Which Girl Scout Cookie is your Favorite: It is National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend

What is National Girl Scouts Cookie Weekend and the Girl Scout's Cookie Championship?

It's cookie time! Girl Scout Cookie time that is. All over the nation girls are selling cookies and setting goals for the National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend Championship.

Every year, the Scouts set their New Year resolutions, but the scouts are far more likely to stick to their goals than everyone else.

Our scout loves cookies so much, she bakes them as a community service project!

Why is that?

Did you ever wonder what your cookie money goes toward? You may have seen a note about the personal goal for the Girl Scout that sold cookies to you, but that is not the only purpose the money serves. 

This post is sponsored by the GSUSA, but the words and stories are our own.

Samoas our a favorite Girl Scout Cookie.

Each troop gets a portion of the money. Depending on how the troop runs, it could go toward a pooled troop goal or the individual scout's goal. When the girls start as Daisies and every year on up to their Senior year, they set goals.  Some girls are motivated by the prizes that they will earn.  Other girls are motivated by a trip or special event.  

One of our local troops does a Powder Puff Pinewood Derby. 

The Girl Scouts have set up fun ways to help each girl achieve their goal. The girls can log into a program and track their goal along the way. They also learn about safely using social media to pass along the word about cookies.  #CookieBoss

Have you seen the poll on Facebook? Like the post if you are a fan of Thin Mints or Share it if you are a Samoa's fan? Vote for your favorite Girl Scout cookie! Which will be the National Champion Girl Scout Cookie? Check the GSUSA Facebook page to find out. 

Girl Scouts have four different bakeries in the country.  Depending on where you are, you could get cookies from two different girls and get two different cookie flavor choices. But, never fear, the past champions Thin Mints, Samoas, and Do-Si-Dos are produced nationwide.

 Trefoils- another top seller for our troop.

This year, our girls are spending some of their troop money to go to the local local SkyZone, another part of the money will go toward a troop goal for a trip, and the last of their hard earned money will go toward a community service project.

Our troop numbers and unit.

Our girls are in between the Silver and Gold awards so they are talking about a helping an animal shelter as a community project. The Girl Scout Gold Award is equivalent to the Eagle Scout Award. The girls have to choose an individual project and plan and work over 100 hours on something that will benefit their community. A pretty lofty goal, but they are willing to spend the hours needed to make a difference in the community. Planning will start at the end of this school year. Check back here for updates on their projects and if they meet their goals. 

The girls would love to hear about what other scouts are doing around the country. So, if you have a scout (boy or girl) please comment and let us know what your troop has done.

If you want to keep up with GSUSA happenings Follow them on Pinterest or Like them on Facebook.  #CookieBoss

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Recommended Reading:



Here Come the Girl Scouts!: The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette 'Daisy' Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure*


Girl Scouts: A Celebration of 100 Trailblazing Years*

Rehoming Pets after a Life Change

Moving? Will you Find Your Pet a New Home?

If you're planning a move (we are) what to do with your pets after a life change may be an issue. It's a tough decision. Having recently moved, it was important to find a good home for all of our pets. And, when I say 'all' I mean we needed to find a home for a wide variety of animals, both indoors and outdoors. Now, we're about to do it again. This time, I'm considering rehoming some of our outdoor pets. It's a difficult decision.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links If you click, I may get a commission.
(*Nakturnal Partner)

Over the years, we have adopted many pets from friends and family. No matter, where you get your pet, it's always a labor of love. The best pets come from loving homes. Take Buddie, for example, she has seizures. We can't pinpoint the cause. It's been suggested we put her down, but she's otherwise a happy, little kitty. She has many triggers and as long as we keep the triggers in check we can reduce the amount of seizures she has each week. Often, the seizures are daily! This is due to food, fleas, flea sprays, and other things that seem to be allergens. Right now, Buddy is doing great! I found a cat food that seems to work. It's a little pricey for my liking, but far better than the alternatives. I also found a pet safe candle that helps remove any pet odors. You know, we've got those! Cleaning up after Buddie is a full time job.

Then, there's Tigger! What a character. He's about twelve. We found him on Craigslist. I don't recommend finding a pet to adopt that way, but we also got ducks and chickens from Craigslist. Tigger often stars in our blog and social media posts. I've shared some links so you can learn more about him!

