We started off the week fun with the school trunk-or-treat. The kids both had a blast and Joseph enjoyed having the second-largest costume there (he had the largest until a kid showed up in an inflatable Koolaid Man costume, haha). The “big oops” part is because Abigail decided to cut her hair while at school. 🙁 Luckily she cut some of the longer bits of her hair, so it wasn’t hard for a stylist to fix (and luckily they had an opening). That kid! The fun family day was spent out in Hondo at the South Texas Maize (a place where they have a big corn maze and a ton of other fun stuff to do. We met up with friends and had a grand time. Then we took the kids to Peter Piper Pizza for lunch. 🙂 It was a fun day!
I found a fun Haunted Mansion floor mat. 🙂I went to a baby shower not too long ago and won a game (it was a “guess how many game” and my completely random guess that I just scribbled down was only one off). The prize was an Amazon gift card, so I used it to buy this cute Harry Potter purse.I dressed up as a vampire for the trunk-or-treat.A close-up of my make-up.The kids were excited to get going. Abigail was so happy to get to wear her Sonic jammies as a costume.I love the relationship these two have.Fun run fun. I went to help and both kids were happy to see me. Abigail ran 36 laps (so just over two miles).Joseph ran 31 laps (just one lap shy of two miles).I have new pumpkins growing!Last time the bugs and birds got them…I’m hoping these ones make it!Just-because flowers. <3I love their vibrant colors!She.dressed.herself. 🙂I got a message from her teacher about ten minutes before school was out letting me know she cut her hair. She sent it home in a bag so I could see how much. :/She had been asking for a shorter cut and I told her we needed to wait and make an appointment at the kid salon…I guess she decided she wanted to have it right away. :/ Luckily the salon had a cancellation, so we were able to zip in and get her hair fixed. She was really happy with the outcome (she just doesn’t look it in this picture).She always asks for a hairstyle and then always takes it out immediately after we get home.Little cutie.I made pumpkin deviled eggs. I used food coloring to make the yolk mixture orange, piped it back into the whites, and then used a bit of chive for a stem.We had friends over for a movie night (we watched my nephews’ new movie, The Curse of Crom…which is a great Halloween movie), so I had a ton of spooky snacks for them to eat.On top of the hay pyramid.What a bunch of animals. 😉Joseph was off with his friend, but we managed to get a picture with Abigail.She LOVED this sand pit.Joseph enjoyed this giant slide.Abigail loved all the cutouts.Heading into the corn maze.It was neat that it was a legit maze.Joseph and his buddy, Alex.Deciding which way to go next.This was a huuuuuge field of flowers. They let people go and pick flowers (for an additional fee). We opted for just a picture. 🙂This giant chair was fun.I sure love these two!Abigail going down a slide that was more her size.They had these fun swings.Abigail swinging herself, haha.They had a small zipline there. The older boys enjoyed it quite a bit.Abigail was excited to find cornhole.She found another cutout!She also found this tractor. 🙂Aaaand a cow chair.Joseph on the cow chair.The last thing we did before going was to go on a hayride.I sure love this man!!
Bonus video: I found an old video of Abigail that I don’t think I’ve ever shared, so here ya’ go!
This past week started out rainy and cold (which we all enjoyed after so much hot weather with no rain). The kids were able to do some fun stuff at school (it’s always fun when the holidays are approaching) and Joseph was able to go on a mini field trip to see an orchestra perform. I hosted book club and had fun making some spooky treats. We were gearing up for a fun weekend with the church trunk-or-treat, but then Abigail came down with a gnarly stomach bug. She was sooo sad to have to miss out, but we reminded her that if she rested, she would be more than ready for the school trunk-or-treat…plus there’s still actual Halloween a week from tomorrow. It’s really hard to have to disappoint the kids when stuff like this happens, but it really is best to keep them home when they’re sick…that’s not the kind of sharing we want to encourage, haha. She’s doing much better today and hopefully she’ll be well enough to go to school tomorrow.
