Trick or Treat

I think this is the most exciting day of the year at school! The kids talk about their costumes for weeks. Everyone knows they will get to walk in the all-school parade, then head back to classrooms for fun class parties! Pretty soon the dismissal bell rings, and they're off and running again. All of us parents can barely get a dinner into these little tummies before it's time to head out the door for some more sugar seeking fun...i.e. "trick-or-treating!"
*Parade...

* Class party...

* trick-or-treating...first stop, Grandpa's place! They had been advertising a "trunk-or-treat" event in the parking lot of the community living place where Kayli's Grandpa lives. So, I thought it would be fun for Kayli to do some trick-or-treating here, then bring some treats to Grandpa, and show him her costume. Grandpa was thrilled with our visit!

the trick-or-treating was a blast...

although...half way through the circuit, I realized that there were really NO particular "rules" for setting up a "station" at this event. One minute we would be standing in front of this darling Candy Land station, and the next minute we would find a bloody head on a dish in the back of a station wagon! The worst of all was the man that suddenly appeared in loosely wrapped bandages, and was literally dripping red liquid from his beard and hair!!! He was blubbering some unrecognizable gibberish to Kayli, and as he handed her a bucket of candy to choose from, he began to shake his bloody beard over her hand. She began to back up, and look up at me for support. With my arm around Kayli, I thanked the man for the nightmares Kayli would have tonight, and backed her away as quickly as I could! Yes, there would be nightmares in our house tonight, and I'm afraid they won't just be Kayli's, haha.

NO, I did not get a picture of the bloody man as I was too shocked to pull out my camera!!! Instead I moved on and took a picture of this mildly scary spider-mobile!

after the nursing home, we headed back home to trick-or-treat in more familiar surroundings, our neighborhood...awww, Winnie the Pooh, we love you!

with bag full to the brim, we headed home to give some of these treats out to our own visitors...

Kayli set up her "station" in the front hall, with her ipad, rocking chair, and fresh fruit to "take the edge off" all that candy, ha!

Sprinkles was confined to the stairway, where she could watch but not jump!

 

Is it Halloween Already?

The problem with having your Halloween decorations up two months ahead of time is that Halloween sneaks up on you! Like this weekend when the thought suddenly occurred to me that I've been so immersed in Fall activities, always with my eye on the next fabulous Fall festival, that when Kayli said "so, when should we carve these pumpkins?" I realized that Halloween is actually THIS WEEK!!! Yikes! So, it was time to "stop the presses" and shift our focus to the homeland! We decided it was time to grill some hamburgers (yes, the weather is perfect) and re-locate the pumpkin carving gear (Kayli knew right where our special tools were, way to go!) It was nice to spend a night at home doing something besides homework (yes, 3rd grade has been a bit overwhelming...for me...haha!) We not only had fun carving a couple of pumpkins, but we baked some sugar cookies on the side!

Kayli drew the faces for both pumpkins. She cut one. I cut the other...

Boo at the Zoo

This has always been a favorite Halloween themed outing of mine! The kids get to wear their Halloween costumes, do some "trick-or-treating", and spend some time enjoying all that goes with a day at the zoo!  This year, I shared my zoo pass with Linsey, Ryan, Lily, and Graeme. A couple of Linsey's friends and kids met up with us too. The weather was georgeous!

We never miss a chance to ride the carousel...

Bridgen was telling the girls some "fact" about an animal that was totally bogus. You can see from the looks on Kayli & Lily's faces, that they aren't "buying" the story. After all, these two girls watch "Wild Kratts" where they learn all the real facts about wild animals!

Trick-or-Treat

 I just cracked out of this egg...

ahhhh, this is the life...

Can't pass up a "good-luck-Buddha-tummy-rub"!

my Chinese girl with a Red Panda from China...

I was so glad we waited patiently for the boat ride (ok, so the kids were a bit restless, and Graeme got knocked down by another running kid while we waited in line) but, we finally boarded the boat for this beautiful view...

then, much to our surprise, we got this close-up, as the giraffe had come down to the water for a drink, woohoo!

then, we saw this group of turtles on our way back to shore...

Later in the week, Marion and I decided to take Kayli and Nick to the grand opening of the penguin exhibit. It was totally AWESOME!

We had a great view of these little guys, as they waddled, slid, dove, and swam. You could view the penguins from above the water as well as below the water.

this floor was a simulation of penguins below the ice

very cool "hands-on" coral reef, right next to the real thing...

Nick kicks back on the carousel...

Kayli in a classic pose, while holding her new penguin purse with stuffed baby penguin inside...

There's always fun to be had at the zoo!

 

 

A New Pumpkin Patch

This has been such a beautiful Fall...sunny days, blue skies, and bright orange and green everywhere you look! Linsey recently asked me if I wanted to split a groupon with her for a visit to a new pumpkin patch, that included all activities and a free pumpkin to take home! Wow, what a deal! Of course, I said "YES!" "Count us in!" Also, considering that we both just love a good opportunity to give our cameras a workout, and both of our girls just happen to have matching Fall outfits (yes, we shopped the consignment sale together) we chose to have the girls wear these matching outfits on this outing...

there was a great inflatable slide, and NO LINE!

what a great day with great friends!