Halloween 2014

We dressed as a Kitty Cat, (stuck in a) Tree, and our hero the Fireman!

So much fun!

Jay and Lizzy both had Halloween parties at school this week and we made the most of Halloween (Friday) this year. 

I got Jay a little early from school, got us home and in costume and headed out to trick-or-treat at the mall before the big kids got out of school.

(I decided to give myself a pass and skip trying to get Lizzy to nap this afternoon. I knew it would be hard and then would make us rushed to get out for evening tricks and treats.)

Then we made our annual trip to Dede and Papa's for dinner and trick-or-treating.

Now just for fun, here are our past Halloweens--

2013- Cowboy and Cowgirl

2012 Mickey and Minnie

2011 Old McDonald

this was also the day we found out Lizzy was a girl and closed on selling our house! 

2010 Baby Jay as a Monkey 

Pumpkin Carving 2014

We carved pumpkins tonight after dinner.

It was 80 degrees today.

This was so much better than how I remember carving pumpkins as a child. 

I can remember being so cold and the inside of the pumpkin freezing your hands when you went in to scoop. 

We were all in shorts tonight. Ha!

Jay insisted on drilling his again this year and Lizzy wanted a happy face. She also wanted ovals. 

I know Joseph was glad that she didn't insist on her other favorite shape--octagons. 

Happy (almost) Halloween!!

Birthdays, Boo at the Zoo and Bass Pro Shops Halloween

I really think that October calendars should be super-sized when you have small kids. 

We've been to three birthday parties this week.

Two were Frozen and another was at our neighborhood playground.

To keep things lively I decided to take the kids to Boo at the Zoo on Friday night. 

I went by earlier in the day and bought our tickets and ride wristbands and we were the very first people in the zoo when it reopened for the night's festivities. 

We were also the first on the train and Jay picked the seat in the "tippy back"

We trick-or-treated, played carnival games, rode the carousel, watched the wildlife show and took a hayride. 

Going early made everything do-able and not so scary.
We also had a great parking spot considering every extra lot was full when we left! 

We went to the Trunk or Treat at church Sunday evening, I missed out on taking pictures, but did get to meet some new families and the kids had fun! 

Monday night after dinner we put our costumes on again for a trip to Bass Pro Shops and a photo with Charlie Brown and friends.

(I was trying to get a picture of Lizzy and got photo bombed by a daredevil fireman!)

We've been packing in the family fun this week and still have 4 days until Halloween. 

We're digging deep, sugaring up and hoping for a strong finish to all of this October Fun!

I have huge plans for a nap on November 1. 

Friday Favorites- Big Kid Stuff

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I'm linking up for Friday Favorites today--I have found many fun new blogs to follow from this link-up! I'm so glad to share my favorite moments from our week. 

Just looking back at my "favorite" moments this week I'm amazed at some of the "big kid" moments we're having lately. 

1. Daddy babysat Lizzy for an hour this week while I went with Jay on his very first field trip. I got home and this pulled in the driveway right after me. 

Lizzy. Out of the sunroof. Of Daddy's Monster Truck. Eating a cheeseburger Happy Meal. Dad is definitely the favorite babysitter ever. 

2. We've been out in the woods in our yard a bit this week. Last year this was something Jay and I did while Lizzy napped. This year she's right there with us. (She still naps in the afternoons, just not as long as she once did.) 

Together we're exploring, teaching Lizzy to navigate new terrain and conquering new frontiers. Not really, I mean we live in the city of Birmingham, its not like we're out in the wild--but its flora and fauna and feels like we're the only ones around. 

3. Sometimes when Lizzy and I are out running quick errands, I let her shop on foot rather than in the cart. Then she discovered that some kids get to ride in the cart but not in the seat. I am certain life will never be the same. 

This big girl has not only ditched all forms of high chairs at restaurants, but now the buckled in safety of the cart seat. Lord, help. 

4. Since we do have two big kids and are baby-free we've joined the library and it might be our new favorite-favorite. The kids were in heaven. 

 5. Jay and I have been tending our pumpkin patch here at home for months. The vines have grown and grown, just nothing to harvest. Well, I fixed that this week while the kids were at school and that afternoon they were so excited to find pumpkins in our pumpkin patch!!! (I was so excited that i remembered to get all of the price tags off!) 

Next year we'll plant a few weeks earlier and all should be well--without any help from the Pumpkin Fairy. 

I have to say, I have feared what life would look like when we no longer had a baby and a toddler, but two full-fledged preschool kids running around. These last few weeks have put all of my fears aside. This stage we're in--as challenging as it is--is my favorite so far. Never a quiet moment, but days filled to the brim with questions and knock-knock jokes, little conversations and a million times to learn every day--for all of us. I am loving it--big kid stuff is my new favorite!

Pumpkin Patch 2014

Last Friday we took a quick trip to the Pumpkin Patch at Shadow Lake with the kids. 

I got Jay out of school a little early, called Dede and invited her to join us for lunch and we arrived just as the school groups were leaving for the day and had about an hour and a half with the whole place mostly to ourselves. 

Woo-hoo!

The kids wanted to jump as soon as we got there--the timing was perfect.

Then we took our hayride and Jay of course paid close attention to the tractor the entire time.

Jay spent some time with the goats, Lizzy spent her time on the outside of the goat pen talking to the goats. Or "ghosts". "heeeerrreee ghosts, heerrrreee ghosts, meh, meh"

We rode the train and then picked our pumpkins.

They picked the smallest two. 

We played some games and called it a day. 

As usual, it was 78 and sunny, so we were ready for some shade and cool drinks just as the patch closed for the day. Perfecto. 

First Field Trip!

We visited the Fire Station with 4K today for Jay's 1st field trip.

The firefighters were great, the kids loved seeing the fire house--which really is a house in our neighborhood. 

They loved the pole!

Jay was right up front and totally tuned in. The firefighters told the class how they were responsible for everything at the fire station--cooking, maintenance, cleaning even washing and drying all of their clothes and linens. 

Jay's only report to dad tonight was that "The firemen put lemons in the dryer! isn't that so funny?!?!"

Linens I guess sounds a lot like lemons to a 4 year old. ha!!

We learned some great lessons about fire safety and all of the great work of the firefighters. 

First official Field Trip in the books! Crazy that we're here already. Time flies!