Mayhem - Apple Jack: The Story of a Boy and his Apple

Recently, the Kindergarten class paid tribute to apple picking season by creating "apple creatures" with their family. Their creatures were then taken to school and displayed for the week for all the school to admire.

Since no one seemed to think that my idea to paint on a black jacket and stick on a white sequined glove and call it Apple Jackson (hee!hee!) held any merit, we decided instead to pay tribute to the holiday that dentists look forward to every year - Halloween! So, in true Dr. Frankenstein fashion, we developed and created (insert scary music here)..........

Apple Jack!

Teague was very proud of his creation. He took very good care of him, and Apple Jack was transported to school in a device somewhat akin to a presidential motorcade (aka: a tupperware container with wadded up paper towels to protect Apple Jack from the bumps and bruises of the bus). Teague and Apple Jack were able to spend a wonderful week together at school; Apple Jack made new friends with the other apple creatures on display, and Teague only got a color change once :)

Their week together passed quickly, and all too soon it was time for Apple Jack to return to his final resting place - the kitchen counter. (It must be a great final resting place, because everything we own seems to rest there and never leave!) However, what's a Halloween story without a gory ending.........the long ride home proved to be too much for Apple Jack and Teague's meager operational/assembling skills...........Parents, avert your children's eyes! Those with weak stomachs, do not proceed! Apple Jack did not make it home a whole apple.

The bus ride had dismembered him, and those parts not covered in hot glue were consumed by the ravenous zombie children who rode the bus. But he still holds a place of honor in our kitchen and will most assuredly receive a prominent spot in our Halloween decor this year. He really was the apple of Teague's eye.

Public Service Announcement: Tune in next week for our ongoing tribute to apple horror stories, Applesaws.

Musing - Go War Eagles! And the bitter taste that leaves in my mouth!

For anyone that knows us, we are die-hard Alabama Crimson Tide fans - the "Sorry kids, this game is going into it's fifth overtime, so we may not make it to the ward Halloween party this year" kind of fans (true story, by the way). So, of course it would only be fitting that our 2nd grade son, in his first year of playing tackle football, would get assigned to the "War Eagles" team. Yes, Virginia, God does have a sense of humor. Perhaps the only saving grace here is that the colors are red, black and white and NOT orange and blue.......but I digress.

We are really proud of our son. Being as this is his first year, he has been assigned the position of "bear crawler." (This is a code name for "Because this is your first year to play, we are going to give you a position that you can't really screw up.") We have really enjoyed watching him work hard and improve each week. It has been fun to watch him broaden his understanding of the dynamics of the game and also have that reflected in how he better understands the games that he watches on TV.

Although his team's record is 0-2, we are so excited to have our little Tiny Might/Pee Wee/What Ever (do they even call it that anymore?). And we love the fact that he is still young enough to care more about the football-shaped Krispy Kreme doughnut waiting for him at the end of the game than he does about winning! That's what I call V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!