First Snow - November

Once it turned cold at our house Grant would always ask me if it was snowing.  So one weekend the mountains got snow so we took a drive to go play in the snow.  It was only a few inches but it was a 3 year olds dream. 







However, Linker on the other hand hated the snow and didn't even want to walk in it.  He just stood in one place whimpering until we saved him. 

Sunday Afternoon in October

It was a beautiful Sunday so we decided to head towards the mountains.  We stopped off at a small little lake and let the boys play around for awhile.  Lincoln really really wants to just jump in the water and we have to restrain him most of the time. 





      

Halloween

We had a great Halloween.  Grant really got the whole process of trick or treating this year.  He was so excited to go get candy but I think he was most excited about handing it out.  Saturday before Halloween we went to the Stake Trunk or Treat.  I made the rounds with Grant and Linc collecting candy while Mike handed out candy at our car.  Once we got back to our car all of us helped hand out candy (well Lincoln was eating a sucker so he didn't help much).  Grant really enjoyed handing out candy.  At one point we ran out of candy and Grant reached in his bucket of candy and started handing that out.  It was so sweet to see him be so unselfish. 



Halloween night, Mike was back at work in Chandler and we stayed in Clarkdale.  We attended the trick or treating event in downtown Clarkdale and it was CRAZY busy.  Clarkdale provides all the candy to the houses downtown and closes off several of the streets.  It is a great idea but it gets super busy. 

Grant's favorite part was the house that was completely decked out in Peter Pan theme.  They had a boat, plank, and even a place for the lost boys.  Grant thought it was so great. 



(Grant, Addie, and Captain Hook)

We only stayed downtown for about 45 mins and then went home and we had a few trick or treaters stop by our house.  Grant made sure they kept their manners and told them to say thank you when they didn't say thank you.  He even thought some of the kids were too old (I think they drove themselves to our house).  All in all it was a great Halloween and I loved my little pirates.   

     

It's a PARTY

Last night we threw our first ever Halloween party.  We had such a blast.  We had lots of food and games.  Grant has been so excited since we handed out the invitations. 

I spent most of yesterday putting up the decorations and the boys were in awe.  G kept asking me, 'mom are you getting ready for the party?'

I put hanging balloons all around the family room and in the kitchen over the food.  I just used fishing line to attach everything.  I used my banister and my blinds to attach the fishing line (no tape and no holes in the wall).  It worked out great.  Of course the kids loved to jump up and hit the balloons. 
 

For the food I made broccoli cheese soup and a pumpkin soup.  To save time I just made the soup ahead and froze it and then pulled it out earlier in the day to thaw and then just heated it back up.  We also had mini grilled cheese sandwiches, mini caramel apples, and Swamp Water (green punch). 

We of course had to have a dress up party. Mike showed up with a costume a couple of weeks ago and that pushed me over the edge to actually put on a Halloween party. Grant and Linc were little pirates. I was a witch and of course Mike was a COP. He also monitored all the games which fit perfect with his costume.

The games. We had a balloon pinata (which looks like I didn't get a picture of). I put candy and prizes in balloons and then blew up the balloons and the kids had to throw darts at the balloons. We also had the mummy wrap, bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving, and the ball race which consisted of the kids pushing the ball around a pumpkin then back to their line without using their hands or feet.

Out of Africa

On Friday I took the boys to Out of Africa.  They had such a great time.  We got to feed the giraffe and see all the lions and tigers.  Grant loved the tiger show and would cheer on the tigers when they would get the toys or splash in the water. 





Lincoln just wanted to eat the cookies that our bus driver was feeding to all the animals on our safari.  We had an up close personal encounter with the giraffe.  The giraffe reached in our window to reach the bucket of cookies.  He even licked Lincoln on the head.