Halloween 2018

Given that the weekend prior to today was one of our busiest weekends to date, I already warned the kids that we were going to have a low-key actual Halloween.  But, as is pretty typical with us, it was still celebrated in style!

Aside from all of the fall-ish activities that have been done already,  the Halloween festivities really began the Friday before with our church Trunk or Treat.  We decided to have a trunk this year, and as per usual for Justin, he went all out.  It had been a while since we had done a theme, and since the Disney Cruise had been on our minds, we decided to go with that.  Xavier originally wanted to be Goofy or Donald, but (unlike Justin) I wasn't about to put any effort into making costumes, so we went easy with Mickey.  And, while Lissie has a trunk full of Disney princess costumes, she had her mind set on Minnie.  I lucked out and already had a Snow White costume in my stash, and Justin was (easily) convinced to be my Prince Charming.  He spent upwards to a week crafting and designing his ship, and even I was starting to get a little irritated with his focus on details when I still had a laundry (literally, laundry) list of things to do during his off time!  But, I must admit, that his efforts did draw a pretty amazing cruise ship and was a hit of Trunk or Treat (which had to be held indoors because of the wet and icky weather).

Saturday morning, we donned our costumes yet again (although Lissie did a costume change and wanted to be a witch like her friends) to head to my favorite festival - Franklin's PumpkinFest.  I love it because the weather is usually pretty decent and it's all free!  The kids could bounce, pony, ferris wheel, and maze all for nothing!  We even got our picture in the newspaper! 

I found my Disney friends!

After coming back home to rest for a bit, we all put on our costumes one more time for a costume birthday party!  And, while that was the end of the costumes, Sunday continued to be busy with yet another birthday party followed by our neighborhood picnic. 

So, as you can see, because of all of the events of the weekend, I was not keen on dressing up AGAIN and having a big to-do - especially with Justin working nights AND having to be up and at 'em bright and early for not just school, but a Holy Day Mass!  And, while Lissie was a little upset because she was the only one in her class not trick-or-treating on actual Halloween, I did manage to make it worth her while.

After school, we (finally) painted our pumpkins (please, I'm not about to carve them!).  The kids watched "It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and took advantage of the 50 cent corn dogs from Sonic for dinner.  We made pumpkin rice krispie treats, and I let them raid their already overflowing (hence another reason why I was not interested in trick or treating!) candy buckets.  Even better, they were still in bed by 7:30, and I still get a chance to catch up on the latest "This is Us" before a decent bedtime for myself.  Win-win for all!

She made a black cat!

He opted for a poop emoji turned poop ball (seriously, boys!)

Happy Halloween!

Fall Break 2018

Fall Break 2018 can be summed up in one word: friends.  When we were recapping all of the fun we had during the vacation, Lissie came to the realization that we hung out with friends every single day.  What can you say - you get by with a little help from your friends!  (You could also sum up the break with two words :wooden bridges.  Somehow we found bridges everywhere on our outdoorsy break and had to have pictures at all of them!)

We started the Break with the annual camping trip with church friends.  It was the first time in a long time that rain didn't hinder any part of the camping experience!  The kids enjoyed creek playing, pumpkin patching, and s'moresing.  And I enjoyed hiking and hanging out by the campfire.  Win-win for all!

The best sleep I've gotten in ages!

We spent one day at the movies watching Smallfoot and eating all.of.the.candy.  We burned the energy off by riding bikes and hiking at a nearby park.

Another day we went to the zoo and rode all of the rides and petted kangaroos.

Then we realized that Lissie's godfamily was coming to town and we managed to squeeze in a hike and brunch before we drove to the Smokies to round out our break.

As always, we started the trip with BBQ at Bennett's.  The next day we got to Dollywood bright and early and stayed until just before it closed.  Lissie was finally tall enough to ride the big rides (much to the chagrin of slightly shorter little brother), and she loved every minute of it.  The Pumpkin LumiNights exhibit was pretty neat, too.

I love this picture.  Lissie was the photographer who caught us not quite ready at all.  Haha.

We spent Saturday lounging at the waterpark.  It was a bit of a bummer that the indoor slides were closed to maintenance, but that didn't stop us from having fun at the wave pool and hot tub.  We even ventured outside for a bit, where X enjoyed the waterslides but Lissie was pouty because she realized she was only big enough to do the "cool slides" if she is wearing shoes.  We ended Saturday by inviting our friends to our place for dinner, movie (for the kids), and a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity for the grownups.

Luckily the weather held out for us to enjoy a hike to Laurel Falls.  We stopped at the Sugarland Visitor Center on our way out and, on a whim, decided to follow the nearby trail to Cataract Falls, as well.  It made for a long day and even longer trip home, but it was a great way to round out the trip!

Now it's back to reality.  School's back in session, but it's a good thing we all love being at school!  However, it's not stopping me from counting the days to the next time we're back in the Smokies.  Christmas Break will be here before we know it!