Karah’s Birfday….

Was in June. Yes, 5 months ago, and I just realized I never blogged about it. How did this happen? I must document the celebration before I say a THING about Thanksgiving.

I will REALLY have to test my memory to see if I can get this straight. See? This is why we blog….so we can remember these things!

She enjoyed a Rock Wall party with her friends. Bickies!

Karah and I went out to lunch and I surprised her by taking her to pick out a pair of Toms.

We then enjoyed a Pedicure together. She lounged in the relaxation room until we were called back to have our nails done.

She suddenly looked so…9.

She chose her dinner out at Shogun. She tried her first Sushi…and takes after her mother and thinks it’s disgusting.

Sometimes you get gifts from Grandma that are a testament to the fact that they can’t BELIEVE how fast they are growing. Tom’s mom sent her this cute hat…that fit on TOP of her head. 

She loved all of her “outdoor” gifts that she received.

And I have no clue where the candle blowing out pic is…and it is November….and I am SURE the wish has come true by now…so the pic isn’t necessary anyway, right? Right?

So sorry for being lame, Karah. But I love, Love, LOVE you…..and THAT is what matters.

Hope your final 6 months of being 9 are everything you deserve.

You are an amazing young lady…and we are so blessed to count you are ours.

Catching Up- Halloween

Halloween 2011….Woody, a Candy Corn Witch, and a zombie prisoner teamed up with their best friends for a pizza party and long night of trick or treating.

We were so happy that Courtney’s brother Chris was in town for the party and that he got to tag along. I love this boy.

I especially love that he forgave me for not putting his mask on so he was able to see. Woops!

Tom forgot to change his pants and belt from his Halloween party at work that day. He went as Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation. He actually had two outfits….one for the morning and the formal polyester pants, sweater and dickie for the awards ceremony later that afternoon. Here is a pic from the morning…

There was a minor trip/spill….but many hands came to the rescue.

My sister, Josie, and I made darling trick-or-treat bags for our kids…and Bryce still insisted on carrying his little, black cauldron around. See where it got him? lol…I’m just bitter. Maybe he will use the bag next year (sigh).

The kids walked and walked until they were begging to go back home.

I “checked” to make sure the Snickers bars didn’t have any razor blades in them…man were they delicious.

Sad to see another Halloween come and go. One of my most favorite Holidays. Until next year….

Catching Up–Clarissa!

Tom and I went on a triple and a 1/2 date to Eureka Springs to see a Victorian magic show/séance.  John and Shannon invited us and it ended up being the perfect Halloween date.

Couple #1 John and Shannon

Couple #2 Tommy and April

Couple #3 Blinking Tom and Squinting Sarah

And the half date….Brad…doesn’t he look lonely?

We grabbed dinner at DeVito’s before the show. The highlight of dinner was watching Tom pull a hair out of his mouth…that kept coming and coming…kind of like handkerchiefs out of a magicians sleeve. YummO.

It was “Diversity Week” in Eureka Springs – which seemed a bit redundant. Isn’t EVERY week diversity week in Eureka Springs? John and brad celebrated by entering a public city bathroom together. They are tight like that.

We walked to the theater and hung out by the bathrooms in the basement. We were laughing and raising a ruckus….only to find out that everyone upstairs in the lobby could hear everything that had been said…and let’s just say not all of the conversation was “appropriate”.

We sprayed cooking spray on our hips and slid into the little, wooden theater seats. The spooky, butler-like host welcomed us with a long narrative. The sound/lights guy had to signal him to wrap it up.

Out entered, CLARISSA (stomp)!

April burst into laughter and the rest of us followed. Tom had to get up and leave because he wouldn’t muffle it. There are few things more torturous than trying to control a belly laugh.

The magic was….magical….lol. My mind is still spinning as to how he did some of those tricks.

We were skeptical, thinking the people he called up were planted in the audience…

so Tommy volunteered. He had to tie up CLARISSA!!

It really was a great show and a great time.

The best part is that Tom will still walk in a room, stomp him foot, wave his hand and say, “CLARISSAAAAAAA!:

Thanks John and Shannon for such a fun night!

Catching Up: Ghost Walk

For a YOE date night in October, Tom and I went on a cemetery ghost walk.

The guides were “grieving widows” who walked us through the cemetery and took us to the oldest graves, giving us a brief history of who the people were.

I was happy that our widow was in one of the final stages of mourning and didn’t have to have her face veiled. Some of the other guides were creepy.

We learned lots of cool and creepy stuff. For example, they used to bury people with strings tied around their finger…which was attached to a bell on their tomb stone. If they weren’t really dead…and “came to” after they had been buried, they could ring the bell and someone would dig them up and save them. That is where the phrase “saved by the bell” comes from.

Because so many people were accidentally buried alive, there had to be someone walking the cemetery all night long, listening for the bells. This is where the phrase”graveyard shift” came from. Ick.

We then drove to the Peel family mansion, where we were served dinner and given a tour of the house…which is on the National Haunted registry….or whatever the technical name is.

It was a fun, spooky night…and a date night we aren’t soon to forget. Those are the best!

Catching Up: Demolition Derby

The Demolition Derby was moved to October due to the heat wave in August. Man, were we thankful.

This year we went with our friends Jeff and Callie. Jeff was Karah’s teacher last year  and became Tom’s golfing buddy. They are as sweet as they look.

They suggested we have dinner at Joe’s Italian Grill and it was delicious!!  If you haven’t been, check out the menu here! Mmm…still dreaming of their bread and olive oil.

Tom and I felt a bit sheepish in our redneck T-shirts. Our pics were on Tom’s iPhone, which was stolen on Thanksgiving, ironically.

Tom’s T-shirt said, “You mess with me, you mess with the whole trailer park!”

Mine said,” The only thing tougher than a trucker is a trucker’s wife!”

This year there were lots of coin slots…but they were all found on men this year.

The derby was great, as always.

We loved how the Razorback car spelled “Pig Suey”….lol

I spent the majority of the night trying to figure out if this driver’s pony tail was real or a clip on. His car says he’s a rebel…so I am guessing it’s the real deal.

This station wagon had testicles hanging in the back window that brought him luck.

We had a “smashing” time with Jeff and Callie and we’re already making plans for the next derby in the Spring!