Happy Halloween

The girls collectively decided that they wanted to be literary characters for Halloween this year.  I loved the idea!  It all came together pretty easily as Abby's favorite books are Nancy Drew mysteries (she is currently reading all my old N.D. books), and Shelby has been in love with Fancy Nancy since she was old enough to talk.  Macey took a little longer to decide but finally settled on Pippi Longstocking which was so much fun to do!  She is typically drawn to those spunky, silly characters.  I think she can relate to them well. 

Fun at the Zoo!

The girls and I went to a fundraiser at the zoo last night. Being the animal loving family that we are, we had a great time.  The only thing missing was Daddy, but he had to work late and then got to enjoy some much needed alone time at home.  The girls and I went with a friend of mine (who's husband was out of town) and her daughter so it was a great girls night out!  We had never been to the zoo at night and they went all out for this fundraiser.  There was music, dancers, close encounters with animals, bounce houses, carousel rides, face painting, train rides, splash pad, and the "real" Disney princesses walking around. 

Shelby was especially thrilled with the princesses, and every time I turned around, she was walking away from me in order to follow one of them. In fact, I had a moment of panic when we got off the train ride and she suddenly disappeared. I found her seconds later only a few feet away. When I expressed my concern about her running ahead of me, she said "Don't worry mommy, I ran right into Bell's arms." Shelby's intense love for everything princess is slightly ironic since Bret and I both have a tiny aversion to the whole "princess" trend. Not princesses themselves mind you, but just the fact that if your not careful, everything you own can have a Disney princess on it. It's even more ironic because the friend I went to the zoo with is a writer and recently wrote an article about this very topic. I encourage you to read it here. Obviously, Shelby doesn't agree with Katie. Her goal in life is to grow up and be Rapunzel. That girl Katie mentioned who yelled out at kindergarten graduation, "I want to be a princess when I grow up", that was my girl! Truth be told, I was proud of her.  No matter what, she isn't afraid to be herself.  I hope that never changes!