This was a bittersweet day. We've enjoyed coming out the local science museum, COSI, for years, from even before Alex was born. It has cemented its place in our lives with the enjoyment our children have gotten out of it. 
We came again today, for probably the last time. They needed Toledo area voters to approve a levy measure in the November election to raise the funds to keep it afloat. But the levy measure failed and unless a last minute savior swoops in, they will be closing their doors at the end of the year.
We didn't do everything there was to do here. Just our favorite things. We took lots of pictures and made a few more memories. We hope that something happens to save COSI, but if not, it place in our lives will pop like this bubble was. Not the biggest loss this year, by far. IT seems lately that the only constant thing in our lives is change.
Today our firstborn became an 8 year-old. He opened a few presents after breakfast, including this stringless electric guitar from Nana & Papa Evans. He loves rocking out with it. It even has a teaching mode that walks him through 8 progressively harder rock songs. 
He had never been to the new Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art, so today we took a self-guided tour. One of the large display areas was full of glass jewelry which Becky and her mom loved looking at for inspiration. We sat in a heavily air-conditioned audience and watched a glass blowing demonstration, where the artist made a colored vase in front of our eyes.
He got to blow out a huge 8 on his ice cream cake and open a few more presents after lunch. We played with some of his presents and let his brother catch a little nap.
Alex got to pick the restaurant for dinner and he chose the Elephant Bar at the local mall where we celebrated Becky's birthday. The boys had a great time and got to take home the chimp goggles that came with the kids menus. Aaron is holding Podo, his new puppy that he got to open on his brother's birthday (to keep him out of his brother's presents).
Alex has been working hard on the swim team at the gym, learning the freestyle stroke, the backstroke, the breast stroke, and the butterfly stroke. Since this was Alex's first time on swim team he got to compete in Division 1. He won blue ribbons for coming in 1st place in his division in 100 yard freestyle, 50 yard breast stroke, and the 50 yard butterfly and got a certificate for most improved swimmer. He was very proud and wants to continue in swim team, even though he know it means he'll be moving up a division.
I adapted this one from One Dish Vegetarian Meals by Robin Robertson. Obviously I added the sausage to make it closer to what we think of as chili. I think it also would be good with leftover cooked chicken. I made 2 batches with one baking pumpkin. Seeding, peeling, and chopping the pumpkin meat was difficult but worth it. I improved my technique after giving my hand a blister the first time I made it. Pumpkin is full of nutrients and anti-oxidants, so it was great to find a dinner recipe that didn't involve pie. The orange pumpkin and black beans make this a lovely Halloween meal. You may have to hunt a little for the chipotles in adobo sauce - they'll be in a small can in the Mexican section of your store if you can find it. You can substitute a diced jalapeno chile and 1/8 tsp of cayenne if you can't find it - or omit it if you want to turn down the heat.
I baked a loaf of my own wheat bread after being inspired by a blog post on the topic at the Simple Dollar blog. It took a little bit of time, but was pretty simple. I did have to run to the store for yeast and a 50/50 white/wheat flour. It was delicious with apple butter. I can't wait to make toast in the morning.
Alex and fellow Wolf Scout Nicolai met at the local Home Depot to complete another Wolf Badge requirement by building a pirate ship. Den leader Becky had walked them through the uses of several tools at their den meeting last Tuesday. Today was their chance to put it to the test
They did a great job. Aaron got to build one too, with Becky's help. After that we went to the tool section to review what they'd learned at the Den meeting. They must've had a great teacher because they did great. Nicolai and his mom said they'd be back next month. We'll see you there!
I got home a little early so we could get out on time for neighborhood trick-or-treating. We paused to capture the family in full costumed regalia. Alex as Mario, Aaron as Yoshi, Becky as a Goth Witch, and me as a Jedi Knight.
Our neighbors really did a great job decorating their homes. Some had spooky lights, some played Halloween music, some were in costume themselves, and some had elaborate set-ups with inflatable Halloween "scupltures" in their yards. Alex and Aaron's costumes were recognized pretty much everywhere we went - someone even gave them extra candy because Mario Bros. was their favorite video game. One lady even walked candy out to the sidewalk where Becky and I were because she was impressed with our costumes. My light saber had a small flashlight bulb in it that wasn't really visible in the daylight, but looked cool when it got dark.