• Tigger in a Chef Hat
• Tigger's Dinner Time
• Cats at a Sleepover

At nineteen, my Cockatiel, Nebu, is my oldest pet friend! I got him from a pet store when he was just an egg! Of course, I didn't take the egg home. The pet store hatched him out and raised him for the first 9 weeks then I brought him home! He can get noisy, but for the most part, he's a pet that can move anywhere and, boy oh boy, have the two of us lived in lots of different places! Where I go, he goes. Sometimes, even on vacations!

Also, there's a turtle. Several years ago, I was mowing the lawn and ran over her shell. I brought her in the house for rehabilitation. They tell me, she can't be released into the wild. She'd never survive and probably spread disease. Not to mention the fact that, turtles are homing devices. She might spend years trying to work her way back to her original home. I'd like to find a permanent home for her, like a sanctuary or zoo or something. Rehoming her with a friend (someone I trust) would be a great option.

But wait, there's more. We have chickens and a duck too. In the past, we had more turtles, more cats, more ducks, and way more chickens! A move wouldn't have been possible. But now, we're down to two chickens and a duck. I've shared some links about our journey below.

• Chickens
• Ducks
• Cats

Our new neighbor loves animals. I'm considering leaving them with him. It's a tough decision though. But, we are embarking on a new path in life.The kids want to try public school next year! I ask every year, this year they both said yes!! Ugh. Difficult decision for me. We just bought a house. But we've decided to move back to my hometown where we'll be surrounded by friends and family. The kids will go to school with their cousins. We want to make the transition as easy as possible for all. Since money is a factor, finding trusted new homes for some of our beloved pets seems like the best option.

Have you ever rehomed a pet? Let's be clear, the pound is not an option. I never understand how anyone can do that to a family member. Sure, if they're lucky someone else will adopt them, but the odds aren't good. Even a no kill shelter isn't great. They'll have abandonment issues. I feel like we're family for life, but sometimes, you have to make tough decisions. Any advice?

Recommended:


More posts about CATS

Turtle Books for Kids

Ways to Calm Cats

How to Care for a New Pet

Homeschool Curriculum Resources

Supplemental Resources for Educators

Thanks to Oriental Trading for these curriculum resources.

Whether you're a homeschool parent or a classroom teacher, these curriculum resources from Oriental Trading are a great way to supplement learning. From the hundreds of items in the Oriental Trading catalog, we chose these items to supplement our homeschool curriculum. If you're looking for supplemental homeschool curriculum resources, be sure to check them out.

This post contains affiliate links.

Airbrush Marker Set, Money and Time Flashcards, Fraction Spinners, Ruler Tape, and World Map.

Last year, both kids attended Indiana Connections Academy online. We started our homeschool journey with them and after a few years of homeschooling on our own, decided to enroll again. It allowed both kids to take assessment tests. We discovered they both had jumped another grade level. However, Mayhem had some math learning disabilities and special needs.

Homeschool Curriculum Resources 

Connections Academy was great about testing her and getting her the help she needed, but this year we decided it would be better to once again go it on our own. This way, we can better address her mathematics learning gaps.

So, Jake will attend INCA as a 9th grader... Did you get that? He's officially in high school this year. Yikes! Mayhem is officially a 7th grader. By age, they should be in 5th and 7th. Which makes me skeptical about that assessed math disability.

There's certainly an issue, but she works very well at 4th & 5th grade level math. Her language arts assessment was college level and science and social studies were all above grade level, which is why they placed her in the 6th grade last year.

Homeschooling on our own allows us to tailor the curriculum to her specific grade level needs. We are using MobyMax to help with that. MobyMax finds and corrects learning gaps.

Tri-Facta math game for multiplication and division memory.

We ordered this educational math game, Tri-Facta, from OT. It's sort of like Scrabble for numbers. Even though Jake is a math whiz, he enjoyed the game.

It's a nice alternative to flashcards. We also got Time and Money flashcards, cool ruler tape, and fraction spinners. Everything You Need to Ace Math in one Big Fat Notebook is an awesome math book for reluctant mathematicians. It's written in note taking form and explains math concepts in a fun, easy to understand manner. Click here to find the resources at Oriental Trading.

If your kids like to color, this World Chart map (pictured below) is a great supplemental activity for geography and social studies. It comes with a booklet of facts. The idea is to find the fact's map location and then color it. We also got an airbrush set for future art lessons.

Social Studies Lesson: Color Chart the World Map.

Social Studies Resource from MindWare, Color Chart Map.

