Danny's Latest Achievement

Last Saturday, Danny tested for and received his brown belt in Kenpo Karate. This is a huge accomplishment for him, as last year we struggled to get him to show up to Karate practices after the death of his friend and classmate, Trent. The last year has been a time for emotional growth for Danny, and we're all so proud of him.  I went to the test with him, and got some good shots of him

showing off his forms

and sparring.

After the demonstration, his senseis gave the new belts out,

and then took pictures with all of the recipients.

Danny was awesome! Unfortunately, George had to work, and Megan had the flu, so he and I went to Sweet Frog to celebrate with some frozen yogurt.

We love you, Danny!

Our "Thankful" Jar

Last month, I saw a picture on Pinterest that just inspired me. It was a mason jar rigged to hang on the wall, and it had little colored circles hanging on hooks underneath. This was a home-made  "Thankful" or "Grateful" jar, and basically you write what you're thankful for on the circles and put them in the jar to be read at a later date/time. So, I went to Hobby Lobby with all good intentions  of getting the supplies. However, since I don't have the time or the energy to be crafty right now, I saw exactly what I wanted and improvised. A chalkboard-front jar and some recycled note paper will do just as well as the super-crafty home-made one on Pinterest.

Bonus - the kids love it!

North Florida Fair Fun

The fair has come and gone, but not without the Creamers enjoying it.

Sunday before last, we headed down to the fairgrounds for some of that awesome fair food and entertainment. We had gyros,

Sonny's redneck eggrolls,

pretzels from the Amish Doughnut tent,

corndogs,

ice cream,

and last but not least, George's must-have funnel cakes.

Not all at the same time, of course, but we had a taste of everything over the course of 5 or so hours. We're not much on fair rides, so we spent time at the exhibits

and with the animals (including this mama goat who fell in love with me almost immediately),

and we even caught a few shows.

The Frisbee Dog show was especially fun.

Danny's favorite was Easy Rider, a rescue dog with three good legs who blows everyone away with his skill.

He even got a "pawprint" frisbee and a picture with Easy Rider.

As the sun was setting, George coerced (read as forced) us all to ride the "Big Wheel" with him so he could get some good aerial photos of the fair.

See my death grip on that metal rail?

I will say, they're good photos, but my love for the "Big Wheel" has not grown at all, and I cringe even now when I think about having to ride it again next year. We left with good memories,

cotton candy,

kettle korn,

and a caramel apple for me.

In all it was a great day, and I can't wait until next fair season (except for the "Big Wheel," of course).

Happy Halloween, 2014!

OK, so I didn't have to put 2014 at the end of the title, but it rhymed. Isn't that cool? Back to the post - Happy Halloween from the Creamers! I know I'm posting this on Veteran's Day, but the sentiment is there. The kids had a great Halloween this year. They trick-or-treated a bit, but mostly they helped with a neighbor's "haunted garage" down the street. This year, Danny's costume was the easiest to decide on. We went to Target as soon as they had put out the costumes, and he fell in love with the only costume that truly matched his personality. Betcha can't guess...

That's right. That is a hot dog action shot from Halloween night. Here is a close-up of my cutie.

Megan's costume was harder to come by. First, she wanted to be a bubonic plague doctor.

But, as the costume is so obscure, and because we read "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allen Poe just before Halloween, Megan decided on an interpretation of a character from the short story. She even wore red gloves to signify the red death. Here's her full-length outfit,

and here is her close-up.

Finally, here's a shot of them together.

Two totally different costumes and personalities. I love their individuality! While they were out, George and I lit the tiki torches

and the bat lanterns

and settled in to give out candy. We had more trick-or-treaters than we've ever had. In all, it was a successful night. We hope yours was too!