One last pumpkin patch visit

We were invited to one last go around at the pumpkin patch...big thanks to Ryan and Marianne.  This was a patch we haven't ever visited which made it even more fun.  The weather was fantastic - the kids were even able to take their coats off.

The goats were quite a hit with both kids.

 And why is it so darn hard to get a decent picture of both children?

 A quick ride on the tire horse....

What's better than climbing on huge bales of hay?!?

Easy come, easy go....our happy day didn't end that way but we'll just focus on the happy part.  And with that, we are considering ourselves done with pumpkin patches for the year.  Count it - 4 trips for Paul and Mommy; 3 trips for Lillie and Daddy.

Super Mario Halloween Fun!

Another year, another Halloween and boy it was tough to come up with another family themed costume....but we lucked out and found a great theme for 2013.  Paul loves to play Super Mario Brothers as a treat when he is on good behavior so it seemed a natural fit for our theme.  Lillie is still too young to have a strong preference so she went along for the ride.  Paul got to plan it all out and mommy got to make it happen.

Mario and Yoshi.....cutest kids ever!

Goofy Mario!

Loving the fall themed front porch area.  It poured rain all day and was supposed to be thunder storms this evening.  And then by some sort of miracle it cleared up and I think this might be one of the warmest trick or treating experiences in a while.  Temps were mid-60s and it was very pleasant.  You can see the remnants of the rain under our pumpkins.

It's hard to sit still and sometimes it is more fun to get really silly!

Yoshi waving HI!

Lots of excitement from both Mario cuties!

Daddy was Luigi....

And mommy was a great sport wearing a blonde wig and pink taffeta.  Paul told mommy that she looked BEAUTIFUL as Princess Peach.

Hand in hand to start the treat gathering.

Look mom....they are giving out Capri Sun!  I love that we live in a neighborhood where we can leave a bin of treats on the front step and the kids only take one or two.  We did the same thing and there was a single piece of candy left when we got home an hour later.

We ran into some of his friends from school.

And some more friends....his 5th grader friend Marina is the lady in orange.

Lots and lots of walking.  Both kids did great and we were able to spend about an hour walking around the neighborhood.

Whoops!  Yoshi took a spill.

And then we came home and the kids got to pick one piece of candy to eat....Lillie chose pink Nerds.

Paul picked a pack of Skittles and checked out his loot.

We refilled the candy container and the kids got to hand out candy at the door for a little while.  We stuck the candy bin back outside and put the kids to bed.  When I came back down, this is all that was left.  Evidently kids in these parts don't love the Whoppers!

Last Friday they held a Trunk or Treat event at Paul's school.  It was a little chilly and breezy but we braved it and had a great time.  The school doesn't let the kids wear their costumes to school, so this was a great opportunity for the kids to see each other in costume.  Different parents decorate their car trunks and then pass out candy.  Cute idea and a decent crowd came.  It was our only chance to get a full group picture of all the Mario glory.

Paul was SO proud to see his teacher Mrs. Balvanz.  She thought he was the cutest thing ever and went on and on about our family costume.  She is so sweet and such a great teacher.

Ran into some of his 5th grade friends.

Getting treats at a trunk.

 Ran into one of his classmates.

We really had such a nice time this year.  Lillie did so well and went to every single house that Paul did.  She said Trick or Treat a few times and the kids were fairly good at saying Thank You.  The weather cooperated and it was just great to see the kids having so much fun.  We'll see what next year brings as far as themes go but for now it is worth a little humiliation to make such great memories with the kids.

Lillie's birthday weekend

We headed back to the QC to spend the weekend with family celebrating our baby turning 3 years old!  Still shaking my head as to how quickly that happened.  But I digress.  Jason and I were lucky enough to spend Friday night with a great group of friends at a fabulous dinner party.  On Saturday, we bundled up and headed out to the Pride of the Wapsi Pumpkin Patch.  It was COLD and WINDY but we made the best of it!

First stop was the super steep and super fast slide.....Paul was a good big brother and helped his sister.

 Then it was off to the barrel train.

 It took him a few laps but Paul really got the hang of the wiggle racer cars.

Lillie was a pro on the ponies....I bought a ride for each kid but Paul gave his to her while he played in the corn box.

Their corn box was nothing compared to the corn pool at our pumpkin patch but they had tractors to play with.

 The super dark tunnel was loads of fun too...

We headed back to GranJo's house to get warm and hang out before dinner. Lillie loves to check out pictures on every one's phones....Uncle Chris was showing her a few snaps!

 Having fun reading with Auntie Jen and her dog Pickles.

Paul had fun helping to decorate for the party....Minnie Mouse was the theme this year.

We headed down to Happy Joe's for a fun birthday pizza party.  Someone was having a lot of fun!

Mommy and the birthday girl.

Yummy cheese pizza....she ate half of her little joe all by herself.

And then back to GranJo's house for some presents.

Playing together with her new pretend cookie making set.

Very colorful cake!  

She wasn't so sure of the candles burning on the cake but she came around and helped to blow them out.

We all love cake!  Open wide.....

We headed home on Sunday and the kids had lots of fun playing with Lillie's new homemade playdough and fun playdough mats from GranJo.

We had a super fun weekend.....always a little too busy but lots of fun.  Next up is Halloween which will bring lots more fun I am sure.