havi continued to refuse a photo on the walk back home.

 And since it took so long, we ran into Bob and Alison arriving while doing so.

 We hit up a local pizzeria for dinner.  Alison has a great dinner game she plays with the kids to pass the time before the meal arrives.  Somebody picks a letter in the alphabet and writes it down. Then another player calls out any letter to start.  Then each player says the next letter of the alphabet.  And you keep going round and round until the letter written down is called.  Whoever called out the letter gets a point.  And whoever has the most points when the food is served wins the loot on the table.  It works like a charm every time!

Again, that's my sister with Havi...not me.

 After dinner we grabbed some gelati. The temps dropped a bit after the sun went down, but we still ate our gelati. Havi put on a show for us, singing and dancing.  She was quite cute.  Then we snapped a few photos of the gang.

As soon as we finished the photos, I realized I had locked my keys in the car.  Lovely.  I always always check my purse for my keys before I lock the door.  I plant my eyes on those keys before I hit lock.  Well, I had to change Havi's diaper while trying to catch back up with everyone.  So that check didn't happen.  Thankfully I had taken the girls jackets out of the car, and Alison let Caleb wear hers. So the kids stayed warm when they were not hanging out in my sister's minivan.  And thankfully we only waited 30 minutes instead of the anticipated 90 minutes for the AAA guy to come and break into unlock my doors.  It was worth it, though, for a little extra time with my family.  Love you so much, Bob and Alison.  We just don't see you enough!

Well, our plans for Halloween involve trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood.  The kids across from us in the cul-de-sac invited our kids to join them for dinner and trick-or-treating.  So that should be fun.  Havi has refused to put on the costume I'm borrowing from my sister for her.  So I'm going to have to think of something quick.  And hopefully before Halloween comes and goes, I'll get the kids over to the pumpkin patch!

And it's...more tennis

Sorry for the delay in finishing up our second weekend camping trip.

I have been busy sewing Halloween costumes, and I'm still not done yet.

Anyway, let me back up to (not last weekend, but) the weekend before.  On Saturday Caleb played in his first regular draw tennis tournament.  Up to that point, he had been playing in a Round Robin format, which is great for beginners because it means continous play.  For U10 tennis regular draws, there is also a consolation round, which means at least 2 rounds of play.  These tournaments typically last two days, so there is a bit of a time commitment.

 Caleb played a tough opponent in his first round.  And although he didn't win, he played very well.

 I didn't take too many photos because I know he can hear my shutter clicking, and I didn't want to be a distraction to him during a bigger pressure tournament.  After heading out for some lunch, we came back and waited for a court to open up for his consolation round match.

 Madeline was a trooper and let Havi play with her face/head.  They both laughed pretty hard.  It was sweet to watch.

 Havi eventually fell asleep on the blanket we laid out during his second match.  He played very well, even better than the first match.  But it wasn't enough for a win.  Still, we let him know that just two months ago, he came to the very same courts in his first ever tournament and played very differently.  He's come so far in such a short amount of time.  He looked like a completely different player out there this time around- greater confidence and skill set.  Anyway, after the match it was time to pack up and head back to our campsite.

Since Havi had taken such a late nap, she was up late.  I let her play with my iPhone for a little bit.

On Sunday, we hit the beach again, except I wasn't feeling very well at all.  So I didn't take my camera with me.  We had a super great time camping again, though we are looking forward to some camping without tennis just so we can relax a little more.

This past weekend was just tennis, both on Friday and Saturday.  Caleb played in his Friday fun night matches, again mixed doubles.  And on Saturday, he played in a Junior Grand Prix tournament.  This type of tournament is also a Round Robin format.  We thought he was going to play other 8-10 year olds, but it turned out that he was playing against 11 year olds! And he ended up in a three-way tie for first place!  We were so proud of him. And as we were getting ready to leave in the parking lot, he said, with a huge smile on his face, "I'm just so proud of myself!"  I don't think I've ever heard him say that before.  It just melted both my heart and Patrick's.

This weekend coming up will look a lot like the last two.  Friday night will be the last in the Friday night fun night tennis series.  I'm not sure when it will pick back up again.  Caleb really enjoys playing, even if it's doubles.  Then Saturday we will head to my sister's neck of the woods for another Junior Grand Prix tournament over there.  The girls will get to hang out with their cousins while Caleb plays.  And then on Sunday, we have some sweet family coming in from out of town.  We can't wait to get everyone together.