Happy Halloween!!!

We wish you the scariest and most spooktacular of Halloweens this evening!



Looking mischevious, here. I guess the cat costume was a perfect fit, this year!


Meow


Mom, the hippie-chick loving on a sweet little stray cat...


Indian Amy and Humpty-Dumpty Mekhi


Another sweet kitty-cat, her Daddy (Magnum P.I.) and her Mom - an absolute angel!


Sarah as Dorothy and Jay as the Scarecrow


Wes and Oksana on official FBI business


We celebrated early at the Hoffmans' on Sunday night, and will be heading-out to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood tonight with some friends and neighbors tonight.

Daddy was a redneck chef (I think he's trying to be resourceful by reusing some of last year's costume. Guess what next year's costume will bring? Redneck ______. (You fill-in the blank).
p.s. - If anyone has a picture of Doug from Sunday night, could you send it my way? Thanks!

A few months ago, Ava saw herself in the bathroom mirror (wrapped-up in a hooded towel, with hoodie-ears) and kept saying "meow". I don't know what type of creature is on her towel, but she assumes it's a kitty-cat. So, we knew she would have fun dressing as a kitty-cat for this year's festivities.

Enjoy the tricks AND treats!

Peace, love and candy corn :-),
Shelly

P.S. - Thanks to our neighbor Carine, who e-mailed this picture she took last night while we were trick-or-treating:

The Hunt For (Non) Red-Tide (in) October: Destin But No Memorial Day

We drove down to Destin, FL on Thursday, to meet up with the Flanigans and Butlers for a weekend at the beach. That makes this our second trip to the beach this year. The weather was absolutely beautiful, in the mid-80's and cool at night.

Our family at the beach


Ava and Shelly


I love this picture of Doug and Ava-


We experienced an interesting phenomenon this year, while at the ocean. "Red Tide" crept up on us. There is a bacteria that occurs naturally in ocean water, but when the bacteria grows too fast, it is referred to as "Red Tide", sucking the oxygen out of the water, and leaving some marine life dead. It is especially dangerous to eat shellfish, etc, caught during Red Tide. On shore, ocean-goers may experience irritation of the throat and eyes, and sneezing. Very odd. I can tell you that I was coughing, and didn't realize why, until Andrew Butler told us about "Red Tide". (insert Death Star music here). I also had a doozy of a headache Saturday night; I'm curious if it had anything to do with Red Tide?) You could see the water color changed a few 100 yards from shore, too. (www.cdc.gov/hab/redtide/pdfs/activities.pdf). We survived. It is ALWAYS great to see the ocean.

TWO dead birds on our back porch. Affected by Red Tide?


This is the latest in the year we've gone to the beach, but I would definitely go again this late. Maybe we got lucky with the weather? This is hurricane season, but we would've never guessed, with such nice weather.

The view on the beach... Don't ask me why DOUG took this picture???? HE DOES NOT KNOW THIS MAN...


Will Flanigan turned three on Saturday, while we were there. Kathy made a cake for Will, frosted with "Home Depot and Lowe's colors (blue and orange). Will was sure to blow-out all of his candles. He got some markers, walkie-talkies, Spiderman underwear and a very cool fan for his birthday. He was fascinated with the fan, and wanted to see the blades (very mechanically-minded three year-old!). I made some happy-faced cookies on sticks, and some orange stars (Home Depot-colored) on sticks for the weekend / Will's b-day. The kids seemed to enjoy all the treats.

Making sandcastles


Ava didn't prefer the ocean waves, but did enjoy playing in the sand. Sophie didn't prefer the sand, but was a trooper for hangin' with us at the beach (can't exactly get away from sand there...). Will enjoyed building things and digging in the sand. Thomas and Clara Helen (Butler) were fish, and enjoyed swimming in the ocean. Tristan liked to play in the water, too. And baby brother Tanner was all-smiles the entire trip. He has the sweetest baby-face ever.

Andrew, Thomas, Clara Helen and Tristan playing on the beach


So, needless to say, we were outnumbered six adults to SEVEN kids! We survived. And everyone seemed to get along really well. The Moms spoke of "all-things-Mom," while the men were able to talk shop (building trades, etc), with Andy working for Centex Homes and Andrew and Doug being architects.

Enjoying the beach


We cranked up the heater for the pool and were able to enjoy 100-degree water for late night swims. It was so hot that we all laughed when we got in the pool. Nice! :-) The accommodations were perfect for three families,too. The property had a "cottage" near the pool, separate from the house, where the Flanigans stayed. We would highly suggest staying at 80 Woodward St in Destin, FL, if you ever have a chance to get to the beach.

