The Biggest Tree

After having some success locally last year, we decided again to try to find a tree at a farm near our house.  Last Sunday, we struck out hard at 6 different tree farms, which was so disappointing.  Having seen a few really nice (read: big) trees on my friends' Facebook pages, I knew that we were going have to put in some miles if we want to get what I wanted.  We took the girls out of school a little early on Monday and drove about an hour to Maple Row Farm.  Not surprisingly, we pretty much had the place to ourselves, and we found a really great tree.  When we got home, we realized that might be just a little bit too big.....in fact, it's definitely the biggest tree we've ever had, but we love it!

My husband is such a comedian. 

Here she is, in all of her glory....

View from outside.

The Return of Nick

Our Elf on the Shelf, Nick, returned the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  As he always does, he came bearing gifts, new PJs for the girls.  They love looking for him every morning.

Arrival on Sunday morning. 

Pulling pranks on Monday morning. 

Tuesday 

Hanging out on Emily's desk on Wednesday. 

Stuck in the bathroom on Thursday. 

Friday..... 

Saturday morning bath in our gravy boat.

October Odds and Ends

Photos that didn't make it to a post in October:

Elizabeth played 3d Lacrosse this fall and ended up really enjoying herself.

Tour and interview at Deerfield Academy.

Refuge Wedding

In a crazy but awesome coincidence, both girls scored the game winning goal for their team with less than a minute left in the game - Emily's goal ended up winning the Magic girls first place in the top division in the state; Elizabeth's goal won her 3d Lacrosse team the championship game of a tournament.  Milkshakes all around!!

JPII musicians taking a break during Regional Honors Band rehearsal.

Regional Honors Band

Last weekend, Elizabeth performed in the Southern Connecticut Regional Honors Band.  She earned the position of second chair flute, which she was very excited about.  The band practiced on Friday nights and Saturday mornings for three weeks and then performed at Notre Dame High School in West Haven.  It was a very good performance and we really enjoyed listening to all of the musicians.

This was Elizabeth's favorite piece from the performance.

JPII Honors Band members with their music instructor and 8th grade homeroom teacher. 

JPII Honors Band members. 

8th graders with Ms. Lynch and Mrs. Hernandez.

Fall Wrap Up Tournament

The Magic girls played in the Fall Wrap Up Tournament over the weekend. Truth be told, even though they were a travel team playing in a premier team tournament, I'm pretty certain we all expected them to make it to the finals.  They did not.  Emily had a terrific Saturday - she was on fire in the first game and played every second of the game.  She played very well in the second game as well, including a goal, and the girls came away from the first day with two ties and no losses.  On Sunday morning, they were in control of their own destiny - a win would put them in the finals; a loss would knock them out completely.  As a team, they were unable to pull it together (Emily did not play particularly well either) and ended up losing 2-1 in a great game.  It was very odd to be home by 9:30 in the morning on Sunday, with nothing to do for the rest of the day.  Emily has a few outdoor games left, but the indoor season starts this weekend.

Pay no attention to the intense looking (but not intense acting) dad in the background. 

Halloween

We jammed in a lot of Halloween into the last few days of October.  Lee and the girls carved two pumpkins and the girls had a great time dressing up and going trick or treating with some of their friends on Halloween night.  Every year, they get so many compliments on their costumes, which is pretty good because they have a budget of $25 or less to spend (Elizabeth is pretty good at finding costumes on clearance and then using coupon codes).

Total goofball.

Alice in Wonderland. 

The Mad Hatter. 

Elizabeth picked her costume first and Emily wanted to match her theme, as this may be the last year that they trick or treat together.

Ready to head out with their friends (Emily is sooooo short). 

The loot and great candy swap. 

Her favorite.