Orange you really glad it is Sunday :)

Lily Kate says "Oh Yea! It's finally here and aren't you all glad that my Lolli will be DONE with all this ORANGE photo theme this week?
yes, Lolli and Pops will retire the Lollipop wreath until next year about this time but thankfully they NEVER retire the lollipops :).

yes, it is finally the day when little mermaids will dress up for the evening...
Lolli is excited to see the little ones in all their costumes tonight (even though she is always a bit sad NOT to see one of her own---maybe that is partly why she promotes playing dress up with costumes all year long when they visit her)

and yes, the moonpie box that has been so visable all month long is finally empty and Pops can be happy when he opens the pantry door to see it gone. Two weeks ago Lolli and Annie practised on a few treats that will be given out tonight.
Annie thought it was "a hoot" to turn a moonpie into an owl lollipop. She especially enjoyed eatting the oreo and M&M eyes and the candy corn mouth.
And yesterday Lolli went to work so that the neighborhood children would also think that trick or treating is "a hoot" at our house.
Annie says Happy Hooting everyone.

So let's all slide on in to the month of November and see what Lolli has on her mind besides Orange next month!

War Eagle and An Orange Saturday

What a treat!

Benjamin came up with the idea this year to host a special Friday night Halloween party. We felt honored to be invited since we are most commonly known as "the Grandparents of the cul de sac". Of course the fact that I hand out lollipops on a regular basis may have something to do with it but nevertheless, we are thrilled to be a part of fun events around here!
He, on the right-his friend Raleigh on the left, specifically asked if I was going to dress up and I said "why, of course"! (and to myself I said now which costume shall I pull out of the dressup closet?)
it was a no brainer for me but now convincing you know who to participate among unknown visitors and neighbors was a big deal.
the twins, Jacob and Christian, dressed in honor of our military-one the Marines and the other the Army!
deerest Susan and her sister in law, Debbie, dressed as "cap and gown"!
Danny boy dressed as your average soccer ball :)
there was 3 legged races.
and there was bobbing for apples on a string.
and I think the most fun was had at the partner "mummy wrapping"!
some Auburn kids are experienced with the toilet paper rolling and some kids are now experienced with the toilet paper mummy wrapping!

who says big kids can't go to fun Halloween parties too?


It's true, I am a big kid but I am not married to one. So for him to participate in the neighbor's Halloween party tonight was a real TREAT for this Halloween week!

Orange you glad it is Friday?

Today my deerest neighbor and her West Virginia sister in law and I went to the Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest at the AU School of Architecture. It is one of my favorite things to do each year and today did not dissapoint.


the students work hard all day to win this contest and throw a big party beginning at 6:00 pm by lighting the pumpkins for all to see and anyone can come. There is loads of games for kids and all the festive pumpkin party trimmings. We did not attend the party (you will see why later) but really enjoyed watching the students in action. The air was crisp, the sky was blue, and the mood was just right.



if you look closely here, you will see a carved wolf.
there was hundreds of various carvings to admire.

So, have you guessed so far, which one was my favorite pumpkin carving?
yes! I loved the Cinderella one. I hope she wins.

more orangey photos with thoughts on bonding

Tonight I am thinking about (and praying for) this little fellow here with his first ear infection and his pregnant mom sitting solo with him while my son travels far and wide over seas. I can only encourage her being a distance away but fully knowing the hardship as I raised 2 babies by myself with many an ear ache. It is not fun and I distinctly remember the agony of feeling rather helpless with managing their pain. Thankfully the antibiotics will give some relief soon and family and friends are nearby to helpout. He is one precious little guy and having orange hair gives him and me some serious bonding for life.

Annie was smitten with the pony ride on Saturday at the pumpkin patch and this will be one of my alltime favorite photos of us. Since we have spent many a day walking to see the neighborhood horses, I feel a special tie with her and the horses. I am indeed sad though at the moment because right now the horses are out in the country and we have yet to see them since last Spring. I look for them everyday on my walks. I have hope they are coming back to the neighborhood but if not, we will always have pumpkin patches, festivals, and somebody elses horses to visit nearby. Of course Annie told me that her favorite pumpkin patch thing was riding the pony. The girl is bonded to them with me and it all started on our strolls to see Tess.

