Trick or treating with Havens

Our sweet friends and neighbors, Carter and Cassie Smith, invited Jane Gray and Charlie to go trick or treating with them and their girls, Havens and Caroline. Jane Gray and Havens are the best of friends, and they had so much fun together!

Bridgewater Halloween party

The knight in his shining armor escorted his two princesses to the Bridgewater Halloween party tonight. The kids ate lots of pizza and cupcakes and played on a really fun jumpy land with a slide. Nana and Grandpa and the Gibsons were there, too, so the kids had a blast!

Bake-off winner

Jane Gray's kindergarten class won the Holiday Potpourri bake-off. So, she and her classmates got to wear their FPDS T-shirts and jeans to school today. She and Rebecca also brought home cupcakes as their prize. Rebecca gave hers to Charlie, and he REALLY enjoyed it!

Jack-o-lanterns

After trick or treating, Daddy carved Jane Gray and Charlie's pumpkins. Jane Gray wanted a nice, happy pumpkin with a loose tooth like hers, and Charlie wanted a scary, mean pumpkin. Daddy handed each of us some paper, and we drew out some nice and scary pumpkin faces. Daddy selected his favorites, drew the faces, and then carved the pumpkins. They turned out so cute (and scary)!

Trick or treating

Each Halloween, we trick or treat on our street and then hit the road to trick or treat at various family member's homes. We decided to trick or treat a day early because Daddy was going to be out of town on Halloween. We made stops at Pop's, Margaret's, Alice's, Alice May's, Genevieve's, Uncle Will's, and Aunt Fair's homes. We made it to Aunt Fair's at 9:30! And, we didn't even get to go to Nana and Grandpa's house - we're heading there tomorrow. It was a really fun night, and the kids got lots of Halloween treats and candies. Jane Gray was a lovely princess, Charlie a dashing knight (I love the picture of him slaying the spooky hand at Methodist Rehab, where Alice has been staying), and Meg a precious sunflower.

Lunch date

Since Charles is about to go on a four-day hunting trip, he decided it might be in his best interest to treat his girls to lunch. So, Charles, Jane Gray, Meg, and I went to lunch at Steve's Deli downtown. It was a special treat!

Family night

Tonight, after dinner, Charles made us a fire, and we all kicked up our heels and watched It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (a family tradition)! It was a fun family night!

Meg's nine months birthday

Meg turned nine months old today. This was the look on her face when I sang "Happy Birthday" to her. Her nine months checkup was yesterday. She was 50% percentile in weight and 75% percentile in height. Dr. Phillipi said she looked great and was pleased that she was more "proportional."

Playing outside in the cold

It was a very cold day today, but that didn't stop my outdoorsman from wanting to play outside. He simply donned his hat and gloves and headed outdoors. He was obsessed with his hat and gloves last winter. It looks like that obsession may continue this winter.

Nana's 60th birthday dinner

Nana is turning 60 in a week, so we had her over for dinner to celebrate. We had all of her favorites, including chocolate birthday cake. The children helped her open her presents, and Grandpa surprised her with a trip to New York. She was so surprised and excited! Happy birthday, Nana! We love you!

Bo's birthday party

For his third birthday, Bo invited his friends over to his house to go trick-or-treating. Everyone dressed up and got lots and lots of candy from Bo's neighbors. After trick-or-treating, the kids headed back to Bo's house for some Halloween cupcakes and goodies. It was such a fun birthday party!

Halloween hayride

Every October, we go to the Andersons' house for a Halloween hayride. Today, when we pulled up to the house, Jane Gray exclaimed: "Oh, I love this place!" The kids love the hayride! This year, Mr. T.J. stopped the tractor and told the kids a really cute story about the Indians in the woods. Charlie was a cowboy and shot lots of the Indians. The kids also enjoyed a beanbag toss and pretending to be a witch and cat.

Jane Gray can ride her bike

Daddy has been teaching Jane Gray how to ride her bike. Today, for the first time, she really started to ride on her own. Once she figured it out for herself, she would get ahead of Daddy and he would tell her she could stop. But, Jane Gray would say, "No, sir" and keep on riding. She loves riding her bike!

Group picture from Whit's Halloween party

Kortney emailed me this group picture from Whit's party. Kirk took it so that all of the moms could be in the picture. Thanks, Kirk!

Whit's Halloween party

Charlie's play group celebrated Halloween with a party at Whit Anderson's house. All of the kids dressed up in their Halloween attire (JG was a butterfly; Charlie a knight; and, Meg a princess) and gobbled up lots and lots of sweets! Jane Gray and Charlie helped me make the pumpkin cake (the first picture is of them licking the leftover icing). The kids enjoyed playing on the Andersons' jumpyland and knocking down the pumpkin pinata. Everyone got a turn at the pinata, and guess who put the final blow on it? Jane Gray! She was so proud of herself. The kids dived on the candy and are still enjoying their sugar high!

Meg's new sweater

Pop brought home a beautiful sweater for Meg from his trip to Turkey. He selected the color blue "for Meg's eyes." Thanks, Pop! We love it!