Book Character Day

The kids' school puts on an annual Book Character Day every year for Halloween. Last year I didn't get any decent pictures, so I made sure to snap a couple before we were off to school this year. Now I love book character day as much as the next guy, but I must admit it would be nice if it wasn't coinciding with Halloween itself. The guidelines state that no Halloween or store bought costumes are allowed, and costumes should be put together from items you already have in your home. The books must be chosen by the kids and they have to be a book they have read this school year. We followed the guidelines and here is what we came up with.

Sophie, as Pinkalicious. She even had the idea to make her hair pink!


Julian, as "Diver Dan" from his favorite Lego series easy reader. Easy Peasy!


Lily, as Eloise. She is pretty much the spittin' imagine anyway and wouldn't you know the week before Halloween we got this skirt in a bag of hand-me-downs! Absolutely perfect!


Tate, as an adorable scarecrow. They do Scarecrow Day in kindgergarten. These overalls were also from a hand-me-down bag we got last year. Lily wore them last year on Scarecrow Day and so I just pulled off the girly-girl patches and daisy trim from last year and put on some farm boy ones.

Pumpkin Patch

We visited our local pumpkin patch, Hunter Farms, one day after school. The kids and Keaton ran through the corn maze, picked out tiny pumpkins, and enjoyed all the cute fall decor.
















On the way home from the pumpkin patch I parked my car across the street from my very favorite fall tree this year. It is in someone's front yard, but it is a farm house way back from the road. The picture doesn't do the tree justice, but it was the most gorgeous shades of yellow and orange. Every year tree change differently depending on the weather (moisture, temperatures, etc.) so you never know where the most beautiful colors might be.

3rd Annual Small Group Pumpkin Carving Party

We hosted our 3rd Annual Small Group Pumpkin Carving Party the week of Halloween. We had our usual fare, pumpkin soup, homemade pizza, caramel apples, and all those good seasonal treats.


A couple days beforehand someone suggested wearing a costume if you wanted to. There was no way my kids were going to wear their costumes to eat messy pizza and carve pumpkins in. Besides, I wasn't done with making them yet! But when some of their friends arrived in costume they went upstairs and came down with random dress up pieces on. Hope that explains the Mickey Mouse hat paired with the pirate shirt!




Sam is just precious, scoping out the pumpkins.


Look at this sweet pizza eater!


Andrea brought her parents, who happened to be visiting. They were so excited to catch up with everyone and meet the kids.


Then the carving began. As usual, our kids had wild ideas about what to carve their pumpkins into.


Thankfully we had lots of great helpers!


And how cute are Jennie and Baby Jane? Look at those tiny pigtails!




I'm the family pumpkin drawer. The kids come to me with their idea and I try to sketch it in pencil and not disappoint. :/


The adorable Addison Owens looks up to no good!




Caramel apples!

The kids' big ideas this year.

Tate's train.


Lily's mermaid. (Seriously, ever heard of a Jack-o-Lantern? Where do these ideas come from?)


Sophie's Minnie Mouse.


Julian's sheriff.

A couple others:




Happy trick-or-treating!

Family Pumpkin Carving

The night before our annual small group pumpkin carving party, we carved a couple of our family pumpkins with the kids. We had a boys' design and a girls' design.

Ready!


The guys plan out their jack-o-lantern. (Or Jack-o-Lan as Tate called it.)





I thought eating the pumpkin insides was something the girls would only do their first year home. I was wrong.

Cute Jack.


Crazy Bat.


All ready to greet our friends for the party!

Dates with Mama or Pop

One thing we try to be very intentional about is spending time with the kids alone, or 2 at a time. Kevin generally does a Costco run 2 or 3 Saturdays a month and often takes a couple kids with him while I do whatever else needs to be done with the others. I often take the girls with me to do "girl things" while the boys will do "boy things" with Kevin. Sometimes they get one on one time with us as well. Besides Tate, who had me to himself all school year last year, we rarely get to talk to them one on one and spend quality time where they are allowed to have us all to themselves. So we take time out to do that occasionally. Something like a trip to the market can be special if you make it that way. :)

I remember this trip to Target was just Lily and I. I let her pick out whatever she wanted at Starbucks. The lady put lots of extra carmel swirls in it for her too! She sat in the cart and we browsed around at whatever she wanted to besides getting the things we went for. Can't you just see the sparkle in her eyes? :) I love that!


Our sweet Lily Grace. We love you so much! You are super silly, sassy, full of spunk, love to have a good time, and can be very quiet if it suits you. Most people who spend time with you will comment on your contagious laughter. You have the most awesome laugh! (It was one of the first things we noticed about you.) You love to read, shop, play with your dolls, drink Starbucks, and help around the house. You are a very good listener and an awesome helper. You will make a fabulous mom some day. I can't wait to see what life holds for you!