2 weeks til Halloween!!

~Squeeee~!!!  Halloween is my favorite time of the year!  In case ya didn't know.....Maple Grove Cemetery  is my blog for all things Halloween & a helping of cemetery art.  Anyhooo,  here's a peek at what's going on in my front yard right now.

 I love these ghosties!

 And here's a early shot of the lights.  

There are now green lights in front, but I need something inside the blue wash to make details show up better.  More extension cords!!

I feel like I've been slacking this year.  Normally I'm all excited about the Secret Reaper over at the HalloweenForum - not so much this year.  I signed up and never even went back to see what everyone else has gotten, for either one that I participated in.  Same with the Halloween card exchange - I signed up and hoped for the minimum of people to exchange with.  I don't even have the apothecary in my kitchen out yet!  I'm sure that Randy is happy that I'm not as interested in shopping this year.  Usually I have to stop in all the likely stores several times to see what they have.  I can't even think of any place I want to go hit sales on Nov 1 !!  I don't need any more skeletons, that's for sure!  

I am looking forward to going on a pub crawl next weekend.  Last year, we (me, both sisters, a niece & a bunch of their friends, along with a bunch of other people) did a witch crawl/bus trip for charity.  A portion of what we spent at 4 different bars went to one of the breast cancer research places around here.  We all dressed as witches (obviously) and had to incorporate pink somehow into our outfits.  This year, a different person is coordinating it and guys are welcome, so it's a generic Halloween pub crawl and Randy is going with me.  One sister has to work and the other sister with her cronies don't like the idea that guys are going.  Apparently they feel the need to act differently in front of guys?  I don't recall them being overly crazy at all last year so I don't know what their problem is.  They also go on monthly "girls only" weekend trips to Ohio.  It must really suck to work so hard to avoid associating with your spouse like that!  Personally - I like my husband and am thrilled he will dress up and go with me!   Now, what can I figure out for him to wear???  I like my witch get up from last year, so I may wear it again. 

So things are calming down somewhat on the "OMG my kid is a senior" crazy train.  We had to order her cap & gown recently.  The very next day, she came home with her "Spirit Pack" that came with her order - a drawstring backpack, a pair of sunglasses, a pair of earbuds (all emblazoned with Seniors - Class of 2015), a really nice keychain, a class t-shirt, a pair of sweatpants she ordered and the requisite extra tassel that she promptly took to MY car and hung from the rearview mirror!   I also attended my first meeting as a volunteer for the All Night Senior Party that happens the night of graduation.  We're going today to check out her proofs of yearbook / cap & gown pictures.  I just want an 11x14 of her in her cap & gown for the living room. 

And of course....Homecoming happened.   She ended up just going with a bunch of friends.  Only the girl in orange and the boy behind her are dating.  We went to the same park for pictures as for her senior pics, but 1000 other people had the same idea.  It was a madhouse!  So we wandered away from the pond area and found a couple nice areas - 

...and the police department!

Heehee!

note the lovely choice of footwear for the evening - black Vans.  

But at least she was comfortable! 

And since HoCo happened on her birthday weekend, we didn't even do much for her.  My nephew's b-day is the day before hers so we all meet at the apple orchard and give them gifts and pick apples & eat donuts & drink cider.  She still hasn't even mentioned having any friends over!

She also tried out for and made it into the newest class offering at the dance studio - small group contemporary.  They've never offered it before, but then again, they haven't had Jonathon as a full-time teacher, either!  I had to look it up to figure out exactly how contemporary is different from lyrical.  Lyrical is more ballet-y and contemporary is more modern and edgy, I guess.  It's going to look really cool and they've only worked out the beginning so far.  Angel & Kayla are the only big girls -the rest are all like 10-12 years old.  It's always fun to watch them start new dances - much hilarity!

And here are the hazards of doing pre-calc on the kitchen floor.  Chester was NOT impressed! 

I love this pic, I caught him in mid-yawn! 

I have a class tonight at the National Weather Service office.  I volunteer for CoCoRaHS, or the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network.  I basically report in each day any precipitation that fell in my yard.  I have a snazzy rain gauge and everything.  So this is a refresher course and we'll get a tour of the weather service office and watch the evening weather balloon launch, both of which I've seen before but it's neat so I'll happily tour & watch again. Angel's going with me and I'm letting her drive.  She needs some more highway time and she might even get some night time. 

Ya'll have a great day!