Just for fun, Teacher a.k.a. Mom, drug the kiddos out of bed for a 'I just woke up' shot to share on social media. Everyone always shares their back to school first day of school pictures and we didn't want to be left out.

For us, the first day of school means getting up a little earlier- okay, a lot earlier, but not as early as a traditional school day. No new haircuts, no new backpacks, no new shoes, no new school clothes. Just old pajamas. Well, really, old comfy clothes for sleeping. No matching necessary. We'll get dressed if we run out of food and need to make a trip to the grocery store. A trip to a fast food restaurant doesn't require getting dressed...

Recommended:

Homeschool Lessons from Kids Creative Chaos

Indiana Field Trip Ideas

Homeschool Curriculum Resources on Amazon

Follow us on Instagram

Doll Collections: Are you a Crafter? Collector? Or just a plain, old Hoarder?

Collecting Dolls and Crissy Babies

Doing more surfing than crafting for kids lately? After Christmas and year end clearance specials are amazing. We all need to stock up on junk  more craft supplies for the new year. My favorite clearance sale is always the one on Toys and Hobbies. Doll collecting is my downfall. 

I've been collecting dolls since I was born, literally. Here's a picture of the first doll ever given to me, shortly after my birth in...  1969. (collector, collector, collector)

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.

Doll Collecting Habit

My Grandmother crocheted her a beautiful, new outfit many, many years ago, but I still have her chartreuse and lace dress. (hoarder, hoarder, hoarder)

I also have a jingly, wobbly, Mickey Mouse, baby toy given to me the same year (1969) with perfect tag intact ~ Walt Disney World ~ I think I may have chewed off one of his ears. (Ebay, Ebay, Ebay)

Then, there's Crissy Baby. I never actually owned one as a child but always wanted one. Now, I have several. (collector, collector, collector)  

And Barbie... mostly from garage sales. (dumpster diver, dumpster diver, dumpster diver) The Bubble wig 1960's version.

These girls sit in boxes in my closet sharing space with my most prized possession-  a Dennis Rodman doll with interchangeable heads to showcase his Kool-Aid dyed hair years. That's right, my friends, Dennis Rodman with interchangeable heads.  They even make a Dennis Rodman in Wedding Dress doll.

Here's an old creepy doll that I dressed up and gave a new wig.

Michael Jackson is there too with his glove and Grammy glimmer jacket, but he was born a collectible doll. Even though we attended college together, (yes, you read that right, I took a doll to college) but he isn't my favorite doll.

I mean, you probably know someone else with an MJ, but how many of you know someone with a Dennis Rodman?

Crissy Baby Doll ~ Growing Hair.

Interchangeable heads.

OMG, I didn't realize this doll existed. Want.

Want to make your own Kool-Aid hair dye?

So, when Marie Osmond started designing dolls, I had to have one right up until I found out they were "collectible" and expensive. I don't collect anything considered collectible. In my opinion, that's what separates the collector from the hoarder. It's okay to laugh here.

Who doesn't love them some Donny and Marie?  I'd dumpster dive for a set of Donny and Marie dolls. 

Donny and Marie Osmond Dolls.  Is this TMI?  

Ahem, I'm surfing browsing the Marie dolls when I come across Marie Osmond Crafts.  She sings. She dances. She dolls. She gains weight. She loses weight. She crafts. Love her!  I'll bet she uses bonding tape to hem those doll clothes.

Did I already mention how much I adore these cute Russian dolls? I first saw these at a friend's house and I instantly decided to get a set to add to my collections. It wasn't hard finding these dolls because you can now get them online. I got mine from https://nestingdolls.co/ and they look great!

I just bought a mini-sewing machine for simple craft projects... Forget about Martha Stewart (Sorry, Martha). I wanna be like Marie. If I design some collectible dolls with Kool-Aid dyed hair would you collect them? (hoarder, hoarder, hoarder)

Crissy doll collecting.

This Crissy doll looks a little like my son. Okay, a lot. How weird is that? 


Recommended:

Follow me on Pinterest 

How to Make a Doll Purse for a Gift Bag

More Animal Nesting Dolls

Get Books on Doll Collecting

Preschool Sensory Play Activities: How it all got started!

Sensory Messy Play and Preschool Activities

We've had many great years teaching messy play and preschool classes for The Play Connection and hope the future will send even more blessings our way. Here are our top sensory and messy play preschool activities from 2013. What a blast from the past!

This post contains affiliate links.

