Our Halloween

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." -L.M. Montgomery

October is one of my favorite months, and Halloween in our town is always a big affair. We have events leading up to the big day all month, which I love. And this year was the best yet! It was Henry's 2nd Halloween and it was awesome to watch him get so excited over just about everything. I think my heart melted into a big puddle about a million times watching him say "trick or treat!" while he held out that orange pumpkin.

Henry and I went to CrossFit in the morning, then came home so he could take a long afternoon nap to gear up for our evening. We headed out around 4pm to beat the rush of older kids and I'm glad, because as we finished up around 5:30 it got insanely crowded. Afterward we stopped by both sets of local grandparents and then headed home to put a super sleepy little guy to bed.

I absolutely loved Hank and Henry's costumes! Silly me planned on being a waitress of some sort to go along with the guys but I didn't get a good costume together so instead I was a last-minute sailor. Mark my words, next year we will have a much better 3-person get up! We trick-or-treated with Veronica and her family and little Max was a Grill Master and Trevor wore Hank's hot dog costume from last year to go along with our Dad/son food/chef theme. Veronica was a last-minute devil, so we were both the odd ones out but didn't mind too much! 

We walked up and down the streets, which are closed off from 4pm until the evening, trick-or-treating and running into tons of friends. It was really a wonderful night and reminded me yet again how much I love living in a small town...and more specifically, this one. I feel very lucky to be surrounded by so much beauty, and so much excitement over holidays. It's pretty awesome.

I hope all of you had a happy, happy Halloween too. It's hard to believe it's November!


 

Pumpkin Picking!

All year long I dream about Fall. Of course I still love all of the other seasons (with Christmas-time being a close second), but there's just something about September, October and November that make me the happiest. Maybe it has something to do with growing up on the East Coast, and all of the vivid memories I have of so many Fall adventures. Cinnamon sugar donuts and hot apple cider after apple picking, hot chocolate on a cold Autumn morning while we watched soccer games, the hay in our jeans (and everywhere else) after a long morning at the pumpkin patch...the list could go on and on. And now being a Mom, there are some traditions Hank and I hope to create for our own little family too.

Growing up, the pumpkin patch was always such a special time. We'd take it incredibly seriously, laboring for what seemed liked hours trying to find the perfect pumpkin to carve. My sister and I always had the best time, and it's so neat now to see Henry doing the same thing with the biggest grin on his face.

We're lucky enough to have Freeman Farms nearby, a farm that is totally reminiscent of the East Coast farms I'd visit as a child. Their Pumpkin Festival is full of so much for kids to do- they have a U-Pick pumpkin farm, sunflowers fields, hayrides, train rides, a merry-go-round, pony rides, a petting zoo, dog and horse shows, tractors for kids to ride and sit on, horses and donkeys, a huge pond full of geese, a corn maze, tons of farm-fresh food for a really great price, and many different areas for photos. And I think I'm still missing some things!

This year we had a blast. We've been going to Freeman Farms for a few years but this year was the best yet because Henry totally got into it. Between the pumpkins ("I pick a pumpkin!"), the train and Henry yelling "Choo-choo!" the entire time, and the hayride, I'm not sure which part was his favorite. It was such a fun day!