What a Night!
We had a super fun Halloween evening this year and I am thankful we got to know several of our neighbors better. This year we had
Harry Potter
Super Girl (yes she has been Supergirl for 1/3 of our Halloween’s but what can I say, the girl likes being super girl) This year she changed it up and went with pink super girl though.
We carved our pumpkins tonight….
My second born has always been my tactile child. She loves getting her hands messy… she’s the one who loves the feel of dirt on her skin and apparently is also fond of pumpkin guts on her fingers. She happily squished and sorted seeds.
Her sister was less thrilled with the feel of pumpkin guts on her hands.
But,we were all happy with how the jack-o-lanterns turned out.
I absolutely love apple picking with my kiddos.
This year I found a great price on delicious locally grown honey crisp apples at the local grocery store and we enjoyed them all fall and I was so tempted to skip out on apple picking b/c we had already enjoyed such delicious apples this fall. But apple picking is about so much more than the apples for me.
It’s the memories.
It’s hard enough not living in the home town of your favorite sports team. Even harder than that, is living in the town of the ARCH RIVAL of your favorite sports team. One way that I think we as a family have connected and stayed connected with our Steelers roots, is by making the trek to training camp as often as possible. We missed the last two years, but we went often enough over the past 10 years that the big 3 all remember going and talk about going and consider it a tradition.
I love, LOVE picking fruit with the kiddos. Apple picking in the fall and strawberry picking in the spring are two of my favorite annual excursions with them. I was delighted when I found out that a family from our tutorial owns a pick your own blueberry patch. The younger three and I went Monday morning while my oldest was a day camp with the cub scouts.
I hope to go back with all four of them and really stock up on some berries.
We got our tree today!!!
We started decorating the house yesterday, but it wasn’t quite right without the tree. I don’t think our three year old remembers the Christmas tree b/c after we cut it down and tied it to our van he asked, “Can we keep it in our yard as our Christmas tree?” He had no idea it would go in the house. And then when we added lights, he was beyond excited.
I know I’ve posted some of them before, but as we prepare to add 11 new pictures to our collection, I thought I’d post the pictures we currently have in our flip book.
2002
2003
2005
2006
2007
2009
2010
2011
I had so much fun looking back over these pictures and recalling the stories behind them.
You know how sometimes a movie or book will portray how one decision or one event changed the momentum and current of the character’s entire life?
Well for Scott and I, that momentum shifting/life altering event was our vacation in 2002. Somehow or other we got to talking about cross country trips. And somehow an idea blossomed for a large out west vacation. We had a huge map of the US in our laundry room and we began plotting our course.
As much as I hate the cold, I really am a 4 seasons kind of girl. I love the beginning of a new season…. bringing out favorite clothes, decorations, foods, traditions only enjoyed for a season. It’s refreshing and exciting and makes me so grateful for the climate we live in. But, this year, more than most I have been crazy excited about fall. I can’t explain it. But, I’m more giddy than normal about pulling out my jeans and boots and sweaters.
The 4th of July kind of reminds me of Thanksgiving. I think the two go hand and hand really. Because as we celebrate the birth of our nation, our independence and our freedom, how can we not give thanks? We have so much that we’ve grown to believe we’re entitled to all of it and more. In the midst of a fun filled day of family and friends, of parades, and flags, burgers and hot dogs, fire works and red-white-and-blue, I want to pause a few minutes to reflect.