Here is a listing of our top posts of 2013. Many offer great ideas for fun, preschool activities, clip art, and lots of fun for kids! Enjoy!

1. Christmas Eye Candy: Photos of Christmas Trees in Snow Clipart
2. Angie's Homemade Artisan Bread Recipe
3. New Year Preschool Party Ideas and Activities for Kids
4. Lots of Snowmen and Marshmallows Christmas Crafts and Activities for Kids
5. Fun for Kids with Phineas and Ferb Printables
6. Lots of photos of Bread Clipart
7. Cute Valentine Clipart and Free Printables for Kids Classroom Valentines
8. 9 New Year Activities for Kids with games for kids too
9. Marshmallows: Fun for kids SENSORY game great for preschoolers
10. The Tooth Fairy Sagas: Free Toothfairy clipart and true Mommy Drama
11. Activities for Kids: Make your own snow for Sensory play fun for kids
12. Birthday Party games for Kids and Moms on a budget
13. Our new Series Made the cut! Creative Country Sayings and Inspirational Quotes

Memories from 2008 - 2012.

Here's my favorite Homeschool Lesson from 2013.

Primary and Complementary Color Homeschool Art and Science Lesson.

Jake's Journey in Homeschool Art Lessons and Projects for Kids

(Pre K to Elementary)

There are many Homeschool Lessons in this series, so make sure you click the labels under each post. (Still Life, Water Coloring for Kids, Weaving, Self-Portrait activities, Building Models for Science, Christmas Gingerbread House how to diy, Color Theory Lessons, Primary Colors, and even some History  along the way - it's art to me how we've designed our lives throughout the years. I hope you will follow along on the journey.)

We published a Kitchen Kids Cookbook with mix and make recipes for kids. We helped fund raise for Santa's Elves of Indy, we started Homeschooling through INCA (Indiana Connections Academy,) and we moved to a house in the country. 

2013 holds many dreams as we look forward to gardening, raising chickens, goats, and hopefully bunnies and alpacas, get that YA novel published, and share a few of the many stage plays and skits for kids I've written over the years. Bring it! I am excited to get started :-) 

What does your future hold? Leave a comment and let us know.

Follow us on Pinterest (Kids Creative Chaos and Pin it! Online Scavenger Hunt for Pre school Curriculum) and Google +  Can't find us on Twitter? Check the right sidebar for a link we're @playconnection. 


Recommended Reading:

Fun with Messy Play: Ideas and Activities for Children with Special Needs

Play Out: How to develop your outside space for learning and play

Seasonal Books for Kindergarten 2015

Winter Holiday Books for Preschoolers and Kindergartners

The weather is getting colder. Children are dreaming of snow and the holiday season, and teachers and caregivers are looking for fun, new books to share with their students. These 2015 seasonal books are great for preschoolers and Kindergarten too. Enjoy!

We were given three adorable children's books for review, and they are perfect seasonal books for your little ones. One focuses on the joys of snow, one talks about Yetis, and the other focuses on Hanukkah... and Santa.

The Thing About Yetis is a perfect book for preschoolers.

The Thing About Yetis is Vin Vogel's debut book as author/illustrator. It is an adorable book about a fuzzy Yeti. What's a Yeti to do? Like children, Yetis get bored in the winter months.

If you have cabin fever, you'll need something to do to. After you read the story, grab some paper, markers, and cottonballs and make your own Yeti as a companion book project. Just grab some tracing paper and trace the picture on the book cover or let the kids freehand it.

Make a cottonball Abombinable Snowman Yeti Craft.

What's that you say? You don't have a book to trace? Well, you can get one at the library or buy one on Amazon: The Thing About Yetis*, or (if you are a resident of the U.S.) leave a comment to win your very own copy!

Dear Santa, Love Rachel Rosenstein is a cute book to teach about holiday traditions.

Dear Santa, Love Rachel Rosenstein is written by the actress, Amanda Peet and her friend, Andrea Troyer, with illustrations by Christine Davenier. This is a Santa story with a twist. Rachel Rosenstein's family doesn't celebrate Christmas. 

Published by Double Day, this picture book is full of vibrant illustrations that small children will love. It is cute, funny, and it describes some Jewish traditions. However, be prepared to explain why Santa doesn't visit all children- that can be a tricky subject. 

If you want to have a multi-cultural discussion with companion craft activities this book is a great launching point. Little Rachel runs into some friends who also don't celebrate Christmas. They celebrate Diwali and Chinese New Year. 

