Halloween 2015

Halloween is one of my most favorite times of the year! I love decorating, coordinating costumes, the colors black/orange/purple together, taking the kids trick or treating...all of it!

Last year we carved our pumpkins too early, and they were yucky by Halloween night...so this year I decided to wait and almost forgot to carve them! Seriously mom brain is a real thing. A thought can be here one minute and then poof it's like the thought never existed. So Friday night at bed time we carved pumpkins!

AJ & Abby carved their own pumpkins this year...which was terrifying. No blood was shed though...which is pretty miraculous for our family.

AJ went with a Minecraft pumpkin, Abby went for the happiest pumpkin, & Brody wanted a ghost that was yelling.

Abby's costume was the perfect excuse to order a Glinda costume and go with a whole family theme! Everyone was on board but AJ...so like every good parent I resorted to bribery and won AJ over. I think Abby liked getting to wear bright red lipstick the most out of her whole costume.

Brody wanted to be a lion like his daddy. He was a pretty stinkin' cute lil lion.

AJ was a tornado...made from chicken wire, zip ties, cotton batting, tulle, spray paint, plastic animals & lots of hot glue.

The tornado idea came along all because I wanted this picture...Mahaha.

Whole family photo!

Andy's costume was made by his grandma years ago and his grandpa wore it every year. I love that he wears it now.

Every year we get the kids Halloween portraits taken by Sharon Arnoldi Photography for FREE! It's the best! I have a scrapbook of her Halloween portraits from the last 5 years!

And just like that I'm ready for Christmas!!!

 

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October Catch Up...in November Ha!

 Whew October flew by.  There were so many days and evenings full of just taking life in that I didn't even think about blogging.  I just lived in the moment.  

This day at the park with the kids and the warmth of the sun on my feet was perfect...the breeze was perfect...the kids running round and playing was perfect.  I wanted to capture it and hold onto it.  Because at that moment I knew how blessed I was.  And I love capturing that warmth...the warmth of the sun and the warmth of the moment.

 I also love the cozy feeling of cuddling up on the couch with a hot cup of coffee and a good book.  I want my kids to indulge in cozy moments like this.  To be snuggle uppers and taker inners of moments and good books.

 AJ has had "catch a rainbow trout and eat the rainbow trout he caught" on his bucket list for awhile now.  It must be his Missouri roots from my side coming out.  But although I was born in Missouri and love myself some country living, I am not a fish person.  I do not like the taste and cannot handle the smell.  Lucky for him, he has an amazing papa that picked him up early one day for a morning of fishing...where he caught many rainbow trout, helped clean them, and cook them for lunch.  Papa even took pictures for this photo loving mama...and I did not have to smell fish one bit.  I love the relationship our kids have with their nana and papa.

 Abby got to participate in a Victorian Tea Party one afternoon and learn about social skills and etiquette as part of an American Heritage Girls badge.  It was such a special experience to take part in...and referring back to what we learned helps this mama reinforce some table manners every night at the dinner table...because I need all the help I can get! Ha!  No, but seriously I do.

 Jumping in a pile of leaves with a good friend is good for the soul.  These two with rakes was a little terrifying and I had to dodge a few whacks to the face, but once we had a pile to jump in it was simply fall perfection.

 I believe playing cards with friends and family is something everyone should take the time to do.  Even if you are tired the next day...there's always coffee to look forward to.

 Playing board games by the fire on a chilly fall day with this cutie is pretty awesome.  And totally worth letting the dishes and laundry go by unfinished.

 So I thought doing a puzzle as a date night would be a great way to hang out and visit...it's gotta be better quality time than watching TV together right?...except it was the quietest 2.5 hours as we were both concentrating so hard we couldn't carry on a conversation.  Ha! 

 Scarf weather and fresh, hot coffee is one of my happy places...and they make the mad dash for carpool at 8:15am way better in the morning.  It's the little things in life that keep us sane.

 Baking with good friends is therapeutic and should really be planned on a regular basis...just make sure you have an entire day to get carried away visiting.

 This puzzle was hell to put together.  1,000 pieces of pure torture.  It will be hanging in our garage as a tribute to our victory...after 9.5 hours of 3 of us working away silently on it....through many late night Dr. Peppers and cups of coffee. That thing was a beast.  And my puzzle picking privileges have been revoked...but that won't stop me...mahaha.

