We have had a rough couple of weeks. Shane's family has experienced some serious health problems. His dad had a heart attack and a double bypass surgery and his grandfather had been in hospice and passed away this last week. In the middle of all that, Shane also had his NRPA conference in Atlanta. It has been a chaotic time for everyone and has felt very disjointed. Despite all of that, we were able to squeeze in some family time for Halloween. Shane's staff ran a Boo festival and we took the kids to experience the fun.
As usual, since it was one of Shane's events, he was busy getting everything ready there while I got the kids ready at the house. Enthusiasm and excitement have been running high for our costumes this year. This year, like every year, the kids have changed their minds one hundred times about what they are going to be. We finally settled on a bandito, a ladybug and a pirate. Landry was supposed to be a "bluttlerbly" or a butterfly, but decided that it wasn't time to wear costumes yet and did this instead...
We ended up taking off her costume and she was the only kid not wearing something.
The festival had bounce houses and candy and the kids had fun going to each booth, but this was the best part: Santa!
He brought a huge petting zoo and the kids loved getting the chance to talk to him. He will also be at Snow Fest in December and is bringing his reindeer. Hugs all around. That was pretty cool!
After we talked to Santa, we took off to enjoy other parts of the park. This particular park has beautiful trails that go through lots of woods. Gibson loves going out there and wandering through even smaller trails and down next to the water.
We had a great time playing at the park, hiking, picking flowers and enjoying a great night.
For Halloween, Shane was gone, but we lived it up anyway.
We got our candy stash ready, carved our jack-o-lanterns, (Landry decided that it was time for her to wear her costume), and got ready for our night in the neighborhood.
I have some professional trick-or-treaters, but we went back over the rules anyway...
1) Take turns ringing the doorbell.
2) Everyone says "trick or treat."
3) Everyone says "thank you."
4) We only ring the doorbell ONCE.
They were experts and navigated the neighborhood beautifully.
Gibson declared it his favorite holiday of the whole year! (He really does love to dress up and beg for candy:)
After all of our fun, we came home and went through our stash. I had some happy campers!
The two older kids took chairs and candy to the front porch to greet other trick-or-treaters. Every time someone would come up to the house, Landry would run out and give them double fisted handfuls of candy on top of what the older two had already given them. We got rid of a lot of candy that way! :)
We put the little guy in the tree and that was the last that we saw of him. We had to convince Landry to leave him there and not try multiple rescues.
Gibson is settling so well and loving school. He had a great Field Day placing 1st in the sack race and second with his class for the tire roll relay and first with tug of war.
Hayden loved every minute of his day. He was a little upset that he got only purple ribbons (participation), but he still had lots of fun.
Grace is an athlete and had a fantastic day. Kindergarten through 2nd grade have a fairly relaxed competition. Everyone competes in everything with 1st - 3rd place ribbons handed out and participation ribbons going to everyone else. The competition is very friendly. 3rd - 5th grade is a little different. 1st -3rd place ribbons are still handed out, but point values are added for each place and each class is competing for a trophy for that grade level. Teams have to decide, together, who is going to compete in which event as they try to get the highest number of points for their team. The competition is fierce! 
We had a great day out of the classroom and it was fun to watch all of the kids show off their skills outside of the books.
This month, we all get the chance to take a long look at what we are thankful for in our lives. Number one on my list is my family. I am thankful that God has blessed us with four healthy kids and I take that responsibility very seriously. As a very busy, working mom, I find myself constantly juggling my family and my work. (I'm sure that I am not alone in that.) Someone told me once that we aren't the ones that determine what is a memory making experience for our kids. We give them quantity and they decide what is quality. With that in mind, I am constantly looking for activities that can be meaningful, pull us together, and make memories! I have made up these little kits for Thanksgiving and I have them ready for my kids and would love to make some for your family.
Each little turkey comes with a tag that can be used to write the child's name for a cute turkey place setting, or something that they are thankful for and set out as a decoration. Grace has already put one together and I can say that they are kid approved!
Each kit comes with little beaks, small circles for the eyes, turkey "gobblers," blank tags, feathers, cards for mounting the turkeys and circles for the turkey bodies.
You will need a marker to draw the legs and fill in the eyes and a glue stick or Elmer's glue to put it all together. These little kits are perfect because everything is pre-cut and ready to go. All you have to do is assemble and have fun! Each kit makes four turkeys. I will be drawing a lucky winner to win a kit of their very own on Monday. To win, leave a comment here or leave a comment on my Facebook page, or favorite the turkey kit in my Etsy store. Comment on all three to increase your chances! :) Good luck and happy memory making!
As usual, since it was one of Shane's events, he was busy getting everything ready there while I got the kids ready at the house. Enthusiasm and excitement have been running high for our costumes this year. This year, like every year, the kids have changed their minds one hundred times about what they are going to be. We finally settled on a bandito, a ladybug and a pirate. Landry was supposed to be a "bluttlerbly" or a butterfly, but decided that it wasn't time to wear costumes yet and did this instead...
We ended up taking off her costume and she was the only kid not wearing something.
He brought a huge petting zoo and the kids loved getting the chance to talk to him. He will also be at Snow Fest in December and is bringing his reindeer. Hugs all around. That was pretty cool!
After we talked to Santa, we took off to enjoy other parts of the park. This particular park has beautiful trails that go through lots of woods. Gibson loves going out there and wandering through even smaller trails and down next to the water.
We had a great time playing at the park, hiking, picking flowers and enjoying a great night.
We got our candy stash ready, carved our jack-o-lanterns, (Landry decided that it was time for her to wear her costume), and got ready for our night in the neighborhood.
I have some professional trick-or-treaters, but we went back over the rules anyway...
Gibson declared it his favorite holiday of the whole year! (He really does love to dress up and beg for candy:)
After all of our fun, we came home and went through our stash. I had some happy campers!
The two older kids took chairs and candy to the front porch to greet other trick-or-treaters. Every time someone would come up to the house, Landry would run out and give them double fisted handfuls of candy on top of what the older two had already given them. We got rid of a lot of candy that way! :)