Recommended:

Make a Craft for Diwali

Make a Craft for Chinese New Year
Star of David Cookie Cutters*

Star of David Cookies

Max and Marla take many adventures. In this latest Peguin Young Readers picture book, by Alexandra Boiger, Max and his pet owl, Marla, are hopeful Olympians. The limited palette illustrations are primarily beautiful shades of blue that don't even need words. Children of all ages will enjoy the story, but the target audience is for preschoolers ages 3-5.

Life is always about the journey, not the destination!

Winter Holiday Books for Preschoolers.

Recommended:

Owl Crafts for Kids
Make a Snowman Craft for Preschoolers
Craft Snow*
How to Make Fake Snow
Mariah Carey Christmas Book Review

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products. *We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Fall Funtastic! Fun October things to do for Halloween in Indianapolis Indiana

Fun Fall things to do in October for Halloween in Central Indiana

At last... In the Fall of 2009, my kids suffered with the launch of my "Fun Kids" business. For them it was more like torture. This year, we were determined to find and do all of the fun things in October for the Halloween season.

Mayhem on a preschool hayride at Beasley's Orchard.

We only visited "Waterman's Farm Market" in Greenwood, Indiana to watch the pumpkin eating dinosaur, race big trikes around a track, pet a few goats, get swallowed up inside a stack-of-hay maze, and follow the trail in a field of corn on a very cold day during Fall-Break.  Oh what fun!  Waterman's is great, don't get me wrong; the kids love it.

This year, determined to make it up to them, I scheduled fall-fun into every spare minute.It started with a trip to "Trader's Point Creamery" during Oktoberfest; although the event seemed well received by others my kids gave it six thumbs down. It was crowded, hot, and we walked a lot.


However, it is a lovely fund-raising event for adults. Vendors sell their wares in a cozy farmer's market.  The farmer's offer crafts, fruits, jellies, jams, and warm, seasonal specialties.  If you come hungry eat here first.  The restaurant is closed while they serve gourmet burgers and organic items in the barn.  While these items were healthy and delicious my hungry kiddos didn't find anything appetizing (hot dogs ran out early) and my significant other spent around $40 on himself alone walking away in need of "real food".  Luckily, the dairy had cheeses and organic milk.

The kids did not enjoy the hayride thru the farm's hilly landscape to see the non-existent cows. The cows had come home for milking.  Nor did they dance a jig to the happy, live Polka Band.

Calves cried at the door to see their Mamas who were standing on the other side in line for the milking machines. The real pitchfork my son used to grab the hay was a big hit as was the tour of Milking time.

Not a big hit $13-40 pumpkins that were grown elsewhere. These were our first pumpkins of the season so the kids were overjoyed at the sight, but I bribed them with mega pumpkins two for $6 at Meijer. While they were kicking and screaming on the way out, I did notice a farm vendor selling little pumpkins for $1 each. C'est la vie.

Awesome, educational corn maze at Jacob's Orchard in New Castle, Indiana.

Needless to say, I had some fall-fun making up to do! On the next outing, I took them to a tiny apple orchard in my hometown, New Castle, Indiana. Previously known as Anderson's, the new owners renamed it "Jacob's Orchard" which made for a nice photo op for my son (and the 90 million others) named Jacob.

Unfortunately, Jacob had no desire to attend the event. He complained profusely until he spotted the inflatable tunnel. Success! Goat's, fortune-telling corn-maze, cider doughnuts made while-you-wait, apple slushies in apple-shaped bottles, and if you feel like it, You-Pick apples, sealed the deal. The price is right too.

He got hurt the first time but went back for more.

The angry faces say, "Let me go play".

Hay tower at Jacob's Orchard in New Castle, Indiana.

On a "No Pre-school Friday", Mayhem and I visited "The Old Farm Market" in Avon to purchase old-fashioned pumpkins and giant gourds. Bummer, the have gone out of business!

Mayhem with Fall Pumpkins and Gourds for Halloween.

Mayhem with a Pirate, Arrgh!

Fall Break called for a trip to our local Zoo Boo and the world famous "Indianapolis Children's Museum" for trick-or-treating, pumpkin bowling, and a scare-free haunted house entitled, "Skeletown". My little one tired out after the first treat-post preferring to be carried and then tip-toed timidly thru the haunted house expecting a fright at every corner. It hadn't occurred to me that, at four, this was the first haunted house she would remember.

