the leaves are mostly off the trees,
and Halloween has officially passed (although I'd slow to take down my festive decorations and put up my Thanksgiving ones!....I'm just not ready for the BIG holiday season to start!) 😟
We lucked out with a great day at the pumpkin patch the weekend before Halloween.
We did our usual cow train, which rattled my brain even more than previous years (but it's probably because I'm just getting older!!!)
Family pictures 2019 was a success!
Halloween is one of the most anticipated holidays in our home.
Levi and James quickly knew they were going to be San Fransisco 49er football players; finding their official maroon and gold helmets and uniforms in the mail was like Christmas morning for them. They were beyond thrilled to strut down the street and show off their team alligence, making Dad proud.
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| The boys in the hood |
Caleb, on the other hand, had no interest in being a football player...or any sports hero for that matter. He had his eye set on a dinosaur.
The vision was narrowed down even more when he saw on Amazon a blow up costume (yes, with a continuous pumping of air); it made him look like he was riding on top of the dinosaur.
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| Ride 'em Caleb! |
He was also excited to get his costume in the mail; he immediately began riding it around the house.
Evie's inspiration for her costume came this summer while staying at my parent's house in Chicago. Whenever she is there, she likes to play with my special childhood American Girl doll (Samantha).
Evie has never really liked dolls. But whenever she goes to Chicago, she admires this one. I would gladly pass along my treasured collection to her if I thought she would hold it as dear and treat it as kindly as I have; but I know my daughter, and the appeal to the doll is that it's home is with Grandma and her opportunity to delight in it is once a year.
This makes it special and adored, something it simply wouldn't be if it were in her room all the time.
This year my Mom and my Grandma planned to come to Oregon during Halloween. Evie convinced my Mom to bring Samantha with her so she could dress up like the doll.
I realized that she wasn't the only one with the idea to dress like her doll because Amazon had a lot of options when it came to matching doll clothes.
So, Halloween night, Evie walked the block dressed like Samantha, holding tightly to her..until she got tired of her and wanted someone else to take over. 😑
The kids ran from house to house, collecting as much candy as they could. James made a game out of how many Snickers bars he could gather.
I think his total by the end of the night was 28.
After counting their sweet treasures and eating probably too much, Evie packed hers up to donate it to her school's raffle. Each year the school entices kids to turn in their candy; for every pound they donate, they get a raffle ticket for a prize. Evie cares way more about winning an electronic gadget than eating candy (it's probably because she knows she can convince her brothers to share theirs with her, so in the end she gets both)
Caleb immediately dumped his candy in with James. He probably cares the least about candy and the fun comes from throwing it around.
James loved that Caleb gave his candy to him because it is more for James to count and collect and dream about. The joy for James is saving his candy; thinking about eating it is just as exciting to him as actually tasting it.
And then there is Levi. Levi would eat the whole bag in one night if I let him. He is a sugaraholic. He will happily eat a king sized Snickers for breakfast with a side of Skittles.
It was a night that the kids truly delighted in with the parade of their Gramie and Grandpa and my Mom and their Great Grandma and their Mom and Dad adoringly following after them.
And the next day, John and I delighted in the fact that we were catching an early morning flight to sunny San Diego for the weekend with friends!
We had a great little escape, eating and drinking our way through the city. John made reservations at some of the greatest spots which included an epic Tiki bar and a mysterious speakeasy.
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One of the best moments was spending a leisurely afternoon on a beach in Cornado drinking a grapefruit spritzer. (However, I know why I don't day drink normally... 😴
Coming home, I found four very happy kids.
I suppose that's what a weekend of non-stop attention, outdoor games and fun (and probably liberal candy consumption) will do!
Commence the season of sugar and excess.
James is already talking about the pumpkin pie....😬
