Trick or Treat!

We had such a fun Halloween night. After school the kids carved their pumpkins and they were all very particular about how they wanted it done. Joshua was so proud of his that while he was saying the blessing on the food at dinner he mentioned that his was the "best pumpkin ever and that triangle eyes and a bat mouth were awesome." He takes his role as Ninja Turtle very seriously. (Sorry Katie that it will be coming back to you very well loved.) Mariah was a vampiress, Samantha was Giselle, and Bree was a fairy. The first time we tried to take Gabriella's fairy wings off she threw the biggest tantrum I have ever seen one of my kids have. It was slightly scary how upset she was about her wings. She loved dressing up and caught on to the whole trick or treating thing way too fast. Our neighborhood is perfect for trick or treating. Because it is so great (lots of houses in a small area) we get tons of people who drive to our neighborhood, park their car and gather their candy. One neighbor told us they plan on about 350 kids and usually run out of candy. I believe it, the streets are packed. Even the fire station drives trucks through the streets and have the firefighters hand out candy!

Now I just need suggestions on how to limit all the candy consumption!

Halloween Party

A good friend of ours hosted a way fun Halloween party before Halloween. They decorated rooms in the house all spooky and fun for the kids to wander around in and explore. They did a great job and we all had fun dressing up for the party.
Joshua worked very long and hard to bob for an apple. He was thrilled when he figured out that if you get the stem it is easy to pull out. Gabriella thought the idea of a bucket of water on the floor was awesome and made a huge mess on the floor and herself.
Here is the whole family enjoying the fun party. Kris stole Mariah's wig to finish off his outfit, but she didn't mind. I have always loved Halloween parties, maybe that is because Halloween is so close to my birthday...

Our house in the beautiful autumm leaves

I love the trees that stand behind our house. I feel like they protect our little place. In the summer they are big and green, providing tons of shade. In the fall they fire up their beauty and I just can't get enough. Of course all those beautiful leaves will eventually come down and then we have to deal with them in not such a fun way. Until then, I will enjoy every minute of blazing color!

Sweet BFF's

One of the best things about moving to Syracuse has to be the great friends my kids have made. This is Isabelle and Samantha. They are the cutest little friends. Whenever they are together all we hear are giggles and more giggles. They love to play house but instead of being normal "Moms" they pretend to be ninja Grandmas and silly things like that. I love how happy they are to be with each other. I hope they are always true BFF's!
If you are true BFF's you have to have matching pj's at a sleepover. Now that is fun stuff. Love the bed hair!

Sleeping boy--bedroom set contest

So, my sister in law linked me to a bedroom set giveaway and all you have to do to enter is put a picture of your child sleeping on your blog. Easy enough, right? You have no idea how hard it was to find a picture of Joshua sleeping. He is always on the go and just can't possibly fit in the time to sleep. Anyway, this picture is one of my favorite because he has all of his farm "aminals" tucked in with him. He was just over a year old and was fighting the nap time routine. I put his buddies in bed with him and he was out! It is always nice to have an active little boy sleeping. Unless I am having a pessimistic day and then I just see him as recharging himself. I love this boy! Here is the link: http://www.5minutesformom.com/4380/win-a-new-bedroom-set/

Sorry, I don't know how to do it fancy.

Camping in Old Forge, NY

This weekend we went camping to Old Forge, NY. It is a beautiful spot about 2 hours NE of where we live. We went with two other families and had a great time. Because it is October and we live in NY we went with the heated cabins for our lodging instead of using a tent. I am telling you, this is the way to camp! You get to enjoy being outside with a fire and nature but then you get to go into a cabin with beds AND a heater! I might never sleep in a tent again. The kids thought it was fabulous and loved the bunk beds. I wish we could have stayed for one more night. It went by too fast!
In front of our cozy little cabin
Mariah, enjoying the view from the top bunk.
Joshua and Michael chillin' (literally) on the front porch swing. It was a cold morning.

A girl and her pumpkin

Last weekend we went to a pumpkin patch and let the kids pick out a pumpkin. I put one on Gabriella's lap and she has not wanted to put it down since. She loves it. As soon as we go outside she picks it up and pats it, hugs it, or uses it as a seat. She is so cute with it. She knows which one is hers and lugs it all over the yard. I wonder if she will panic when we start turning it into a jack-o-lantern in a couple of weeks! It might just be too traumatizing.