HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hope all of your ghosts & goblins had a great time trick-or-treating tonight! I know that my children had a fun time and were adorable as always!

Bailey was a "sassy" devil, Nico was a police officer, Liv was a spider witch & Isabella was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz..."it was so cute"! :) They first went to HyVee with Angie (they go there every year - some good treats), then she brought them back and hit some of the neighborhood until Don got home from practice, he then took them to a few houses until our friend's theO'Connors got here to go out with them. Also, our friend's Keith, Adriene & Kade stopped by! And of course my kids got a ton of candy for mom & dad to raid (which we don't need but oh well)!

I told you they were adorable!!...

This one shows a bit of Bail & Nico's personality...

Kade - "Arrg matey, ya got some candy fer me!"
Emily (monster bride), Liv, Katie (as Lola?), Bailey, Nico,
Bella, & Abby (witch)
*Best of Friends*
Emily & Olivia - this picture says a lot more then you know!
(watch how quickly Nancy & I age when these two are teens)! :)...
Mom & Bella after the fun (take note of Bella's mouth)...

White Trash Cheerleaders

Today at 10AM the Athletic Department had a Halloween Costume contest! All I'm going to say is HYSTERICAL and I'll let the photos tell the story involving Don, Borts (for those of you who don't know Adam Borts...he is Don's assistant & rents our basement), & Matt (one of our GA trainers)!!

Borts, Matt, & Don
Aren't they Hot!! There is a reason God made them men & not women!!

I have nothing to say..."This is so embarrassing!"
This poor child is scarred for life! Bella was supposed to be apart of the spirit squad but she opted out...can you blame her! Thank the lord she has good judgement so far...

Matt, Borts, Keith (our good friend & a MU strength coach) & Don

Keith & Don
Bella is happy now that her friend, Kinleigh, joined her!

They had a play date and then Kate & Mason came over for a yummy Chipotle lunch - Thanks Kate!
PS ~ They won for funniest costume!

Visit with Grandma Jean

This past weekend my mom was in town for a short but sweet visit. The kids and I picked her up from the St. Louis Airport on Thursday, and when we got back into town we brought her & my sister to the dining hall for dinner (where the athletes and staff have dinner & we are allowed to eat there as well). My mom was a hoot...she stuffed herself silly. It just so happened that they had mashed potatoes on the hot line and if you're in the Misencik bloodline you LOVE mashed potatoes (with the exception of Nico & Liv - not sure what happened there)...anyway, my mom being a first timer couldn't resist trying all of the fun stuff we had to offer plus a pound of potatoes and she could barely walk out of there - this is probably one of those you had to be there stories.

Grandma Stuffed like a Thanksgiving Turkey and Reading to the girls...

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Friday, unfortunately was a rainy, dreary day but we enjoyed our time together running errands, and then in the evening Ang came over and we had game/Mojito night with Borts, his siblings & their friends.

This Photo has a long story to it but it's Bella doing "Tay in na Win" (If you've seen the movie Nell you'll get it) and when she does it it's Funny!

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Saturday, was a little slow going (Don's Mojitos are AWESOME but strong) but we finally got out the door & to our tailgate by 11:15. We had great time at the tailgate with our friends, and then kickoff was @ 1PM! The Tigers took on Iowa State and beat them 42-28...which means we are now 7-1 & ranked #9 in the nation - GO TIGERS!! I have to add that I think the Cyclones uniforms are hideous...they look like they're sponsored by KFC (you notice this crap when you're married to the EQ guy)! :)

Kate at the Tailgate...
Kate, I told you I was gonna post it...

Nico & Jaren playing a game of "tailgate football"...
"This is perfect, I've got another M&M and mom doesn't even no it - mwahahaha"
(Kade's version of Dr. Evil) ...
Candice & her friend Laura (Candice is Borts' twin sister )...
Angie & Tracy
(and no Angie is not taller then Tracy...on a high heel day Tracy is about 6 ft & Ang has a ways to go to get to that)...
Grandma & Bailey
(I hope I look that good when I'm a grandma)...

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Sunday, we all brought Grandma back to the airport and when we got home I worked on Nico's Saint costume the rest of the day.

Wow...Two Hole-in-Ones in the Same Round!!!

This article/interview was just done today about my uncle Rick...I'm very proud of him (you can click on "Video" to view the interview):

One round, two hole-in-ones for Minnesota golfer

It's something every golfer dreams about; smacking a ball off the tee, and seeing it land in the cup for a hole in one.

You'll forgive retired Postmaster Rick Misencik, then, for pinching himself after scoring two hole-in-ones in the same round.

"You sit there a little bit numb", Misencik recalled. "It's not supposed to happen and then... it happened, and it was awesome."

Misencik was golfing at The Preserve near Pequot Lakes on October 12 when he performed the feat, which comes with odds of 67 million to 1. The first came on hole number two.

