Time to Trick-or-Treat!

I am finally getting around to posting pictures of our Halloween costumes this year. I have loved the family themed costumes I have seen from some of my friends, but have given up that idea with two older children who have definite ideas of what they would like to be.

This little guy was absolutely adorable as Dumbo...

Our cute little Dorothy...

And "grumpy-as-can-be" Fireman!! He wasn't thrilled with dinner that night (chili and cornbread) and was even less excited about taking pictures before trick-or-treating!!

Looks like the fireman is doing the "robot" dance in the photo...

Distracted Dorothy, Adorable Dumbo and a drunk-looking Fireman....awesome!!

This was probably the best group photo from the night (Landon has a real talent for making those grumpy faces I tell ya!)...

But this photo is pretty classic as far as personalities go!

Time to go get some candy little Dumbo!!

Leaving the house, ready to go grab that candy. Nolan had the best ride of the night!!

Our busy end of the neighborhood...

 

We had an unusually warm Autumn evening which made trick-or-treating quite enjoyable this year. It did sprinkle on us a bit, but we still managed to make it almost 2 hours and hit every house in our little neighborhood! I think the best part of the evening was organizing the night's haul (and paying the parent tax too!)

 

We are still working our way through all of this candy, trying to eat only a few pieces of candy each day. Hopefully it will last them until the next candy overload....Christmas!!

Carving Time!

Abby and Landon had the Monday and Tuesday before Halloween off from school for Parent-Teacher Conferences. We used Nolan's naptime during one of those days to carve our pumpkins. We have only ever painted pumpkins in the past with the kids so they were pretty excited about using knives!!

I ended up scraping out most of the pumpkins but the kids did a great job designing their jack-o-lanterns and using the knife to cut out the pieces. I was admittedly pretty nervous watching them, but they were pretty careful and did amazingly well (at least there were no fingers lost in the process!!)

 

 

 

 

Port Discovery -- Take 2

We spent last Saturday taking advantage of our family pass to Port Discovery in Baltimore. This was Jason's first time going and he was quite impressed with everything. We spent about 5 hours there and did many different things than we had done the last time we were there. 

The kids especially enjoyed our treasure map experience in ancient Egypt...

 

We spent a while in the arts and crafts room making dot pictures and clay figurines.

 

Landon would make an awesome court jester. He always keeps us laughing and entertained around here!

And of course what would we do without our little toothless princess!!

The water area was a huge hit for all the kids and Nolan got himself pretty soaked during his playtime there...

The bubble-maker!!

 

This is such an amazing place not only for kids, but Jason and I had a great time there as well. So glad we have a family membership that we can use for the rest of the winter!!

Sunset

We have had some amazing sunsets in Maryland over the last few weeks. Of course pictures never quite do them justice, but here's just a peek into the beauty we've enjoyed...

 

 

Loving this Weather!

We have spent many mornings at the park over the last few weeks. The weather has been gorgeous and I'm trying to soak it all in before the cold weather eventually settles in. 

And this boy could live his life in these swings if we let him...

 

 

I just wish they would make a swing like this in my size!!

Paramount Walk-A-Thon

We participated in the annual Walk-A-Thon in late September at Paramount Elementary. It is their biggest fundraiser and the kids always have a great time marching along in their matching shirts after school on that day. A firetruck always leads the way and it is a fun and active way to raise money for the school. Abby had a great time walking with her 2nd grader friends...

 (Emerson, Amanda, Sophie & Abby...seems like just yesterday they were all in Kindergarten together!!)

Landon made it about .1 miles before the great "whine" fest began. I swear he has energy to spare all day everyday until it is time to walk somewhere, then it becomes "I'm too tired...It's too hard...my feet hurt..." repeated over and over again. It really ended up becoming a battle of wills (I had the double stroller with me but I wouldn't let him ride. It was a "walk-a-thon" for crying out loud...not a "ride-in-the-stroller-while-Mom-does-all-the-work" fundraiser.) In this battle of wills, Mom prevailed (but headphones to drown out all the whining I endured would have made the experience a bit better!)

Geocaching

We were able to watch Coldon and Reygan while my sister and brother-in-law took a little vacation/babymoon in September. We had a great weekend playing with our cousins and even introduced them (and ourselves!) to the wonderful world of geocaching. Geocaching is basically like a treasure hunt with finds all over the world. We found three different hiding places on Saturday and the kids LOVED it.

 

Their favorite part was trading in some of their treasures for other knick-knacks in the treasure boxes. I think this will become a new family hobby!