Halloween 2024

 This week was Halloween.  In the days leading up to Halloween, it was really all the girls could talk about.  C.C. was doing fun activities in almost every class on Halloween and all the kids had the day after off of school.  The excitement was palpable.

The day finally arrived, but unfortunately it came with rain.  Being now long-time Oregonians, we didn't let that stop us.  After school, C.C. went to a friend's house for a pre-trick-or-treating party before heading out all together. Her "Girl Scout who was involved in a crafting accident and then got lost in the woods" costume was the hit of the night. After the pre-party the girls headed out. A few parents, including me, trekked along for the three hour adventure.

As for Elsie, she finally debuted her rainbow unicorn costume. Jeremy took Elsie out on our usual route.  She spent less time than C.C. and got a lot more candy.  When she got home, I counted 24 full-sized candy bars.  That route is definitely the winning route.  C.C. was jealous when she got home and decided that next year, she's not going with her friends, but sticking to our regular route.

Merrick spent the first part of his Halloween evening at basketball practice. He then met up with some friends for the Halloween tradition of eating "the Reaper" from Dave's Hot Chicken and watching a scary movie.

We all partied hard, apparently too hard. Elsie was up most of the night not feeling well and by morning, both she and Merrick were sick. Merrick's sickness was pretty much just a 24hr thing, but Elsie is still not fully well.  She has spent the whole long weekend in her PJ's and hopefully will be well enough for school tomorrow.

Fall Festivities

 We are well on our way into fall and that means a few things.  The leaves are changing colors and rapidly falling to the ground. The days are way too short already and the rain has arrived. It also means the wrap up of fall sports and lots of Halloween activities.

This week both girls had a Halloween "Monster Mash" at their schools. Elsie decided not to unveil her actual Halloween costume, but to instead go as Elsa again so that she could match with her friend who was going as Anna. For her, the highlight of the night was definitely the doughnut on a string game.

C.C.'s event was a parent free activity.  She has a blast with the dancing, snacks, a DJ, temporary tattoos and fairy fair. She did wear her Halloween costume.  I was super proud of her because lots of her friends were going as grown up versions of Disney princesses and they wanted her to be Ariel, but she had different plans.  She wanted to be a girl scout that had a crafting accident and then got lost in the woods.  I LOVE her strong nature and that she will do what she wants to do, despite peer pressure.

Also this weekend Elsie had her last soccer game of the season.  Elsie has always been a little timid on the soccer field. She is not one to aggressively try to steal the ball and is usually happy to either run behind the pack or dribble a couple of times and pass it off.  This weekend's game started out much the same way and then, out of nowhere, she had an opportunity for a breakaway and she took it.  She scored her first ever goal!  She must have decided she liked it because the next time she got in, she scored again.  Almost two complete seasons and she never scored and then in the last game, she scored twice!

Afterwards, we had a team party.  It was fun to celebrate a great season and a real family effort with Jeremy and Merrick coaching.

CC's Best Life

 When deciding what to blog about each week, sometimes big things have happened and it's a no brainer.  Sometimes, when life was less eventful, it takes scrolling through my photos to remind myself of the highlights.  Today, as I scrolled through my photos or the week, I had one photo of my odometer to track my mileage for work, but the rest were all of CC living her best life yesterday.  Today I think I'll spend some time doing what is rarely done, focusing on the middle child.

Carrigan has changed so much in the short time since starting middle school. She spends more time primping.  She cares about her hair and has a whole routine she follows, which includes sleeping in a hair bonnet each night. She carefully crafts her outfit each day.  She even has designated "Friday pants" where she wears he favorite pants every Friday.  I think I did that too.

Saturday, we spent the morning the same way we have spent every Saturday morning for the last couple months, at C.C.'s 8am volleyball game. She has improved so much this season and is really enjoying the game.  She is also the team cheerleader, initiating a team cheer after each play.  It's so fun to watch her enjoy herself and thrive as a leader on the team.

After volleyball, we headed to Elsie's soccer game.  This would definitely not be part of C.C.'s "best day", but she managed to turn it into the things she loves. She spent time with my parent's dog, Bear.  Then she turned her attention to crafting, her ultimate love.  While Elsie did her thing on the field, Carrigan created leaf art.

I know sometimes C.C. feels over looked as the middle child, but I don't know what we would do without her.  It's a joy to watch her develop into such a fun young woman.  Everyone talks about what a nightmare the teenage years are, but they have been great so far with Merrick and I think they are going to be a blast with C.C. too.

Spooky Season

Spooky season has officially arrived at the Clifford household this week.  Weeks ago the girls broke out the Halloween decorations and have been not so patiently awaiting the start of the Halloween festivities.  This week it finally happened. Due to parent-teacher conferences, Elsie was off of school on Wednesday-Friday, Carrigan was off Thursday and Friday, and Merrick was off on Friday.  This meant extra time for some fun.

On Wednesday we had our church primary pumpkin patch activities.  My girls both brought friends along for the pumpkin picking and activities.  As is tradition, they had a fishing booth, doughnuts, Halloween tattoos, and the kids played on the playground.  Since C.C. enters Young Women's next year, this is her last pumpkin patch.  She made the most of it and it was a good time had by all.

Friday, we took advantage of the day off and I hosted a Halloween party for all the cousins who wanted to participate.  We ended up with all my kids, Nana, Aunt Emily, and all the Brown kids minus Colvin.  In all fairness to Colvin, he may have participated, but had surgery that afternoon on his ankle after a very serious injury in Football on Tuesday.  His was definitely an excused absence. 

For those that attended, we had an afternoon filled with Halloween festivities.  We painted mini pumpkins, bobbed for apples, decorated sugar cookie jack-o-lanterns, and watched a Halloween movie (complete with Halloween popcorn with candy corn, Reses Pieces, and mini chocolate chips).  It was a great way to spend a school free afternoon.

Here's to more spookiness ahead.

Growing Up

 This week, everywhere I turned I was reminded that my kids are growing up faster than I can keep up with.

Elsie is becoming more and more independent.  It is not uncommon for her to get herself breakfast in the mornings and it seems like everyday she tries something new.  Last week, we had a little snafu where her bus came super early and she ended up walking half way home by herself.  She was less than thrilled about that at the time, but this week she decided that she wanted to try it again.  One morning she asked if we would let her walk home from the bus stop by herself.  She did it and she was very proud of herself.

Carrigan is also growing up right before my eyes.  Now that she is in middle school she is so much more independent.  She walks to and from school everyday.  She's taking responsibility for her grades and doing revisions when necessary.  Also this week, she has decided that she wants to embrace her natural curls.  Something about that is making her look older too.

Merrick has always been the picture of responsibility, but he too is maturing so much this year.  He has reached the age where he is always gone.  He leaves the house at 6:30 every morning, and typically goes until 7:30 or 8.  Even when he doesn't have practice, he's at the court or on the diamond getting in reps or liftings weights.  This weekend we also experienced a first, his first high school dance.  Homecoming was yesterday and, unlike when I was in high school, probably at least half the kids go without a date.  He decided to have a few friends over for dinner and go to the dance together.  It was a little surreal to drop him off for his first dance, but he had a good time.

I don't know how I am going to keep up with all these changes.  Send help for mama who is missing her little babes.