HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!

Trick-or-treating...

The boys all had a GREAT time trick-or-treating this year!! Parker and Owen picked out their OWN costumes... and Drew wanted to be Buzz Lightyear (which we already had)! :) We LOVE living so close to the grandparents... we got to go to each of their houses and get candy on beggars night!! :) Here's a picture of the boys before we set out for the night!

 

Nina Hamann and I went to the Halloween Parade at the elementary! It was fun getting to see the kids in their costumes! We got to help Owen's class get ready... so there are a extra pictures of his class:

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Owen at the parade (in the gym)...










Parker at the parade...










HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!

Carmel Apples

 After our visit to the pumpkin patch with Nina and Papa Hamann and the Edsen's, Parker requested that we make carmel apples!! So we did!! Our FIRST time!! :) They were SOOO yummy too! We made them with our honey crisp apples (THE BEST APPLES EVER) and I bought a bag of carmels and melted them! I want to get good at making these so I can make them for bake sales, etc. We will definitely be making these again... they were a crowd pleaser!! :)

Sleepover time!!

Parker and Owen each had a friend sleep over this weekend! Parker had Jaxson and Owen had Myles! The boys always ask for smores,,, so tonight we surprised them and came in the living room with all of the items needed to make smores! :) They were SOO excited!! :) We LOVE having a fireplace... it is getting LOTS of use!! :)

All READY for FALL!!

After the pumpkin patch we headed to Des Moines for the day to get Owen and Drew some new jeans and then to get some fall decor for outside! On our trip home we hit 2 pumpkin shops along the side of the road (and got some GREAT deals) and found all that we needed and more!! :) We had NO ROOM left in our car!!  Poor kiddos... and poor Nick for having to clean out all the hay when we finally got it all unloaded! :) I think next fall we will take a TRAILER!! :) hehe!

Deals Orchard

This past weekend we went to Deals Orchard with Nina and Papa Hamann and the Edsen family!! This has become an annual tradition and the kids and us all really enjoy it!! This year there was more to do than last year since we went the weekend of their FALL FESTIVAL!! The kids got to ride a pony, go through the haunted house, sling shot apples, etc. Here are a few pictures (ok... a LOT of pictures) from our day at Deals!!

 Pony rides!!! :)

Our three little pumpkins... :)

Apple Sling Shot...
The older 2 boys did this and had fun trying to get their apples to hit the barrels at the bottom of the hill! :)

Choo Choo ride (as Drew calls it)! 

 Aunt Kim and the girls jumping on the HUGE trampoline!! :)

They have all grown since last fall... 

Picture time...

Do you know these characters???

After all the fun at Deals we headed over to PIZZA RANCH (another family favorite)!! We had the buffet for lunch and then Nina and Papa gave out the Halloween presents! Owen could hardly wait for this part... he talked about getting presents from Nina and Papa all day!! :) THANK YOU Nina and Papa for a great day and for the presents!!

Field Trip with Owen!!

I was lucky enough to get to tag along on Owen's field trip to the pumpkin patch in Denison!!! It was a rainy, muddy mess... but the kids still had FUN!! :) The pumpkin patch had LOTS for the kids to do too! They got to pick pumpkins, go through the haunted house, see all the animals at the petting zoo, go down the blow-up slide, read stories in tents, eat sack lunches there, have popcorn,  etc. It was super cute!! I am so glad I got to go along! :)

Move OVER Martha Stewart...

Ha!! :) Well I am no Martha Stewart, but I have been having LOTS of fun decorating our house for the holidays!! :) I have found most of my ideas on Pinterest and some came from my MOPS group that I attend in Alta! Such FUN and pretty simple ideas!

A Halloween Tree with scrapbook paper ornaments! :) 

 

Candy Corn made from cone-shaped Styrofoam and yarn! - - super easy and had fun making them with my friend Dana!

'BE THANKFUL' banner made from old CD's, scrapbook paper, glue (or mod podge) and vinyl from my friend Jodi! :)

A THANKFUL tree!! I first saw this at our MOPS group... and LOVED the idea!! So... I went home and gathered sticks from my yard and made cute little ornaments (tags) out of scrapbook paper and as a family we will do 30 days of being THANKFUL!! Each night at dinner we will write on the back of a tag and put the year and then I will save them and make new ones next year! :) I am super excited for this one since we can all participate as a family! :)

And that's not all.... I had a GREAT little helper in the kitchen this week... so we made some holiday treats! :) We picked out the fall colored m&m's out of our bag of m&m's and made FALL PRETZEL TREATS!! :) I LOVE getting to make goodies with my boys!!! This one was just Drew and I!!! :) - - disclaimer: Drew may have or may not have placed some of the HUGS in his mouth! :) ha!! --- thankfully we aren't sharing these with anyone this time! :)

Happy early HALLOWEEN and FALL/THANKSGIVING to all! :)