One Frightful Party

... well, probably not THAT "Frightful". Not much is scary about a BOWLING Halloween party. Last night was the Annual Swim Team Halloween party at the bowling alley. It's kind of a fun party for the kids, and I'm guessing none of them minded missing practice for it!

I was pleased to see that Ben WANTED to dress up... kind of a big deal for him, since he doesn't usually enjoy that part of October-fest events. His sister? Now she's ALL OVER getting to dress up, and in fact, doesn't need to wait until Halloween to do so! We were fortunate enough to get "hand-me-down" costumes from my co-workers this year. THANK YOU DENISE AND ASHLIE! I'm guessing one can figure out WHO Ben and Carly are... we try to make it obvious:)

... that would be Carly doing the Famous McGregor WipeOut... made famous by her father! She thought she was quite clever, let me tell you, and could NOT understand why her friends were not laughing hysterically! Life Lesson Learned: No one is as entertained by US as WE are! Sometimes you just gotta be a McGregor to get it! Speaking of McGregor's who get it....

Ryan's sister TOTALLY hooked us up with these fabulous cookies! We had to bring a dessert to share, and well, yeah. Not a baker. So that's when being related to the Best Cookie Maker Ever comes in handy! Apparently I am not beyond sucking up to get cookies. I'm not ashamed. Those cookies are delicious! I am also not ashamed to admit that I made Ryan go back and get the leftovers when everyone was leaving the party! I was SHOCKED there were any left, but she made a TON for us! Also like to add that she won many Auntie Points (because those really exist) by making Ben his own special cookie WITHOUT the evil Red 40 Dye.

In other news from last week:

Carly had some "Friend Issues". You know, where one of them was mean to her. I started out being annoyed that kids are mean, but then being kind of glad when these things come up so we can talk about how to handle this stuff, and reiterate how to be a Good Friend. I ended up being really proud of my Nearly-Eight-Year-Old daughter when she wrote a note to her friend saying that she forgives her for "having a bad day... and I'll be your friend whenever you are ready". She came up with that one on her own... thankfully, by the next day (and before the note was handed over!) the Issues were all resolved and forgotten... the beauty of being 7. Carly really is a very sweet girl, and I'm pleased to know that Elfy won't have to be her ONLY friend for the rest of her life:) That was a close one!

Ben and his friend from school qualified for the SCIENCE Olympics! They made a roller coaster that went the fastest, and that won them a spot to compete at the Museum of Science and Industry next month... however, after much deliberation on his part and also due to the fact that said partner will be out of the country at the time, he has decided to attend the already scheduled swim meet on that day, instead of the science fun. Of course, this means Ryan and I will have to take him to MOSI for the day sometime:) That's part of the fun of getting to go to the Science Olympics... a day at the museum. It was a hard decision for him to make, but in the end "another chance to get a better time" won out... see below.

From my previous post, all are aware of Ben's Junior Olympics cut time for his free style stroke in swimming. What a great accomplishment! Unfortunately, we found out that he WON'T be able to compete in the event, as his birthday comes 6 days before the Olympics. That causes him to "Age Up", which in the swimming world means, he will then be in the 11-12 year old age group, and his qualifying time was for 10 and unders. In order to get to participate in the 2010 meet, he will have to qualify as an 11-12 year old. That means a faster time. You never know with this kid, he could do it! But honestly? We are THRILLED that he met this accomplishment RIGHT NOW, even if he doesn't actually get to compete at the meet. He has an unfortunate birthday, that's all! IF ONLY he hadn't been born 3 weeks early! He's disappointed (not nearly as much as WE are, though!!!), but his 2nd reaction was, "What time do I need to qualify for 11-12 year olds?" Umm, that would be 28.59 seconds. Ok, Ok... his FIRST reaction (because I KNOW you are wondering!!!) was "Stupid, Stupid Birthday!!!!" HA! Sorry Tracy! Anyways, there are about 3 more meets (see previous paragraph) before the Big One, so we'll see what happens!

We enjoyed our Swim Celebration Night Out, where Ben picked Tijuana Flats for dinner... and Carly picked Dairy Queen for dessert! And Ryan picked Barnes and Noble (thank you Laurie!) for our entertainment. I picked getting to sit quietly in the car in between stops, as I had only slept a couple of hours after working all night... I was too excited for the kids to rest anymore after hearing their great news on Saturday afternoon!

Hmmmm, this is beginning to sound like one of those Christmas letters where it's all about how great someone's kids are... but, it's my blog and I don't care. My kids ROCK!!! :) How's THAT for obnoxious?!?!?!

That's how last week went...

This week looks pretty promising for us, as our long, lost relatives who think they are Israeli are coming home Friday!