Vampires, Indians, Scouts, and Racecar Drivers oh my!

Class field trips took us to  "Country Pumpkins" in Zionsville and "Beasley's Orchard" in Danville for hayrides to pumpkin patches topped off with a free mini-pumpkin. You might want to start logging a pumpkin tally about now.

Preschoolers and pumpkins.

Finally, Halloween weekend arrived.  The kids enjoyed our trip to "Westside Retirement Village" for a safe treating experience. The residents were sitting in the lobbies handing out candy and we were pleasantly surprised by a haunted garden on the way to more candy-giving seniors, six thumbs up here.  


My teenager appreciated the duality of the elderly enjoying the children. Such a cute idea transforming a pathway into a spider garden- a giant spider waved happily at the end of the trail to lull visitors into a sense of well-being just before a friendly, smiling ghost popped out to say, "boo".  Unfortunately, the happy boo had my littlest jumping out of her skin.

Now, we aren't known to be a greedy family but while we were waiting for Daddy to complete his projects at work we needed to pass the time, so, we stopped off at "Church of the Master American Baptist" for trunk-or-treat before meeting up for "Ghoulish Garfield" . Forget about icing, Indy Park's Garfield Park, put the cherry on top of the cupcake. Picture perfect.   


The haunted conservatory is scary. My teenager let go of her six-year-old brother's hand  to grab her Daddy's! Daddy carried the shaking little one with one arm and held Sam with the other arm while I led the way with Jake. Seconds after telling a witch he wasn't scared at all some 'air' caused Jake to stick to the floor. The same 'air' that had Sam unglued (go figure, it was literally just air from a blower of some sort). Kudos to the spookmaster.  

The exit led directly to the hayride. "I'm never coming to this park again," exclaimed Jake!  "I know, I got worried when it said, 'not suitable for small children'," winced Sam. No one wanted to take a hayride but the clown taking our tickets (literally) assured us it was only a means of transport so off we went. Unfortunately, we were short on time. The ride leads to the Arts Center to decorate pumpkins and then to the Burello Family Center for refreshments and such. Time was running out so we opted to stay on the wagon.  Neither of us felt the need to walk back to our car toting frightened children through a dark park. An amazing ride thru the park with the full-moon and stars above made for the perfect ending to a fall-fun evening.

I question my sanity, as I remember my first haunted house at the age of six. My uncle was playing Frankenstein. It must have been a scare-free time for everything was well-lit. The coffin and vampire are burned into my psyche forever. Dracula chased us into the next room as my aunt shooed him away with her purse. I recognized my uncle right away - he's well over six feet tall - still I worried about Dracula.

Could Frankenstein stop him from sucking our blood? Could he pry the casket open if the venomous vampire tossed me inside? I have no idea what treasures the other rooms held.  While the smell of alcohol wreaked from the vampire's fangs the smell of fear drenched my aunt's persona. I could not be consoled by their trifling claims otherwise. Isn't it odd that Halloween is my favorite holiday?  

Thanks to that fateful day, I've never met a Creep I've liked since.  To be sure, we're going to have three kids who have an irrational fear of air.

Trick or Treating in Avon's Washington Township Park.

Trick or Treat.

Then, I took the kids to "Washington Park" in Avon for the non-scary, trick-or-treat trail. It's a nice hike thru the woods. Candy stations are sprinkled along the trails, cute, carnival-style games abound, and the kids enjoy a costume contest and $1 pumpkins all before dark.  This one is perfect for even the littlest tykes unless they discover an urgent need to potty. (Don't worry Jessica, we made it back to the public restroom, but I overheard one little boy who had to go behind a tree.)

Super easy Halloween Costumes: The kids were done with puppies, ladybugs, clones, hulks and pumpkins. So we went with comfortable costumes; that's a ghost puppy and a skeleton kid.

Halloween Party Activities: Bobbing for Rubber Duckies!

Tomorrow I present, "The Princess and Wanda Witch" at Garfield Park Arts Center, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

Wanda Witch, lead actress in our skit.

Join us but don't dawdle; I have to hurry home to take my kids trick-or-treating, hand out candy, and visit the festivities at "Spirit of Life Church" in Clermont. 

It's hard work making up for lost time. Mayhem has had several different costumes to celebrate the season.



Recommended Reading:

Five Little Pumpkins (A fun Halloween book for children)

A Ghost Went Trick or Treating