She was really excited that she was going to be able to wear her boots and her rain coat (along with her new favorite kitty leggings and her second-favorite shirt). I’ve given up trying to change her mind about picking clothes that match…I have more important battles to fight (like teeth brushing, haha).Sooooo…I decided to walk the kids to school while it was just sprinkling…then I told myself it wasn’t THAT bad and I could go ahead and go for my three mile walk. Well, the rain wasn’t falling hard, but it was a…coating rain (and I got splashed once by a car driving by *insert eye roll here*). I survived, though!After I got home and got dried off (and took a warm shower), I prepared better for my trip to the grocery store. put on my rain boots and……my big, poofy winter coat. Was I over-dressed? Oh, completely. Did I care? Not an ounce. 🙂Abigail came home with some Harry Potter stickers!She then turned her puppy into Harry Potter. 🙂Texas sunrises are spectacular.This is just a snapshot into our lives at the moment…yes, Abigail is eating breakfast right as we’re getting ready to walk to school (wearing Halloween leggings and her tie-dyed Bucc-ee’s shirt under her hot-pink Bucc-ee’s hoodie).The first treat for book club was pumpkin spice doughnuts. The batter was really thick and didn’t even out like I’m used to with the other types of doughnuts I’ve made (I pipe them into my doughnut pan and usually the ribbons of batter will combine together, but this time they stayed very defined), so I decided at the last moment to make a thin glaze and dunk them in it. That seemed to soften the harsh lines a bit and added a little extra sweetness. They still tasted pretty good, so there is that!I found a cute partitioned tray shaped like a bat that was perfect for chips. I had potato ships with spinach artichoke dip (from the deli department), cheese puffs, and blue corn tortilla chips with guacamole.I got this idea from a friend. After I made the guacamole, I put some sour cream into a piping bag and used it to make a spiderweb. Then I cut up olives to make a spider. Isn’t it fun? Funny story: I had leftover olives in a bowl in the fridge. At one point during the evening (before anyone had come over), I was sitting on the couch reading when I heard the fridge open…and stay open. I turned around and Abigail was perched inside the fridge (she stepped up into it to get herself a bit higher), popping olives into her mouth, one-by-one. I let her have one more and then made her get out, haha. I think she’d only been able to get four or five at that point, so it wasn’t much harm done. I did tell her that next time she needed to ask and I would get her some. 😉The night after book club, I went to a game night put on by Relief Society (the women’s organization for my church). I wanted to make another spooky treat to bring along, but didn’t have as much time…so I went for my go-to, super-easy treat: rice crispy treats. I used green food coloring to make them a creepy color and then added candy eyeballs. They were a big hit!This was right before she came down with her fever (in fact, now that I’m looking at this picture, I’m not sure how I missed that she wasn’t feeling well…I can kind of see it in her eyes). McDonald’s brought back an updated version of the Halloween buckets that they originally released when I was a kid. They’ve been a bit hard to find (I suppose there are a lot of people like us who want our kids to be able to have something we enjoyed as kids…playing off of nostalgia is a great marketing tactic, haha). She was excited she got a witch one.It’s a pretty cute bucket!We also popped on It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for even more nostalgia.
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
This is one of my favorite quotes by Lucy Maud Montgomery who wrote the Anne of Green Gables series, and voices how I feel about October quite well. October is when the weather (kind of) starts cooling down, {some} of the trees start changing colors, the mornings are usually crisp, and the sunrises are on point. It starts getting dark earlier in the evenings which lends to the spookiness of the month as well as the coziness that comes with fall and winter. October, November, and December really are my favorite months. It’s fun to see how excited the kids get about the holidays and I know I’m going to get an extra dose of family time (which I look forward to more than a lot of things).
A full moon, partially obscured by wispy clouds and a clear shot of Venus (that pinpoint of light above and to the right of the moonlight-soaked clouds).October sunrises are some of my favorites.Watching the sun starting to peek over the horizon as I walk in the mornings is rather peaceful.I love this part of our park. Seeing the sunlight coming through the trees settles my heart.I found the perfect ornaments for the kids this year! Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas for Abigail and a golden snitch from Harry Potter for Joseph. 🙂I found this really cool pillow at the grocery store. I have always loved Dia de Los Muertos (and how it’s about remembering and honoring family) and I love living in San Antonio where it’s celebrated quite a bit.Paul was able to find some time to hang up the sign we bought last week at the neighborhood park event. I love the words and I think it goes well with the sign I already had (the “I love you a bushel and a peck” sign).One of my friends told me about a super-easy Halloween craft, so the next time I went to the store, I bought a mop head, a Mason jar, and a strand of battery-operated lights. I already had the witch hat and black fabric. It only took about five minutes to put together and is so cute!He was walking past her and she randomly latched onto him. Then she said, “Choo-choo! We’re a train!” He gamely played along for a few laps.Joseph’s school picture.Abigail’s school picture.Joseph’s Halloween costume this year, haha.Another beautiful October sunrise!I found a tree with leaves that are changing! This is rare in San Antonio. I also spotted a skeleton family. 🙂I don’t know what it is about sunlight and trees, but I just love it!
Joseph’s costume in action. Watching him trying to run was comical to the point of tears.
I thought I’d get the projector and flame lights (along with the vampire Snoopy) in action. The best way to do so was with a short video. Spooky, huh?