"We could see it was tracking the whole way, it was all over the flag," said assistant pro Patrick Johnson, who was playing with Misencik. "Took one bounce, and went in."

There was plenty of yelling and high fives, and then the threesome played on.

Fast forward to hole 13, and a tee shot that Rick thought was going to put him in major trouble. "He pulls it left, and wasn't happy, we're thinking it's got a chance cause it always kicks off that hill", said Johnson. "It goes right on the green, rolls at the flag, hits it, then goes in. It was unreal."

With odds like 67 million to 1, you'd think two holes-in-one in one round would be a rarity. In fact, the Minnesota Golf Association says at least two golfers have achieved the feat since 2001.

That doesn't take the shine off of what Misencik accomplished two Fridays ago. When The Preserve re-opens next spring and golfers talk, he figures his name will come up.

"I don't know about being a legend", he laughed, "but I set the bar pretty high."

Visitors

The Barnes house has been a mecca for visitors and I'm loving it! This time a year we don't see Don much so it's nice to have company.

Today we have more coming...yeah! I'm so excited because my long time college friends, Katy & Ginger, are coming down from Minnesota on there way to see their dad in Southern MO. Katy has never been to COMO so I can't wait for her to get here, but the sad part is they are only here for a few hours...I'll take what I can get!

Also, I'm excited because my cousins, Chip & Matt, are coming down for the whole weekend...we'll have a great time! They'll be able to be here for the game & they'll get to hang out on the sidelines with Don!

Photos from our visits with guests:

Ginger, Katy & the kids with the practice fields in the background...

Matt, Chip & the kids w/the practice fields behind them...

Ginger & Katy on Faurot Field...
Ginger, myself, & Katy on Faurot...
Matt & Chip on Faurot...

M-I-Z...Z-O-U (PART II)!!!!

• September 22 we played Illinois State and beat them 38-17. Olivia, Bella, Angie, & I went to this game...Bailey & Nico were both there but were hanging out with friends. This game was so hot that at the start of the 2nd quarter the girls & I went out to sit in the running air conditioned car (mom was a little hung over as well from Tailgate Mizzou the night before...it was fun). At halftime Ang met us at the car, we then went to a friends tailgate until the start of the 4th quarter and then left to go home. Here are a few photos from that game:

I can't remember the name of this bomber but it flew over at the end of the National Anthem...so cool, it made me cry! This plane is so amazing that you don't even know it's coming until it's right on top of you (if feel bad for the enemies)!

• September 29th BYE weekend...I made lasagna for 5 of our FB players & Don's staff. It was a thank you to those 5 FB players for helping me out with a birthday party that Don & I donated to the CCS auction.
• October 6th vs Nebraska - we blew them out 41-6 ...making the Tigers 5-0. This was a great game & a lot of fun, but because it was an 8 o'clock game the kids stayed home with a sitter. Ang & I tailgate hopped with our friends: Tracy, Rob & Gay - good times. Our friends from El Paso & Germany were in this weekend as well...needless to say we had a lot of fun but too many late nights!
• October 13th @ Oklahoma (notice I didn't bold this one because we lost) 41-31. We played well but had a few mistakes...if we had to lose a game this season this was the one to lose.
  

Prayers for Friends

Please keep my very good friend Adriene & her family in your prayers as her father passed away in the very early morning hours today. This was sudden and he was only 57. He was a very kind, generous, loving and fun man! Please pray for strength for Adriene & her family to help guide them through this.

One more note, the countdown clock that I have to Mardi Gras is a trip that Don & I planned with Adriene , Keith & Kade (her hubby & son) to go see her father & mother. Her father was heavily involved in the Mobile, AL festivities (Mardi Gras was started here) and he really wanted us to come and experience this great time with him! Now we will go to honor him!

M-I-Z...Z-O-U!!!!

Way to go Tigers...we are now 4-0 and we are ranked 20!!!

Let me give you a recap (since I'm bad at keeping this up to date):

• September 8th we played Ole Miss and beat them 38-25(after some scary moments)! This was also the wives trip. We had a great time: we all went to dinner on Friday night @ Corky's BBQ...which was really good and after dinner some of us went out to Beale Street (from what I'm told it's like the French quarter in New Orleans)...we had a fun time but the Hurricanes were like kool-aid so beware if you go! On Saturday we had breakfast, about 3 hours of free time (I read & enjoyed every minute of the quiet), and then we headed off to Oxford, MS for the tailgate and game. It was a great weekend & very nice to be able to spend some time with Don and friends too! :)
• September 15th we played Western Michigan & beat them 52-24! The kids were so excited because this was their 1st game of the season & Bella's 1st game ever (I think anyway). They had a great time & Bella had fun dancing to the Marching band every time they played.

This next photo I had asked Nico if he wanted to either get in this one or have one taken with the cheerleaders by himself & he said no way! (Don's male staff were appalled & would love to have been in that position)