Trick or Treat!

Halloween was on a Saturday this year! Which meant we could make the night last as long as possible! But then the Royals made the World Series and game 4 was on at 7:07pm. So after church, we came home, changed super fast, and hopped on the best Trick or Treating ride we could possibly have with some of our besties! Thanks to the Hoskins for decking their golf cart out for the evening! I can't imagine Trick or Treating this neighborhood by foot- we'd get 5 houses away and would be tired! So this did the trick! We managed to make it around half the neighborhood in one hour flat! My little Power Rangers bags were so full, Wyatt's actually ripped in two places, so we knew it was time call it a night! But what a way to Trick or Treat! 

Pumpkin Time!

We used our Halloween Eve to carve our pumpkins. I always seem to almost run out of time, but we squeezed it in, because no Halloween would be complete without carved pumpkins. My boys can never just settle on a typical jack-o-lantern face! They always like to scour the internet for something different and creative! So after a little browsing time, they had their ideas and I got to work. My boys really don't like to be involved in any of the carving process. The guts gross them out, as well as the smell. So I'm usually flying solo! I get the occasional, "How's it looking?" every few minutes. So when the finished product comes out, they get so excited to see it all done!

This year, they were difficult! But turned out pretty decent! Wyatt picked out a Royals pumpkin and Grant chose a monkey. For some reason, I didn't get a picture of Grant's not lit up, but you get the idea.They were cute and the boys were super happy with them!!

 Say "Pumpkin!"

Pumpkin Pancakes!

Grant was out of school on the Halloween Eve, which meant it was the perfect day to head to Ihop for free Scary Face Pancake Day!! We went last year and they loved it so much! When Levi asked to meet us for lunch that day, it was the perfect opportunity! Lunch as a family, free kids meals, and festive fun?? What's not to love about that?!?

Wyatt's Halloween Party

Wyatt's little class had a parade and party of their very own!! They are the only afternoon class at the preschool, so their parade and party was a very low key event! But it didn't stop them from having fun! They paraded around the church office and then into the big room for the parents to see! Then Mrs. Moyer led them in some adorable Halloween songs. Wyatt is so funny during these performances- he is so serious and has to do every action just so. He tries not to smile at us because we are so distracting! He's a riot!! So they sang their adorable songs and that was that! They usually do their party activities and snacks without parents, so we snapped a few pictures and headed on our way so they could enjoy the rest of their afternoon!

Hidden Messages

I can't remember how it all started, but Wyatt and I have spent the better part of a month writing hidden messages to each other. I think he was coloring with a white crayon and I showed him what would happen if you used marker over it. And so it began. And oh my goodness, I think we went through a whole pad of paper that first day writing messages back and forth! They are all so precious, they are definitely going in the scrapbook!

Grant's School Halloween Party

Grant had a short week the week of Halloween, so we had their school party a few days before Halloween. The other room moms and I had been planning for quite some time, so we were excited for the first school party of the year! Lots of games and activities were involved, as we shared our party with one of the other first grade classes, but all turned out great!! Lots of fun, giggles, smiles, and happy first graders, which was exactly what we were hoping for! 

Since this is Grant's first year with all day school, we hadn't experienced the all-school halloween parade they do every day! The whole school does a parade around the school, which kicks off the beginning of party time. It was rainy this year, so they paraded inside. But the whole school goes around every pod and all the parents come to watch and see everyone's costumes! It was so cute to be able to see the whole school and all the creative costumes!

After everyone was back in their own pods, the party got started! We had three games in our room, three games in the other first grade room, and two stations out in the pod. Lots of fun and excitement! Even Mimi got to come help out at the party, which made Grant super excited!! I was juggling about 10 different things so I'm thankful for the pictures I do have!! I love Grant's class! He has a great group of kiddos and an amazing teacher!! It's a fun bunch to be around!!!

 Grant immediately took off his costume when the party games started! He was wearing his skeleton shirt and brought his raccoon hat with him, so he was dressed up at least!

Love my big first grade boy!!!!

