Halloween -2018

As Bennett and Preston get older, Halloween becomes more and more about just the candy and time with friends than anything else.  Preston's costume choice has been very easy the past two years, wearing football pants and one of his many football jerseys.  This year Bennett was going to dress up with a bunch of friends, but ended up having a fever, so I kept her home.

Walker decided he wanted to be a pirate, which was super easy since we already had all of the stuff from Preston's dress up days.  It was another beautiful day, but since Bennett was under the weather, I stayed home with her and passed out candy for the first time in years.

Steve took the boys to see Mimi, Papa and Uncle Dan first thing, as we do every year.  And then they came back here and headed towards Edgewood on foot.  Preston met up with friends, while Steve took Walker to several houses alone.  Steve stayed in touch with Pres by tracking him with his gizmo, but he was with his friends, and they would run into each other occasionally.

When the evening came to a close (since it was a school night), the boys came home with a big surprise for Bennett.....a HUGE bag of candy!  Aunt Shell and Goo donated to the cause, as well as Mimi and Papa and others.  It was a very sweet gesture, and she was just thrilled!  Of course, they all had to dump out their candy to compare and trade.  Even though the night didn't go according to our plan.....it worked out fine for all parties.

What a crew of fun sweet boys!

Halloween candy trading begins!

B came out okay considering she didn't trick or treat at all

Mizerany Birthday Boys!

October Birthday Boys

It is hard to believe my father-in-law is 89 years young!!  Wowsers!This year, we celebrated him twice.....well all of the October birthday boys had at least two birthday celebrations!

Michelle and the girls kicked it off by planning a fun night out on Louis and Steve's actual birthday where we had someone teach us how to cook a fun dinner, but he did all of the work....right up my alley!

Then we celebrated Steve's birthday
again at Gian Marcos with several of our friends.  Of course I failed to take pictures, but just imagine friends over indulging in both food and wine without any children.

After a short break, then it was time to celebrate Louis Mizerany, Sr....his 89th birthday!!  Dan planned an impromptu night out at The Club on Papa's birthday, and all of the family was able to make it!  We had a blast together, and enjoyed a great meal.

Following that night, Mimi had to do her annual family dinner, with not one, but three cakes!  One cake for each birthday boy.  Sadly, I was unable to make this year's celebration because it was the same day as the witches ride, but I was able to enjoy the yummy leftovers.

Mimi and Papa with their grandchildren

Mizerany Family

The Confetti WItches

One of Homewood's favorite events each year is the Homewood Witches Ride, which is held the Sunday before Halloween each year.  As mentioned in previous posts, it is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, that was started by a friend and fellow Homewood resident. It has successfully raised more money each year than the previous thanks to Janie Mayer and her constant dedication to improve it.

For the past couple of years a group of us have dressed up together....always trying to come up with a theme that compliments the organizer's theme of the parade.  This year the theme was Mardi Gras, so we all chose a different color, and got dressed head to toe in that color with Mardi Gras beads.  We had our make-up done to match our chosen color, and we named ourselves the "Confetti Witches."

After we got our make-up finished, I hosted a short pre-party, and then we biked over to the park so we could check in and line up to throw candy.  Since there are over 500 woman biking, and many don't ride bikes regularly (and do that with a cocktail or two before coupled with throwing candy), we like to be in control of our situation and stay away from the crazy riders.

Kennedy, Jennifer, Jessica, Marianne, Ana, Britt, Leah, Anna, me, Chris and Lauren

Lauren Tanner

Marianne Siegel

Janie Mayer, the master mind behind the Witches Ride

Chris Newell

Popping the confetti!

At the starting line!

The after party at Little Donkey!

Immigration Simulation

Homewood Middle School does a number of fun things for the students to help them process the learning of various subject matter.  One of the coolest events that requires a lot of work from teachers and parent volunteers is the Immigration Simulation.  Each student is given a name and country, and they have to research that country and come up with a back story, and why they are coming over. They have to dress the part, and come to school ready for immigration day.

They start in their classrooms, and when they exit, it is as if they are getting off of the boat.  They begin standing in lines (just the immigrants did), and go through all of the same steps.  They would check their health, literacy, and money, and would have their boarding cards checked at the various checkpoints.

Once they came to Ellis, they were inspected for any kind of illnesses. Inspectors looked at everything including their heads and eyes and were even watched for signs of limping.  If anyone found anything wrong, they marked on their clothes with chalk in order to alert someone else later on. 

Bennett in line with her baby

The whole process would take 3-5 hours back in the day, standing for much of the time.  At HMS it took the kids about 2 hours to go through the whole process.  It was a fun and educational morning, and I enjoyed watching the teachers, parents and students totally get into it.

Many long lines as each student was questioned

Being questioned about her black eye

B got sent to "quarantine"

At the Travelor's Aid Society

She was approved!  Welcome to the USA!

Annual Pheasant Hunting Weekend

Once a year Steve gets to truly let loose with a bunch of guys (my brother included), and do what he loves.....pheasant hunting.  He always looks forward to the camaraderie and the time where he can just decompress.  Steve and the guys have been going to the same hunting camp for years, and consider the owners friends.  They always go on opening weekend, and have a ton of success.

This year Steve convinced Fletcher Smith to join them, and the two guys flew out a day early.  They did some shopping, and visited the Sioux Falls State Park.  The following day they met up with the rest of the guys, and the fun began!  The majority of the guys have been hunting together for several years, but regardless of the length of time that they have been together, they all get along, cut up and make fun of each other.

Steve with Fletcher Smith

Brian, Steve, Reed, Chad McCartney, Fletcher and Alex Husnik

Surprise Snippets of School

School during this era is so different from how it was back when I was in school.  Nowadays, teachers have blogs, Instagram pages, have flexible seating and do super cool science experiments!  Preston has a fun, young teacher who has only been teaching for two years.  Miss Lyon is still excited and has a class Instagram page where she posts pictures almost daily of her students.  Below are just a sampling of some during the first three months of school.

flexible seating...floor, sofa, bean bag and desks

indoor recess, thanks to some rain

Kickball during recess!

Bennett is now a big girl, attending the middle school where she has five teachers and moves classrooms to learn new subjects.  Her homeroom teacher, Miss Adams, also teaches science and social studies.  She too has a fun Instagram page where she posts pictures and videos of science experiments that they are doing, and other fun things that are going on around the middle school.

It is so fun following both teachers and seeing pictures of my children enjoying school.  These little snippets of their days make me smile every time.  I am so thankful that they are enjoying school.

I love that her teachers are recognizing her hard work!

Homecoming week at HMS - Twin Day with Katharine Fitts

So proud of Bennett!  She is working so hard at HMS and doing great!

Donut Reward.....right up Bennett's alley!

Bennett's class is learning about various industries so she brought in her

great grandfather's coal-mining badge, canteen and hat.