Halloween 2025

 Halloween felt pretty simple this year, not much on the table.  Even the toothbrushes were downgraded from electric, because the kids all said they weren't even using that feature and wanted the ones with sticky bottoms.  = (

We tried our best to make Grace's hair into a pumpkin. It wasn't much of a pumpkin, but it still looked cute.

I volunteered at the twins' school to run the Bingo station for their fall festival.  For some reason, they both got on the bus after school, but Kennedy listened to the plan, and so she ended up riding with me, while the girls took the bus.

They did beat us home, because I'd spent so much time waiting for them in the bandhall, which was where the Bingo was played, so I figured they'd come back through there, but no. = 0

Juliet's new friend Charlotte was able to come by later, after going home and changing into her costume.

The sun was extra bright, casting relfections from Emily's saxophone,

...as well as a bright reflection from Grace's shirt!

Where is the best place to play a game that you really can't easily move once you've started? Definitely in the path of the front door!

I made a homemade pizza out of some clearance bread that I got at Walmart.  It was quite enjoyable as pizza!

My crew.  Thought it's a weird angle, so they all look short and wide: Ender Dragon, Megan, Woodland Fairy, Zombie, and Dragon!

The sixth grade crew!

During the holiday, the Cornishes came by, as well as Jennifer, so us ladies passed out candy, while the dads took around the crew.  Eventually, Emily's friends stopped by, and once she found that out, she was off with them instead!

It wasn't the coldest of Halloweens, but I wouldn't have minded another 15 degrees or so.

I found some clearance cookies at Walmart a few days after Halloween, so I grabbed them for my crew to color.  Sadly, they were not very good cookies, and the food coloring tasted awful. = (  I think we threw out most of them.

They were easy to color though!

We got to give out some fun stuff this year: potatoes, canned beans, bottles of water, and even tuna!  The kids thought it was great fun, and usually choose one of those in addition to two pieces of candy for one of their "choose three."

I did feel like October went by pretty slowly, since Halloween fell on a Friday, but November absolutely flew by and we are staring December in the face!  As we finish up the Thanksgiving break, I'm already feeling tired and ready for Christmas break!

later days

edit 11-30-25: backdated for continuity.

Ear Piercing and Zap Zone

Grace has been wanting to get her ears pierced since Emily got hers done a few years ago, so when Billy planned a Saturday trip to Zap Zone for everyone, I hatched a plan for Grace and Juliet to get their ears pierced at the same time.  Grace and Juliet were happy to swap out the 'all inclusive' pass for a cheaper option so that they could get their ears pierced.

Did you know you can schedule a piercing appointment at Claires? Well, you can, and it was awesome.

So, when we got there, we got the big kids passes, found a spot for Daddy to 'camp' and then headed for their appointment.

Grace went first, and was so thrilled, even with the long wait and sorting through hiccoughs (they didn't have two of the same earring sets that we had picked out, and we all know they had to be the same.

Next up was Juliet, who was ready after waiting for Grace.  It was a faster turn around though, since I was able to fill her paperwork out while Grace was in the chair.

Happy girl!

Happy, Happy, Ha-ah!

If you just happen to be cleaning out any old post earrings, I know two girls who would love to beef up their collection!

When we were done, we made our way back down to zap zone, where I got each of them a pass for a few attractions.  We were there close to four hours!  The Texas-Michigan game was on, and I just could not bring myself to root for UT so I was disappointed when U of M lost.

They have this awesome pizza delivery robot!!!  The face changes, and it can also change course if it detects an obstacle. I think it's only for parties though.

In addition to the trampoline area, William's favorite was the pixel floor, with various jump quest games. It was pretty fun! He really liked "the floor is lava."

We didn't see much of the kids, they had plenty of options to keep them busy, so I didn't even get a picture of Alice or Emily!

It was a really good time, and a decent substitute, considering we skipped out on all the county & local fairs this year!

We'll be back again soon, I'm sure.

later days

Emily's 13th Birthday Party!!!

For the past year, Emily has been talking about going ice skating for her birthday. So, about a month out, I emailed a place in East Lansing (since the one on the west side has been out of business for years) to schedule her party.  Because of games and practices at the arena, her party ended up being at 530 at night!!!!  

Despite the late start, and distant venue, she had several sweet friends join her to celebrate 13!!!

The night before her party, we made her cake.  We used crushed up lollipops to make her name.  It looked really good!

But less good by the time the party started. = ( lol.

Everyone skated up, but before getting out on the ice we snapped a group picture.

Ella repeated her awesome tendency to make sure that the twins were included in the event.

At a rummage sale I found purple and yellow gift bags, so those became the theme colors for Emily's party!  She filled them with rocks, fruit by the foot, & gushers.

Keeping with the Crocker tradition, Emily included ice skating rocks in each of her goody bags.  = )

In an exact opposite occurrence from William's party, they had an excess amount of time for skating, and ended up hovering around the table scarfing down veggies and gluten free chips, while waiting for the pizzas.

Despite buying and psyching myself up to bake a gluten free pizza option, I totally forgot until it was time to walk out the door.  Thankfully, Billy was able to stay behind to tend the pizza and join us later.  And, as a big surprise, Avia arrived earlier in the day and made the drive over to celebrate with Emily!!!

Poor Abby, despite my best efforts her pizza was cold by the time she got it, but we did our best to warm it between the fresh pizzas for a bit, so it wasn't stone cold.  

The lollipops on the cake were a truly terrible idea, since they made the cake taste fruity and look terrible, though the cake wasn't too bad if you scraped off the icing. = )

The skate time ended so that an evening hockey game could start.  Billy and the other dad*, as well as William spent most of the remainder of the party enjoying the game.

Even the end of the party wasn't a sad event, since Abby got to come spend the night. Emily had a great time, and I think she felt super loved by all who came to celebrate with her!  

later days

*Josh is Julie's dad, and he hung out for the duration.  They say everything happens for a reason, and the late start party was perfect for him, since he works third shift during the week!  So, despite my annoyance, it was a good thing for someone! = )

edited 3-28-24: backdated for continuity.

William's 11th Birthday Party!!!

William got to celebrate at DEFY this year with friends new and old!!

 

I'm so sad, right after I took my camera down from this shot, he fell in a very comical way, that I totally could have captured had I given it five more seconds! lol!

Alice stayed behind with Billy, because Main Street doesn't open until 11am, and he was getting pizzas to supplement the ones provided by DEFY.  But I think his other sisters had a great time!

I got to spend a little time jumping too, since Alice wasn't using her slot, but opted for taking pictures more than jumping. = )

I was really excited that Kroger had a ready to go vanilla cake, and the lady was able to fit Happy Birthday William on it, even though it was a little thing!

It was so nice to meet William's classmates, since I've not really gotten to sub at their school this year! It was also nice to spend some time with friends from his class last year.  We are so thankful to everyone that came out to celebrate our favorite 11 year old, he had a great day! = )

later days

edit: back dated for continuity 12-24-23