Grant's Basketball Season

For the second year in a row, Grant played 4 weeks of Saturday basketball. And this year was soon much better than last year!! I'm amazed at how far he came in just a year! His overall body coordination is just so much stronger! I attribute a lot of it to a years worth of gymnastics! And he could actually jump stop and do a layup which was practically impossible last year! Amazing!! He loved going to basketball every Saturday!  He had the same coach as last year, so he felt very comfortable and just had a great time! To see his confidence and enthusiasm was awesome!! He's already looking forward to playing on a team next year!!!

 Wyatt was a good spectator, patiently waiting for his 4 weeks to come. He liked doing L-sits while he waited!

Trunk or Treat!

Last year, we got to go to Good Shepherd's Trunk or Treat since we were babysitting Mason and Luke that weekend! We had so much and were so hoping we would get to go again this year! And just as luck would have it, some of our friends, the Gregory's, asked us to tag along with them!! We met a little early and had a pizza picnic in the parking lot and then headed over to the main lot to his the trunks! Those boys were on a candy mission! I think within 45 minutes we hit about 100 cars! Good times! They're bags were so full, I wonder how their little arms carried them the whole time. Adrenaline I'm sure! The weather was perfect, the boys were happy! It was great that we were home by 6:30 that night, just in time to see Aunt Summer, who just got in town for a visit, and to watch the Royal's game!

Those Ghostbusters and the Stay Puff Marshmallow man were such a hit! Little Jack was so cute watching him reach his little hand out for candy at each car! Such a little doll! Such a fun night and so thankful for friends who we can tag along with! Because that always makes things much more fun!

Enchanted Forest

It has become a little tradition that my mom takes all the boys to Lenexa's Enchanted Forest every year. It all started back when I was a kid and Lenexa put on the Haunted Forest. We used to go every year, for whatever reason, because it literally scared the pants off me every year! That was probably the cause for my fear of all things scary, so turning it over to the Enchanted Forest assures me that my boys won't have the same fear! Or maybe they will, because scary stuff is just plain scary! But, this Enchanted Forest is such a fun evening for the kiddos and not scary at all!! My mom started taking Mason and Luke years ago, and now that we are back in town, our boys get the opportunity to go as well!

I was going to go too, but they requested that it just be them and Mimi, so I enjoyed a quiet evening at home. Can't quite complain about that! Since the dawn of Facebook, the crowds seem to grow at this event every year. And apparently, this year was record breaking! So while it wasn't as fun as years past, because of the large crowd, they still had a great time and still plan on going every year!!

Cousin Sleepover!!

 These boys love a good sleepover at Mimi and PawPaw's house! They usually eat too much junk food, stay up too late, and probably do a whole lot of things they wouldn't be allowed to do at home! But that's what makes it so special!! We are so thankful to have 4 boys who love each other so much and can't get enough time together and to have parents who adore our kiddos as much as our own!! 

Cousin sleepovers at Mimi and PawPaw's are the BEST!!!!!!

Wyatt's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Wyatt's school got to go on a field trip to the pumpkin patch!! Last year, they field trip got rained out, so we were giddy with excitement when we woke up to a beautiful sunny day!!! We had never been to Johnson Farms before, but I'd heard a lot of good things about it! We couldn't wait to explore! Wyatt was a little bummed he didn't get to take a bus there, the parents just drove. But we got to bring Wyatt's classmate, Sahib, with us so that made it a little more special driving there!

We got there and had a little demonstration by the owners of the farm. They talked about how pumpkins grow and how to pick a pumpkin carefully. There were quite a few other field trips going on at the same time, so we moved from activity to activity pretty quickly! They started off playing in the big play place. I'm assuming the equipment came out of a Discovery Zone from back in my day! Lots of tubes and slides and fun things to explore! I didn't get a picture of that area. Too busy playing! We moved on to the truck and sand area. They had old trucks, tractors, and fun sand areas to play in! We made a spin around the animals and saw the Three Little Pigs and a few donkeys. Then it was time to load the bus and head out to the patch! Each kiddo got to pick their very own pumpkin and Wyatt, of course, had to search and search for just the right one! And he picked the most perfect one!!

We could've spent the entire day there and I wish we would have, because we only got to experience a fraction of what they had to offer, but we had to take Sahib back to school. But I'm thankful it wasn't raining and I'm thankful for special time with my little baby boy!!