Gus and Eleanor

Cooper and I joined Gus and Eleanor for a sleepover one weekend.  Coop read to Eleanor:

And we took advantage of wonderful November weather to go biking.  Carrie took this picture and captioned it "One day, after grad school, when they declare their life-long love for each other, we will show them this picture:"

And this one: We all know who's in charge of this group:

We had lunch at Spin pizza, where Cooper ordered a giant meatball (and loved it!):

The start of November

Snazzy new shoes (with laces and not velcro!):

Dip cone.  Super messy:

Took Coop to the polls on election day.  Alas, no kids voting this year:

But we spent election night coloring in the electoral college map:

Until about 10pm, when I sent Coop to bed.... after the blue crayon broke:

Raintree was closed for a couple of days for conferences.  Coop spent the days at Baker with Alan:

Apparently, he had lots of "meetings" around campus, and also got promoted:

Halloween festivities

On Friday before Halloween, Raintree had its holiday party.  Kids wore costumes and carved pumpkins.  Coop took some accessories, so his pumpkin showed a window into Narnia, complete with a bench, snow-covered trees, and teddy bears:

The weekend before Halloween, he and I hosted a murder mystery party at the house for his friends.  He was Marvin the Millionaire, who was killed when a piano dropped on his head:

Decorating sugar cookies after solving the mystery:

On Halloween itself, Raintree was closed.  So John Wayne came to school with me:

He opened class with some John Wayne trivia questions:

Later that night, out for trick-or-treating with Darth Vader, and two Nikes, the goddesses of victory:

Grandma Margaret

Alan's Grandma Margaret turned 99 years old this month, and the family all converged in Iola for a big party!

Coop hugging her hello:

More hugs and stories:

Great grand kids:

Goofballs:

Everyone's exhausted on the drive home!

Maple Leaf

Cooper and I enjoyed another lovely Maple Leaf Festival this year.  We bought fudge and a cinnamon roll and a marionette puppet.  We saw the parade.  And for the most part, we avoided the crowds.

One of my favorite traditions of Maple Leaf is that on Sunday evening, when things are starting to shut down, Coop and I have been involved in taking a home-cooked meal to the carnival workers.  It's the same crew year after year, so we've gotten used to seeing some familiar faces.

But this year, the woman who usually was in charge (i.e. -- made buckets of soup and dinner rolls for the crew) wasn't going to be there.  So.... my turn.

I opted to make sloppy joes for 40 people:

THAT is a crapton of ground beef.

But we got everything set up -- sloppy joes, chips, apples, and cookies:

One of the carnival workers was talking with Coop and expressing his appreciation for Coop's help, and then he gave Coop this ginormous stuffed shark:

Coop was beyond thrilled!

AND THEN another worker offered him a hermit crab.  Which meant I had to run to the pet store the next day to be a "crabitat" for Hermie the hermit crab.  He seems quite happy now.  As does Cooper.

A week of Cooper

Trying out the Halloween costume (John Wayne):

Saturday morning legos:

Coop made nachos for lunch for Alan:

Bike riding in south Lawrence:

Recent pics

Coop and I grabbed lunch down on Mass St. one Saturday afternoon:

A craft project (making a parachute for the green army guys):

We joined Madeline's family for her birthday at an escape room in Lawrence.  We rocked it!

With a light saber and a glitter microphone?

Ready for class picture day:

Fun (and not so fun)

 Playing Simon at Grandma Joan's:

Making a hot pad on one of those metal weaving loom:

And in the not-so-fun category, a trip to the dentist for sealants on his back molars.  It was the first non-cleaning appointment he'd even had.  Lots of implements and funky smells and tastes.  But he did great.

Weekend with Alan

First up, KSU football game:

Then to the shooting range with Molly:

And then to Cavendar's to shop for Halloween costume accessories:

(He's planning to be John Wayne.)

Hobbies

Practicing piano:

Professional karate photos:

Coop came home one day and announced he wanted to cook supper.  A Cooper version of empanadas (which he had in Argentina):

His were filled with sausage and cheese:

Pretty tasty!