Happy Halloween!!

I really love Halloween. The whole thing...watching scary movies...this year we let Maddy watch Gremlins :). Shopping for pumpkins...this year we made a last minute run in pyjamas to the pumpkin patch and it was already closed for the night so we had to go to Publix...

Carving pumpkins...this year Maddy did her first proper carved Jack O' Lantern - we were so proud of her!

And I am still Thriller-obsessed apparently...(how-to on the Crafts Blog: http://www.clareiscraftsy.blogspot.com/)

Our new Halloween tree...

My new sparkly pumpkins...

Scary make up...

Hanging our with neighbors and family. Here's Jen and Mya...

Our funny mummy in a crate...

Mike really getting into the Halloween spirit...

And best of all...tons of carbs :)

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!

We Thrilled The World!

Mike, Madison and I had a fantastic night at the world record breaking attempt of the largest synchronized Thriller dance! Last year there were over 23,000 dancers in 77 cities and 32 countries. They are still validating this year's numbers so we don't know if we broke the record yet. Mike didn't dance with us but came along to the pier in St. Pete to show his support. I guess he was a bit sick of the endless reahearsing because the night before he said "if I never hear that song again - I'll be OK with it" :) Anyway, we had a great time and met some really friendly people - all for a great cause too with proceeds going to Susan G. Komen. I can honestly say it was one of the most fun things I've ever been a part of and we'll definitely do it again next year - let me know if any of you are interested in helping me set up a "Thrill Tampa" flesh mob...:)

Getting ready - look at Mike in the kitchen behind me on this pic :)

Liquid latex is really nasty stuff! But everyone loved the safety pins in Maddy's face...

We had a two hour rehearsal when we arrived...

We grabbed a snack and  the baby and the pelican outside the store weren't quite sure what to make of Maddy!

Some other zombies...

Maddy doing her thing...

For those of you who are interested - I've attached Mike's video of the event. Maddy is on the far right in the spooky pink dress and I am on the left with the black top and green pants next to the guy dressed as MJ and sometimes behind the tall guy with the white shirt...enjoy...:)

Clare and Maddy doing Thriller!

Great Horned Owl

OK so my picture is rubbish but this is a Great Horned Owl in the trees behind our house. I have never seen one in the wild before - I have only ever seen Barred Owls in the wild down here and then only maybe a handful of times. The photo below from Wikipedia gives a much better idea of just how gorgeous these birds really are! Do they know to make an appearance just before Halloween?...

Jen's Birthday

I love this pic of the girls - Happy Birthday Jen!

Tampa Police Department Memorial 5K

This 5K for the families of the TPD fallen officers was my one-year anniversary race and I'm in the newspaper!! How exciting! I am the pink one on the right (full article here). As you can tell from the rugged Kris Kristofferson lookalike in the middle with the "Let's Get Physical" headband - the press photographer was clearly waiting for a shot of the best, most athletic looking runners for his piece...I see a promotion in his future ;)

Thrill the World!!

Madison and I have signed up to take part in this year's "Thrill the World!" It is an international world record breaking attempt, in which participants simultaneously perform the zombie dance from Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Dancers perform at exactly the same time throughout the world and this year over 32 countries are expected to participate. Our local venue is in St. Petersburg on the pier and the small registration fee ($2 for children and $5 for adults) will be donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

If you are as excited as I am about the idea of dancing in the streets dressed up as a zombie and getting into the Guiness Book of World Records (which has always been a lifetime goal of mine), go to http://www.thrilltheworld.com/ to find a local event or even start a new one! to learn the dance, the St. Pete website has kindly sifted through the youtubes and put them in order here. Out of the 23 thousand people who did it last year, more than half of them were 'first time' dancers. This could be you...