Aaron took on one other mission tonight - he had to pet every puppy he could find. Some of the dogs were even in costume. This was Buster - only 8 weeks old. We got back in time to hand out candy to the stragglers in the neighborhood and then we packed it in and got to bed. What a long but fun day!
Ever since about 1977 I've wanted to be a Jedi. 30 years later I got to at least dress up like one. Susan, my mother-in-law, found some McCall's patterns that got her close which she modified to look like the uniform of Jedi Knight Obi-wan Kenobi. She and Becky found the belt and I picked up the light saber for $5 last year. The costume consisted of a dickie worn around the neck (and a plain white T-shirt), a long-sleeved tunic, shoulder armor pieces that hung down in front and back, and an obi (like a cumberbund). The belt was centered over the obi and the hooded cloak went on over it all. I wore some light-colored cargo pants and my brown hiking boots to complete the look. Becky rigged a couple of S-hooks for my light saber on the right and my stethescope on the left so I could work in it. It was a big hit at the office and my patients loved it - some more than others.
Two of my patients are Star Wars fans as well and got wind from my nurse that I would be dressed as a Jedi. They pulled together a Sith Lord and Stormtrooper costume and we had to have a duel in the hallway. I'm sure the video from that battle will never come back to haunt me. I enjoyed this so much, it will be my default costume for a while. It was the coolest costume I've ever worn, and didn't involve zombie make-up.
As P-3 Grade Parent, Becky was in charge of helping Aaron's class plan and execute holiday parties. The first one was today's Halloween party. She got a lot of help from other parents which helped her divide the classroom up into game, craft, and snack stations. She developed a few fun games for this age group, including tossing "pumpkin" beanbags into a cauldron and bowling over some ghosts built from a toy bowling set. They ended with a long parade through the school showing off their costumes.
She then came over to help with Alex's Primary class party. It has become a tradition for her to set up a "touchy-feely" station where the kids stick their hands into decorated pumpkins that contain an icky item for them to feel and guess what's in there. This year she had them feel Vampire Bat Wing Bones (dry Ramen noodles), Hairy Werewolf Noses (unpeeled lychee nuts), Giant Ogre Ears (cactus leaves, needles removed), Zombie Veins laced with Maggots (cold cooked penne and rotini), and Evil Troll Eyeballs (peeled lychee nuts). Another big hit, but all this success comes with a price. After 4 years, she's running out of things to put in there. We trust her creativity and can't wait until next year.
In addition to our efforts at the preschool pumpkin party, we carved a few extra pumpkins to decorate the house. I found this pattern for a one-up mushroom from the kids Mario game. Becky carved it and then tricked it out with some LED lights and a color changing light on the inside.
Alex attempted a Mario face, incuding cutting all the way around the face. It ended up looking like a scary skull, sort of. He was very proud of it. We balanced the face in the pumpkin and lit it up.
I decided to go with a new pirate ship pattern. I messed up and cut the nose of the Jolly Roger skull almost out, but it actually left it floating in the middle of the skull.
The Boy Scouts held a Halloween party for the Cub Scouts out at Camp Miakonda. This was our first year for this, but it won't be our last. They had one Friday night, but it was rainy, so we came to the daytime one today. The kids got dressed up as Mario and Yoshi - two characters from their favorite videogame, Super Mario Sunshine. Everyone seemed to recognize them, even many of the adults. They went from station to station and played games, got their face painted, or went through a haunted cabin. They even had a haunted fort set up at the back of camp. Aaron sat out of the haunted houses. Each of the stations gave them a treat - one of the stations gave out a banana.
The games were relatively easy and they gave out the same amount of candy whether you won the game or not. The Council lodge had a snack station set up, so we paused for some hot chocolate, root beer floats and a taste of the treats they had gotten so far.
One of the special parts was a haunted forest hay ride where ghouls and goblins jumped out at us. We were warned that they wouldn't actually touch us, so we were asked to please not throw candy at them. It was fun and would've been a lot creepier at night. Becky got this picture of a sweet moment between the boys before we got under way. This party was better organized and more fun than ones we've tried at the zoo, so we'll be back next year.
Remember BJ's candy from last night. The boys both chewed (not licked) on a large sucker which further loosened one of Alex's teeth.
He woke up at 6:10 AM(!) and started working on it. He had it pointing straight forward while still attached at one point, but it didn't stay attached for long. This was his 7th lost tooth, but the 2nd that he extracted himself. Their dentist did tell them that if they eat too much candy, their teeth will fall out. He may have been right.
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