fall fun

By early October we were knee deep in all of our favorite fall activities and gearing up for Halloween. A trip to the pumpkin patch always makes it feel like Fall, regardless of the temperature outside.

We still visit a small little pumpkin patch at a church near where we used to live. We have been visiting this patch since Olivia was a baby. We usually just get a few small and medium size pumpkins here because of the price, but the girls have always enjoyed browsing and looking for the perfectly shaped pumpkin to take home.

 

One of our favorite pre-Halloween things to do is visit our local Zoo. The annual Zoo Halloween is a must! I am always up for things that give the girls a chance to wear their costumes more than once, and the Zoo always does a great job celebrating Halloween.

Of course the treats are a big plus to going each year, but we especially love the cool pumpkin displays. The zoo does an awesome job painting pumpkins and making them look like different animals. It's also fun to see all of the different costumes the kids wear. This year Olivia dressed as Mal from Descendants (like every other 8-10 year old girl) and Cece was Doc McStuffins. 

After traveling through multiple treat stations you finish by picking out a mini pumpkin to take home. We had great weather this year which allowed the girls to show off their costumes. It was the perfect trip to the annual Zoo Halloween!

Halloween fun continued for Olivia when she was invited to attend a Halloween party at her best friend's grandma's house. Aleah's grandma loves Halloween and throws a party for her family every year. This year Olivia was invited to come along. I was blown away by the time and effort she put into every little detail and decoration.

There were crafts, games, snacks, a haunted house (or haunted room) and goodie bags. It was a night full of fun and laughs. She had a blast and created even more awesome memories with her best friend and her family. She is hoping to go again next year!

For years we have attended the Fall Family Festival at Olivia's school. This year was no different. Only different thing is that only Olivia is attending Peace Montessori this year. For Cece it was a reunion of sorts, as she had the chance to see a few of her little friends from her class last year.

Aleah came along with us to the festival which gave the girls the chance to wear their costumes again. Since they were both dressing up as characters from the highly popular kids movie, Descendants, it was cute to see them side-by-side.

We are continuing to adjust to life with Beasley. He is a a sweet pup with SO much energy. It is challenging dealing with all of that energy, but there are moments of calmness and that is what we cherish the most right now. The girls love him to pieces and love to get their snuggles when he is calm. Cece jumps at any chance to enjoy a calm moment with her Beasley. So sweet!

Cece continues to enjoy her new school and she seems to be very happy there. The school regularly posts pictures of what the kids are up to, which I love. It's nice seeing what your child is up to each day when it is impossible to get her to tell me anything. I just love seeing her hard at work and seeing a smile on her face.

We still had more Halloween themed activities to enjoy before the 31st. Each year our church hosts a fun event. I just love even more opportunities for the girls to wear their costumes. The girls had fun with crafts and games...and of course, tons of candy!

We also took the girls to a trunk-or-treat at our local YMCA. Our friends told us about the event and thought the girls would enjoy it. It was fun, but very cold! They will put up with a lot for candy!

After weeks of preparing for Halloween it was finally time for official Trick-or-Treating! We made plans to walk the neighborhood with our friends, The Douglasses. Weeks ago Olivia and her BFF, Aleah decided that they wanted to trick or treat together. Well,we made it happen!

The weather wasn't fabulous, but it wasn't freezing and the rain held off for most of the night. I was grateful the kids could wear their costume without big, heavy coats covering them up. We had a crazy bunch running around the neighborhood that night, but they sure had fun! 

After collecting a boat load of candy we headed to my Mom's for chili and even more treats! It was a fun night with fun people! Another successful Halloween!

adjusting to change

When the kids get ready to return to school you know that summer is coming to an end. Olivia started her 3rd grade year with great excitement, and a few days later Cecilia began her transition in a new school. For the past 2 years Cece attended the same school Olivia has been going to since she was 18 months old. After last year we decided that we needed to explore another option for Cece. Changing schools was not an easy decision to make, but was something we knew was in the best interest of our girl.

To prepare for this change Cece attended a "mock day" at her new school. We treated this day like her first day, even though it was more like a "test". My concern was how she would react in a new environment. Even at her old school there was hardly a day she would not tear up or give me a hard time about going. As we prepared for "mock day" things were going smoothly, so I was hoping that would continue through drop off. 

"Mock day" was a breeze for Cece...whew! She seemed to enjoy herself and came home with a smile on her face. So, when her actual first day of school rolled around she was more than. ready. Her first week was a week full of field trips...who wouldn't be excited about that? It is strange having my two girls at different schools, but they are both happy and excelling which is all that matters!

One thing that I love about Cecilia's new school is the regular pictures they post on their Facebook page. I love being able to see what she does while she is away each day. Lord knows it is near impossible getting her to tell me what she does. Seeing her hard at work and enjoying her friends makes me very happy. In the first few months at this school I feel she has made more progress than she did during all of last year. I am hoping she continues to thrive!

Before we knew it summer was officially over and we were celebrating Labor Day. That weekend we did a bunch of fun stuff but mainly we said goodbye to fun days at the pool. The girls had such fun swimming at the Cherry Hill pool and their Uncle's house over the summer. We were sad to see it end. We also took a trip to the zoo that weekend. Luckily we were able to get a ton of use out of our zoo pass this season since it was not a incredibly hot summer. (thank goodness!) 

Each year in September our church holds this wonderful outside event...Septemberfest. The kids look forward to it each year and they always have so much fun. Between the bouncy houses, petting zoo, pony rides, bingo, face painting and ice cream it's hard not to have a great time!

With everything else going on we continue to adjust to having a puppy in our lives. Beasley...oh, Beasley! He is something else. This fur ball has more energy than I could have ever imagined! It has definitely been an adjustment, but through it all the girls continue to bond with him and love him endlessly. In their eyes he can do no wrong. In my eyes...well, that's a different story. 

Beasley has been working with a trainer on a regular basis which has been great! He has learned quite a few things like sit, lay down, stay. He still has A LOT to learn, but he is still a baby. You wouldn't know it by looking at him though. I think he is close to 30 pounds and not even 5 months old! Beasley is a work in progress, but I know he will be a great dog for our family. 

As September continued the leaves and weather started to change and suddenly we were enjoying the Fall. It's tradition for us to visit the apple orchard each year. The kids look forward to it and I look forward to taking home tons of yummy apples! We picked a beautiful, sunny day in late September...perfect for apple picking. 

I love doing this with the girls each year. They make it their mission to find the best apples on the trees and fill their bags to the fullest, all while snacking along the way. I think Cece ate 3 full apples while we walked around. We left with a ton of apples and we have been snacking on them ever since. Can't wait to do it again next year!

The Fall brings other fun events like Halloween and Olivia's birthday! Two pretty big deals around our house. Right now we continue to enjoy this wonderful time of year and look forward to moving into the holidays!