 Teaching the kids new games is the best.  Saying Farkel is pretty fun too.  Try to say it without smiling...come on try it...AJ and I can't do it.  Farkel...MAHAHA!!!

And hey, it's Thanksgiving week!!!!!!!!

mmmmmm cranberries and pumpkin pie and Tami's crock pot corn...I love food.

Peace out!  Stay thankful for the little things...they are the things that pull us through the big things.

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Fall Break 2015: Camping

Way back in October we went camping with some good friends and neighbors over fall break!

It was the best to just be outside...reading, playing card games and visiting as the kids ran around and played.  To escape screens and technology and the daily grind.

The days were warm and the nights were chilly.

The kids explored and played in nature till they were exhausted and covered in dirt every day.

Mary Flair was cozy as usual.

It was a great few days with good people.

My heart is so happy that our kids are growing up camping.

Owning Mary Flair has blessed us far more than I ever imagined.

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Totally Random Catch Up

These pics are totally unrelated. But I don't want these moments lost...so I grouped them into a catch up post.

One day the big kids didn't have school, but Brody Bear did...so we went to the library and to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. We love that place. They were over the moon and ate everything they put on their plates. It was a special time we rarely get...just us. I love that they love and appreciate the little things in life like new library books and a soup & salad bar.

Andy put up the rest of my fave bloom frames! Love these bright, fun colors! Having our photos everywhere makes my heart so happy. I'm such a collector of moments...in wall portraits...in photo books...in this blog...in Instagram...I just love reliving moments in retrospect.

We are a game family. We love card games and board games. I love that the kiddos are getting old enough to really get into games with us! We just got Wackee Six! Fun game with a group!

We play Five Crowns a lot. It's a fave for Andy and I after the kids go to bed.

And Settlers of Catan is an all-time fave! Cities & Knights gets a lot of play time in the evenings!

Totally random. We decided to groom Latte ourselves. We figured it couldn't be that hard. We watched You Tube videos...

Poor Latte. He was pretty ashamed to be seen by his dog friends.

But I figure it will be easier next time.

Now we are caught up to Fall Break!

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Fall Is Here!!!

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year!

I feel more alive when the air gets crisp in the fall!

I love all things pumpkin flavored, sweaters, scarves, tall boots...

I love cozy fall decorations and candles!

Trips to the store usually result in purchases like this...

And I am darn right giddy about it!

The Bronco gear comes out!

Not that I care one hoot about football. But man I love dressing up for Spirit Days!

I get to snuggle up in pumpkin pj pants and orange hoodie!

We buy an excessive amount of pumpkins!

We buy supplies for our first neighborhood pumpkin painting partay!

And have crazy amounts of fun painting!

It was totally awesome how quiet it got when everyone started concentrating on painting their pumpkins. It lasted about 5 minutes. Ha.

So in love with Ab's pumpkin.

Scarf weather is my favorite weather.

Totally went on a quest for a denim shirt like Joanna Gaines. I want her life.

Got some new tall boots after I wore mine till they fell apart. These are really tall. Higher than my knees tall. Kinda feel weird wearing them at preschool drop off and pick up. And I try not to think Julia Roberts walking through that hotel lobby in Pretty Woman.

Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin glitter lip gloss.... ummmmmmm YES!

Got that amazing, fabulous little fall nugget on a date night with Mr. Capricious. It was the best night wandering the mall like we were young & kid free, sipping on Starbucks...it was dreamy.

Fall means awesome long sleeve cat sweatshirts for Abby.

At least she can get her cat lady out in her appeal.

Halloween Oreos and Jack O Lantern game nights! Holla!

Girlfriend loves pumpkin pie. And cats. But I'm down with making pumpkin pie. We killed that pie. It vanished like it never existed. No.crumbs.left.

I think the fact that our tree out front bursts into yellow every fall is the best!

Finally got around to Ab's Halloween costume again. Can I just say that I hate cutting out patterns. Seriously, it's the worst part. It feels like a major accomplishment to just get this far. And I usually have to walk away for a couple days before I can regroup and start my project again.

But I did and finished Girlfriend's Dorothy dress...and she loves it. So it was totally worth cursing my way through the pattern.

And the best part was getting her ruby red glitter shoes!

3 out of 5 costumes down!

Whoop! Whoop!

Changed out my fall decor for Halloween decor! Just behind on blogging so they ended up in the same post.

Love black, orange & purple together!

Halloween is the best!

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