Halloween!

It was weird not to have any kids at home this year. Heather was at college and Jenna went to a party. No more trick-or-treating for these girls. I was feeling the end of a season for sure. To be honest, we got many more trick-or-treating years than I thought we would. It's awesome to have my girls love Halloween like I do. I made muffins for Jenna's seminary friends. The morning forecast on the television cracked me up. They posted temperatures from Halloweenishly named towns--Death Valley, CA; Ghoul Creek, WA; Mummy Pass, CO; Devil's Lake, MO; Skull Creek, NE; Boos, IL; and Sleepy Hollow, NY to name a few.  Jenna wanted to do mermaid makeup for school, and she did a fantastic job. She woke up about 4:00 a.m. to do it and was a little late to 5:45 a.m. seminary. This was costume number two. I had no idea she had a third costume in mind for the evening party. She was a deceased girl who had hung herself. Kind of creepy especially with Jenna's make up skills off the rails again. Her wounds looked so real. I whipped up a batch of cupcakes for Sarah's party. I had forgotten that I'd said I'd make them. They came out of the oven just in time, and I got to use a lot of my cupcake Halloween decor today which was a happy bonus. The last picture posted here are the Holbrook's daughter, Hannah, her husband and their baby.  They are the Matlands and Lydia from the movie, Beetlejuice. Too clever. Hannah made their masks herself. We were so impressed, and this is one of our favorite movies.

October at College

Clearly some of the most sensational college experience stories thus far have revolved around weather simply because we Californians don't have weather.  Well we do, but it's normally beautiful or at least mild.  Heather has Instagrammed a couple of morning pictures from her apartment which I have included here.  I can't believe it's snowing in October! She surprises me with a cute photo now and then like the one with her soda. And I send her photos of funny things like this sweatshirt. Allison Boyack had a Stranger Things Season 2 premiere party, and Heather was invited. What a fun thing to do for a ST fan! I decided to make Halloween cards to send to her and the HB church girls which was fun. I don't know if the girls liked them, but it was fun to send them. Heather put together a casual costume that she could wear to school during the day from a Marvel comic movie called Donnie Darko.  She was excited about it. Heather and her two friends have really been in to the show "Riverdale," and they decided to dress up as Josie and The Pussy Cats for Halloween night.  They didn't go to any parties, but they did go to Soda Vine and hang out for a bit in their costumes. Heather isn't much for the social gatherings because she doesn't know anyone, and many of the gatherings are very crowded. She's having some claustrophobic symptoms and is a little panicky. But she is still finding some fun here and there. She bought some decorations for Halloween to put with the ones we bought when we first got to Utah. I love that she loves to dress up and to decorate like her momma does.

Sunday Selfie

Jenna was looking so purty that I tried to snap a selfie on the way out of church. She did a better job in the car and did it with Snapchat.  That way I have a filter on me that makes me look younger.  Hahahahaha.

Trunk-or-Treat

At the LAST minute, Jenna wanted to dress up to help with Trunk-or-Treat at church. She did an amazing job of grouping her face up to be a ghostly woman for the night. Her make up skills continue to astound me. How did she know how to do this? She watched a Youtube video. We thought she had borrowed some of Heather's zombie make up, but nope. Jenna used cotton and glue to achieve the lovely gash on her face.  So talented this girl is! Sarah stopped by from the choir event she was at, and Sister Miller snapped a photo of Jenna and I before we left. I was a Hershey bar, as you can see.  Haha.

Dress Up Day at School

Edison Bell week this week. Jenna had some absences, but she made it for Edison Nerd Day. Cutest nerd ever. Abby was pretty cute too!

Weather Woes

While our daughter freezes in Idaho, we continue to have weather of our own going on in CA. It's normally not THIS hot in October, but boy are we getting it. The temperatures make for beautiful beach vistas like these I snapped from the top of Superior Ave in Newport Beach. I had two doctors appointments this month, and the view was magnificent both days.  Let's turn down the heat already! Someday we're really going to need to put in air conditioning.

Mole Day - Who Knew?

Chemistry class offered extra credit to create a mole and bring it to school at 6:02 a.m. on 10/23.  What the heck you say?  Well here's the thing. Mole Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated by chemistry teachers, students, enthusiasts, etc.  The time and date are derived from Avogadro's number, which is approximately 6.02 × 10²³, defining the number of particles (atoms or molecules) in one mole of substance, one of the seven base SI units.  Thank you Wikipedia. I have to say that the artistry of my daughter is exceptional.  She created the mole using cornstarch, conditioner and food coloring. It is the CUTEST thing ever and so creative. We drove it to school and arrived before 6:00 a.m. I thought she'd be alone, but there were TONS of students. This really is a nutty chemistry thing.

Last Volleyball Month for High School

This was Jenna's last month of the high school volleyball season. She ended up hitting opposite in every game except senior night, and she did a really great job scoring points for her team. This hitting experience will be great when she moves to club season. The professional volleyball pictures finally came in, and it so cool to see Jenna among these Varsity girls. Friends continued to come to games this month. We are looking forward to club season which will begin in December. Good work Jenna!

Lunch With The Secretaries

Today I drove to Brea to lunch with the ladies I used to work with at Buena Park High School. We were all secretaries in the large office, and I was 23 years old when I started working there in 1990. This was the first job I had in a school district, and I loved it. I loved the atmosphere and everyone I worked with. It's where I worked when I began my credential program and left to do my student teaching just before graduating from CSUF to begin teaching. These ladies were like second mothers or aunties to me and taught me so much. I am forever grateful for them.  Carolyn, in the bottom photo next to me, was the closest in age of the ladies who were in the office. She became a dear friend and influenced my love of Mary Englebreit and rubber stamping. She is so elegant and kind, and my heart was full after hanging out with the gals today.