Life as a Brandtito

Here are the Branditos all ready to hit the streets trick or treating. We had a great time  & much to the kids pleasure came home with loads of candy. Of course their intake will be limited...but they haven't considered that just yet  (John already went through and claimed most of the kitkats) Gavin had trouble deciding exactly what he wanted to be this year. His top two picks, were Link from Zelda & a skeleton.  As you can see, in the end he decided on a skeleton. His costume was pretty cool & the bones were textured so you could feel them. The mask was short lived... thankfully... because honestly, it was a little scary... oh, and because it almost caused several accidents due to the limited visibility it provided. Heaven dressed as Abbey Bominable from Monster High. She's really into Monster High right now as I'm told it's very "cool" unfortunately her "cool" parents find most of the dolls a bit inappropriate, so really A

Introducing the Cutest Country Folk to enter the doors of Pea Ridge Elementary Needless  to say, Gavin could hardly contain his excitement.   Happy Halloween!! The kiddo's can't wait to get in their costumes tonight!!

I'm not sure what's going on with Annabelle's face...maybe she's scared of her A's? Report cards came home today and the Brandtios have done it again!! :) Annabelle brought home straight A's, Gavin all A's and 1 B (and the only E in conduct in the group) and Heaven all A's and 2 B's !! That's pretty darn impressive even if I am partial :) We will be doing some celebrating this weekend for sure!!

      Tonight me & some of the pretiest ladies I know headed to the fair. It's a tradition for us, even though we usually don't ride any of the rides (because we're cheap & SOME PEOPLE are scared of rides that can be snapped together in hours by Carnie Folk.) The people watching & Corn Dogs however, totally make the trip worth it.   I'm also a complete sucker for those freak show exhibits. You know, the ones that claim to have the woman with a snake head and what not...the one's who ALL REASON & SENSE scream FAKE...Yah... I have a *really* hard time resisiting those. I just NEED to know what's inside. I'm also a sucker for the petting zoo's and animal exhibits. The fair really upped their game this year with a special tent filled with exotic animals. They even had BABY white tigers you could feed. I spent several minutes debating if I could possible causally put one in my purse and run. In the end I decided it was a bad ide

Guess who was nominated as chief of the week this week??? I'll give you a hint....it's these 2 Branditos!!! We celebrated their Chiefly skills with a little Cici's dinner tonight.  

Kingsley is now cone free!

Here are are a few videos from the GS Bridging Ceremony. Pledge (I'm not entirely sure why I recorded this)         I missed the first girls "bridging" due to a phone mishap, but it starts with the first girl saying "Girl Scouts are..." and then each girl following gives an example of a  Girl Scout characteristic.

 They entered as Brownies...and left...well, still as Brownies. Tonight the girls had their first Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony. Of course I stayed (much to their displeasure..COOL PARENT!!) so I could embarrassingly photograph & video the goods. Heaven is now an official second year Brownie & Annabelle is an official first year Brownie. Technically Annabelle should have been a Daisy last year, but since we joined in the second half of the year, her leader (her fantastic, amazing and wonderful leader) said it was kind of pointless to buy a slew of Daisy stuff and allowed her to go ahead and sport Brownie Gear. Now it's official and we've got lots of new badges to sew !!  (and by that I mean glue on with Fabric Glue of course).   Heaven reciving her badges earned thus far (Not sure what's going on with that kid in the corner but it looks no bueno)       

Florida's pathetic excuse for Fall has finally arrived. To celebrate we decided to plan a quick camping trip to Adventures Unlimited. Here are a few shots from the evening & morning.  :) Annabelle Campfire steak is far superior to  grilled steak! Heaven Enjoying Breakfast! Enjoying snacks around the campfire. I'm not sure why the girls felt the sleep masks were necessary.... Gav Camp set up :) Yes the kids do share the small tent :) Warm'n their toes by the fire It was too cold for swimming, much to the kids disappointment. But you can bet if they say it's too cold, it's TOO COLD! Love these girls Candlelight dinner... Sisters! Me and the Hubs.  Excuse the "natural" hair Girl shot! I told the kids it was snake..... Of course Gavin brought his DS Heaven's art work/fire warning to put by the fire ring....

Let me preface this by saying this song is so weird and makes no sense and I DID NOT have anything to do with the girls learning this; I present to you "The Llama song, performed by the Brandito Ladies.

Cutie pies not so patiently waiting for our photographers to get set up.   Since we haven't had family portraits done since me & John got married, we figured it was about time. I had no idea how much planning or stress goes into these sorts of things. Deciding on an outfit alone took me a good week of matching and rematching. We used   Hartman Photography & had the most gorgeous location WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY out in Jay in a field of blooming cotton. It was a perfect day for it too, so hopefully we'll have a few good ones to choose from.     **UPDATE** LOVE THEM!! Here is a link to check them out for yourself.   CLICK ME FOR PHOTOS OF ONE GOOD LOOKING GROUP OF BRANDITOS!

  It's wacky hat day at PRE today. Only Annabelle felt inclined to participate as it costs 2 feathers. Heaven said it was a "total waste of feathers" and Gavin said nothing as his only hat is a Seminole hat and he's gone rogue lately claiming suppot for Gators. My dear Annabelle made up for both of their lack of sense & style.  She is both Fancy in my large sunhat and Fabulous in her FSU Friday decor.   Doesn't get much better. Happy Friday!  

Annabelle was the official assistant on the photo shoot this weekend :) Is it just me, or does she look thrilled.... Clearly, it's just me :)