Another bond I have with a certain orange headed little girl is with the curls. Goodness knows this girl and I have the same swirls and curls and if I dare say the same spirit! She and I need to spend a lot of time together in the nearby years because I fear for her life. No, seriously, I fear that she will be labeled with that TEMPER everyone loves to give us redheaded people. I would love to get face to face with the nimcumpoo who started that legacy and shake him up real good. I see blondes and brunettes and gray headed people with bad tempers all the time but no one says a word about their hair! Anyway, this girl and I will always be hooked with each other. I understand her. I feel for her. I love her. So far she is the only redheaded girl in her generation in our family.

And one last precious photo of the gals preparing to trick or treat. They got started at Lolli and Pops 2 weeks ago :)

Orange Trees

I took these pictures of some beautiful Fall trees on my walk yesterday, before all the rains came last night. So glad I did.

I think more people would walk if they had this kind of scenery to look at. I consider myself blessed and motivated as I walk each day.
Our God is an awesome God (even if we do have to look at speed bumps too)

Hope you are motivated now to get outside and do some walking of your own :)

Waiting on google blog account to let me upload some photos- will post Orange Thursday as soon as it lets me :)
If I continue to have trouble -I may resign the blog business because if you are like me, you don't want to just read words and blah blah blah, you want to see pictures mainly. Hoping to have an easy time of this as blogging should be fun and therapeutic but bloggers beware if you are using google- they have certain limits on how many photos.
Until then, here is a bit of trivia about the color ORANGE:
Orange is a power color. It is one of the healing colors. It is said to increase the craving for food. It also stimulates enthusiasm and creativity.

Orange Wednesday

Today is recycle day and I always enjoy my new plastic cap top finds/deliveries on Wednesdays. I sorted thru a few bags that I already have and have started grouping them in colors. Guess what color I enjoyed sorting thru for today? Right!

I took the bag outside trying to come up with a creative place to photograph them and right by my St. Francis of Assisi statue is where I landed. It gives me a reason to mention here, that I had a nice time digging up my daddy's day lilies last week and then planting them in my circle garden. I am quite sure some of them will be ORANGE when they bloom! But more importantly, I had a very interesting talk with my Father this week after my week of day lilies. And I am talking about both my earthly father and my Heavenly Father. Sunday's sermon at church was on how we view God. Something caught my undivided attention when the statement was made that it is good to say "Father" when we address God. I thought about how I feel when I can call on Daddy and he is there for me. (there have been times when he has not been there for me too so the contrast was good for me to visualize) I thought about how when we were digging up those lilies and I asked Daddy was he sure he wanted me to take all of them. His response was "Nothing would give me more pleasure than to see these blooming in your yard later on". Oh, do you hear what was about to be a "God thing" to me!
After church, I came home and looked at the freshly planted lilies in our garden and realized that my Heavenly Father wants nothing more than to see my blooms later on, even though a few plants are just now getting rooted in me. It may be hard work getting rooted but He is always there waiting to watch me bloom.

Orange Tuesday

When we took Annie and Lily Kate to the local plant nursery 2 weeks ago (while they were staying the weekend with us) so they could see a few of the animals wandering around, I had no idea Annie would be excited to see all the orange pumpkins. A few college students were painting them to sale for charities and they really sparked a flame within her to paint her own. (child after my own heart)
She could hardly wait for me to put Lily Kate down for her nap so she and I could have some painting time on the porch. The little shirts I usually have them wear while they paint were in a drawer in the room where LK was napping and I forgot to get it out of there. So I pulled out this apron I made years ago when Lauren and Sydney were this age and hoped she would not get paint on her AU cheerleader dress.

She was very careful because she too is an AU fan and would not want Aubie to find her outfit all messed up. She painted the whole thing all by herself and later told her mama that it was her favorite part of the weekend (even including the Fair rides and the animals we petted).
We went from painting to playdoh masks (orange made from mixing pink and yellow) and then to popsicles that afternoon. Thank you Lord, for my porch!
Lily Kate was so happy when she woke up to have an orange popsicle and get in on the playdoh fun. (She has no idea she missed out on the painting and that is a good thing)
(close up of that pretty dark orange hair) more often known as an AUBURN color but let's call it orange for sake of this post!


Lily Kate says "now,orange yall glad you came back today to see all these lovely orange photos of Lolli's?"

there will be more orange photos from this month tomorrow!