Our 100-degree pool


A beach house


80 Woodward St.


80 Woodward St.


The poolhouse


On the front porch


While we were there, an 844-lb. Mako shark was caught in Destin, 70-miles off the coast. The shark was so big, the boat and couldn't reel it in after an hour; they had to drag the shark back to shore, full-throttle, and arrived FOUR HOURS LATER. Crazy!

Catch a wave and you're sittin' on top of the world,
Shelly

Spa Day (or Spa Hour?)

I had a light workload last Monday, so I decided I would keep Ava at home. She LOVES to color, paint, etc, so I pulled-out the washable markers. More than coloring with the markers, she enjoys trying to replace the cap for each marker. (Somehow this creates more of a mess than the actual coloring; go figure?) Cleaning her marked-up hands somehow turned into "spa day". This is a tribute to Aunt Linda, who invokes a weekly "spa day" with the little girls she watches daily.

Ava sat still with her feet in the sink while I cut her bangs. (Not yet in her eyes, the bangs have definitely encroached upon eyebrow-territory). I'm trying to figure out how to grow-out the sides, top and back of her hair, but keep some wispy bangs, too. She sat still, fortunately. I tried to make them as un-blunt as possible, so they will fall to the side naturally.

The Cast of Characters


While I was cutting her hair, she LOVED to turn the sink on and off, so she got a good "foot-soaking", and brushed her teeth. I asked her if she wanted her toenails painted, and she shook her head "yes". I never thought I WOULD ACTUALLY paint her toenails this early in her life, but I did... (Hear me out before you slap my hand...) I found a color (I already had) that is very sheer and looks like the same color as her toenails. (Without this light of a color, I wouldn't have painted her nails at all). So, after drying-off her feet, I painted her little toesies with this sheer pink color. I asked her if she wanted some lotion on her feet, and she shook her head "yes". So, I got out the yummiest smelling lotion I had, and put it on her feet, legs, hands and arms. She squirms when I put it on her arms. She liked to smell it while it was in the tube. We then put on some Chap-stick, dry clothes and a purple hair-bow (her others were wet from the sink) to complete the look.

The Pedicure: L'Oreal's Sheer Suntan nail polish (can't you tell?)


I asked her if she felt special being pampered, and she shook her head "yes".

Feeling marvelous!


After we got done with a mini-haircut, foot massage, pedicure, hair-do and Chap-stick application, she went back to playing in her tent and tunnel in the living room.

Back to the daily grind...


I think I might have to start a regular spa day of some sort, with a good foot soaking, all things girly, fun, pink, and good for the soul.

Full of zen-ergy,
Shelly

Family Reunion 2007

We traveled to Corbin / Rockholds / Faber, Kentucky on October 5th for the Claxton family reunion. It was, as always, a beautiful weekend for my Grandmother's family reunion. This year, the weather was a bit warmer than we expected.



We met my Mom, Grandmother, Uncle Danny and Aunt Linda in Kentucky, while Doug, Ava and I stayed with Great Aunt Jean (Grandfather's sister). Ava LOVED staying with Aunt Jean and her many stuffed animals and dolls. She followed Aunt Jean around the house, acting as her shadow.



We always eat VERY WELL at Aunt Jean's house. She is quite the cook! This time around, I believe she had sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, chicken, rolls, two jello dishes (which don't count as dessert, on her table), two cakes, corn, etc. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. She will be turning 80 next year, and still manages to cook quite a dinner for us.

I love to look at her photo albums and hear stories of her childhood and my Grandfather's. She loves her big brother. She was actually a twin, too, but her twin died at 13 (?) months of age, of pneumonia.



At the reunion, Ava's favorite pastime was pushing the swing at the Claxton's. She would put her bunny / blanket on the swing and push and push and push. Grandmother remarked on how "clean" Ava stayed all day. When we got back to Aunt Jean's and I pulled-off Ava's sandals, I had to show Grandmother Ava's black (with dirt) feet. Grandmother chuckled. Ava was scared of her own dirty feet, and wanted them washed pronto. :-)



We went to church at Brummett Church of Christ, where Ava did really well. (It is a small one-room church, so I was somewhat apprehensive on how she would fare during service). My Great-Great Grandparents worshipped at this church. (I think I was once told that my Great-Great-Great Grandparents also worshipped here). So, Ava's G-G-G-G grandparents might've worshipped at this church. How crazy is that? I know my Grandfather rode with his grandparents (Josh and Alie Murray, who raised him) to church / town in a horse-drawn wagon. Josh was a farmer and would bring produce into town, to sell, in the same wagon.

Ava also enjoyed hangin'-out with Grandma Pam in the back seat, wherever we drove. She also got tickled by Aunt Linda, and was quite the giggler.

I think my Mom might've taken more pictures of the entire crew, so hopefully we can include more extended-family pictures at a later date.

We hope Fall is treating you well!

With love,
Shelly