International Night

We adore Conlan's school! The class size is small, the teachers/administrators are awesome (you can tell they LOVE what they are doing). This past Friday we were treated to International Night. I wish I had more pictures, but they had the entrance of the school set-up as a security check-point in the airport. Each student and family were given a passport to travel to the different countries. Each classroom was transformed into the country of choice. Conlan's class chose Japan. Con's teacher did an amazing job in transforming the classroom. The pictures do not do it justice, but trust us it was fantastic. Bryan and the kids travelled around the world, while Jenna got to help out in the class and serve Japanese foods (teriyaki chicken, rice, and sushi). A fun time was had by all and we wanted to make sure to share the pictures so you could get a small taste of what it was like. Enjoy!

Conlan's teacher hung several pink paper lanterns from the ceiling. It looked awesome. This wall featured fun facts about Japan and also had a bunch of items from Japan. Buddha, gong, sandals, etc.

Sushi cupcakes anyone?

The kids learned about Mt. Fuji, and now anytime Con sees mountains around us he asks if they are volcanos. Underneath the display you can see the kids' version of Mt. Fuji.

The kids made their own version of the cherry blossom tree. Branches with pink tissue paper. They came out so cute.

Each of the kids got a chance to make their own version of a zen garden. The rocks represent mountains and the rake patterns in the sand represent water. We are going to find a special place in the house to put Con's. But we are a little nervous that the cats may think it is a new litterbox.

The kids version of the lanterns. They all did a great job in making and decorating them!

The Japanese flag, and next to it the kids version of the flag made out of tissue paper, so creative. We didn't get a picture of it, but on the white board there was a shoji screen with samurai warriors in shadow. It looked awesome.

We made a pagoda out of spray painted boxes, vellum and lights. It looked great when it got dark.

Conlan with his teacher. She is so amazing, we love her! Con could not have gotten placed under a more wonderful teacher. She is so patient, loving and kind with the children and really embodies everything a kindergarten teacher should be!

Con's whole class was dressed up too! They all were adorable and it was so much fun to see everyone get into the spirit! They are in front of the giant version of the cherry blossom tree and the kid's fish kites. We are looking forward to some of their upcoming events. They really know how to throw a party, which is right up our alley!

Peek-a-boo

Aislinn is on the move and is walking along everything. She is still a little cautious to walk on her own yet. When Jenna sits at the computer to do school work. Every so often she will look down and discover a little munchkin looking up at her. So we will play a game of peek-a-boo, which of course is the funniest thing to a 10 month old. She is such a little sweetie. Below is a picture of her peeking out from under the table at Jenna.













We couldn't resist sharing this picture either. This is one of those rare moments that she decided to sleep during the day! She has decided naps are a thing of the past. If she does get a nap, she cat naps for 20 minutes max. Yikes, it is a challenge to get things done!

Precious baby girl!

Halloween 2009

We started our Halloween with a fundraiser for the school, early morning krispy kremes. We will let all of you know next time we have a fundraiser. If you don't live close you can order certificates. The day was a lot of fun. Mom and Dad both took the day off from school and work and a great time was had by all. Here are the pictures, enjoy!

We decided to give Aislinn the pumpkins and see what she would do with them. Straight into the mouth. Not sure they tasted all that great, but she seemed to like them!

We got Aisy to pose with the pumpkin. Our cutie pumpkin girl!

Conlan did not like touching the "pumpkin guts" as he put it. So Dad cored out the pumpkin.

Con decided he wanted a smiling spider. So Bryan carved it for him. It turned out really cute, nice job honey!

We had to get creative this year with costumes, so Jenna made them. We used a lot of what we already had, but we will say that the Goodwill is a treasure trove for costumes. With a little creativity you can get a Jedi Kit Fisto (from Star Wars) and an eclectic flower fairy.

The McCoys. Bryan and Jenna got creative too. Bryan went as an 80's hairband drummer and Jenna was a Halloween witch

Bree went as McGonnall and Caydon went as Harry Potter. Our neighborhood looked like Hogwarts. There were a lot of kids dressed as the Harry Potter characters. We think that Caydon and Bree were the cutest! What can we say our opinions are biased!

Destiny as Alice from Twilight (punk rocker style), her hair looked awesome! Roxanne as the Which way Witch. There is a joke in our family that if she doesn't have really good directions or a person telling her where to go, she will get lost, love you Mom! They both looked fabulous!

While out trick or treating Aislinn lasted a block. Conlan lasted all night, but the adults pooped out. On our way back to Mom's for chili and cornbread (we like this new tradition) we decided to do Halloween caroling. It was a lot of fun and helped all of us forget how tired our feet were. Below is a picture of the candy stash!

We hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween. It's official, here come the holidays!