Halloween Fun!

The kids came home from school ready to get their costumes on. Sonya came down to spend Halloween with us, and she had fun helping Zoe get ready, while I worked on Cooper.

Their costumes turned out great!!



My beautiful Candy Corn Witch...

and the amazing Mad Hatter!!

Sonya decided to dress up too, and wanted to get in on the trick-or-treating...

Our neighbor Larry even brought over something for Joe!

We had our annual neighborhood gathering at our house for chili and cornbread (and hot dogs for some of the kids that won't eat chili!)

By 6:30 the kids were ready to hit the streets!

The neighborhood was full of trick-or-treaters, decorations, haunted houses, and more. After a lot of walking, and full candy bags, we made it back home. It was time to sort and trade candy!

We spent the rest of the night in the cul-de-sac hanging with the neighborhood. The kids had such a great night. I'm glad they still love to get into the whole thing! Now I'm ready for the decorations to come down and prepare for the next holiday...

Jack-O-Lanterns

It was time to carve pumpkins already...boy, this month is flying by! Zoe has been spending her Saturdays at the dance studio rehearsing for her show in December, so as soon as she got home, we got busy!
Zoe loves to dig in the "guts"! She also had a slight super glue accident before we started...you would be surprised what pumpkin can do to eat away the glue!
Cooper usually wants nothing to do with pulling out seeds and guts, but this year he decided to get in there and pull out everything he could.
I did a little of the carving, but Joe did all the hard stuff!
We are now officially ready for Halloween!

Tanaka Farms

We met Mimi, Gramps, Uncle Jeff, and Jax at the pumpkin patch today. It was a beautiful day, and a bit crowded, but the kids enjoyed picking out their pumpkins.
Zoe picked hers...
Coop picked his...
And the three of them each had their own preferences...
We did a quick walk through the circular corn maze. (We weren't very impressed with this one!)

Of course we had to measure our heights too!

We had a fun outing, and got to spend a little time with family. I can't believe Halloween is almost here!

Jog-A-Thon

Today was the Tony Tobin's jog-a-thon. It felt a little strange not having Zoe there to run with. I'm still getting used to having the kids at 2 different schools! I was happy to get to spend the hour on the field with Cooper though. Mrs. Roger's Cowboys were ready to race in their orange. Ms. Wright was filling in for Mrs. Rogers while she is on a much-deserved vacation.
Cooper got a quick start and took off running.
He decided to flip his shirt around while running, so he could keep an eye on his lap tally.
He got a stomachache halfway through which forced him to slow down a bit, but he still ended up making his goal of 40 laps!
I enjoyed jogging a few laps with him too, but he is too quick for me to keep up!
After the race the kids enjoyed some healthy snacks.

Cooper and his friends Lorien and Mitchell were pretty sweaty...but I love the smiles on their faces!

Hopefully the school makes our fundraising goal of $20,000 to pay for so many of our programs! I think these kids ran hard to earn their share!

Dessert Reward!

We decided to go out for some yummy desserts tonight to celebrate the kid's quarter report cards. They are both working so hard and doing well in all areas!
Way to go Zoe and Cooper!

FNL Action Shots

The professional photographers were out shooting Cooper's football game last week. I was so glad they were able to get some shots, since it is hard for me to get good ones during the game!
On offense, he continues to play QB...


and he listens intensely to his coach...
On defense he usually plays corner back. During tonight's game, he made a great interception and ran with the ball...

Coop is having the time of his life playing football right now! We are enjoying the season and spending our Friday nights on the field.

37...

I turned 37 today and although it isn't a very eventful year, I had a nice day celebrating with family and friends!
Joe and the kids surprised me this morning with a vintage John Elway Broncos jersey. Now I have something to wear on Sundays as I root for my team!
I was treated to a delicious pancake breakfast with Jenny, Chessa, and Leslie, before heading to work for a half day job. Throughout the day, I was showered with cards and gifts. My friends sure know me well, as much of revolved around food, baking, and desserts! My parents gave me some warm Ugg boots, cool sunglasses, and a gift card for some clothes shopping. I sure feel spoiled and loved!
After Zoe finished dance, we hit the Yard House for a delicious dinner. I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who continue to make me feel special!

Oak Glen Fun!

We wanted to make sure that we found the time to get back up to Oak Glen this fall, so we took advantage of a free day and headed up. We normally get to pick a lot of apples, but unfortunately, they were picked out for the weekend. The orchards have low supply this year due to heavy frosts over the past winter. We had a fun day though and lucked out by getting to pick tons of raspberries just before they are done for the season!

We ended up with several of these containers full of raspberries, and we DEFINITELY ate just as many along the way. My belly was full of berries!
They also had a few U-pick pumpkin patches, so we couldn't resist picking up a couple!
We brought up a picnic lunch, and enjoyed some sandwiches while sitting in the shade enjoying a beautiful day.

We stopped at several orchards, and tasted samples of apples and cider. The kids loved the fresh cider, so we had to bring home a big jug. One orchard was also making fresh cider donuts with cinnamon-sugar, and I just couldn't resist. They were delicious!
We stopped to learn how to pump water too...
We did a quick stop in the village and caught the end of the gunfighters show while the kids enjoyed some ice cream.

Although it was still pretty warm outside, it definitely got us in the mood for fall. The house is decked out for Halloween and we are ready!