Happy Rainy Halloween

Halloween is not my favorite day of the year. Some are really into it, I am not.  This week we ALL have been sick and the forcast was for TONS of rain, so that really didn't help my excitement level. But, since the kids always get SO excited about it, Doug and I tried our best to suck it up and try to make it fun for them. Over all it turned out to be a fun day.

Since we (even the kids) haven't felt up to doing much, we didn't carve our pumpkins until this morning. We decided the kids should try to do more this year, and they did pretty good!

 Doug got them started by cutting the top off

 This is the excitement they showed for scooping out the pulp and seeds... they were not thrilled!

 .... so mom ended up finishing this job for them! At least they did some, right?

 Ready to design!

 Matthew carving.... he did really well!

 Evelyn did great, too!

 Final products!

 They decided to organize the candy we got to give out to trick or treaters. Notice they are still in PJ's. This as probably 1pm...haha!! It was a low key day, even tho they were SO excited to trick or treat!

The rain was coming down HARD (even heavy flooding in places!) but there was NO way my kids were going to miss going out and getting candy. They were excited to get into your costumes.

Matthew knew a while back what he was going to be, and we didn't need to buy a thing! He had the sweatshirt, mask and boots already. "It's perfect, mommy!" Yes, buddy, it is!

 Last year after Halloween, Evelyn found a Glinda the Good Witch costume on clearance and said she wanted it to wear this year for Halloween. Of course, as Halloween drew closer, she said she really didn't want to be Glinda any longer. We told her we weren't going to buy her another costume.. she could pick something from her (overflowing) dress up bin. She was really struggling to come up with something she liked, so I suggested we could go to Goodwill and she could buy something with HER money. She found this adorable ladybug costume for under $10 (the most we told her she could spend)!! She loved it and she looked absolutely lovely! 

Mom and her Doug wanted to see the kids dressed up so we made a quick trip across town to trick or treat at Grandma's!

Thankful for them!

FINALLY it got dark and we could go out. It was POURING the entire time. Even with an umbrella the kids got soaked. But they had a great time and lasted longer than I hoped they would...haha!!

 Counting their loot!

Despite the rain and sickness it was fun to see the kids having such a good time! Happy Halloween all!!

Apple Orchard Field Trip

Today was the kindergarten class' annual trip to Heritage Farms, an apple orchard not far from school. I went on this same trip with Evelyn, and had just as much fun today with Matthew's classmates. Actually, probably more fun, since it was pouring down rain and super windy when I went 3 years ago! :)

 Waiting for the bus... this was Matthew's first ever bus ride!

 These two... class clown and class trouble maker. They make me laugh tho, and Ethan (the one on the left) is always so happy to see me and always gives me a big hug! 

 Cannon  moved just down this street from us this summer, and he and Matthew are so happy to be in the same class and are becoming good buddies. His mom April is awesome and funny and I enjoy having her as a neighbor and new friend, too!

 Nick, our hay ride driver, was great! For some reason I didn't get a single photo on that ride. Bummer!

 The farm is great, and they know how to welcome large groups. The kids got cider in fun bottles, an apple to take home, and got to pick a pumpkin to take home as well.

.... AND the kids got to jump around in a apple shaped bouncy house! This was a highlight for my boy, as evidenced by his smile! :)

 My sweet boy waiting to get back on the bus.

Such a fun day with great kids and their amazing teachers!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

Doug heads out of town tomorrow for the week (boo) so we were trying to figure how to spend our Saturday together, especially since the weatherman predicted rain most of the day. When we got up this morning, however, the air was crisp and it was cloudy, but no rain. We made the decision to head out to the pumpkin patch (usually a Sunday afternoon affair for us) first thing. We had a lovely morning in sunshine at our favorite farm, Baggenstoes!

I know there are probably bigger and more exciting farm in the fall, but this one is only a 10 minute drive for us and just perfect!

Hayride to the pumpkins!

She found hers first!

Our rule is the kids have to be able to carry their own pumpkin. This one was a bit too much for my sweet boy! (ok... we tell them that but usually we let them pick and Doug or I help...haha)

"It's "puwfect"! (I love how he says that!)

We come here for our Christmas Tree too, so the kids always like to run around the tree area to see what they can find. They always manage to find the perfect "Charlie Brown" tree!

"TA DA"! He was so excited to find this tree... too bad it was a gazillion feet too tall to fit in our living room...haha!

Love these three!

We decided to try the big corn maze this year.. a first for the kids. They were ready to tackle it!

As Matthew would say, "It's GO time!"

A quick pit stop to look at the map

We did it! :)

The ominous dark clouds were getting closer so we let the kids play for just a bit before heading home.

About 30 minutes after we arrived home the rain came and stayed around the rest of the day. SO thankful we made it out for this annual tradition while the weather was so lovely.

Happy Fall Y'all!!