O-C-T-O-B-E-R

"It's the MOST WONDERFUL time of the year!!!"......come on, sing with me!

Ok, it is at least ONE of the most wonderful times of the year....OCTOBER. I love this month for a number of reasons:

1. Pumpkins
2. Cooler weather, but not too cold. I like to think of it as "hoodie" weather.
3. Pumpkin bread
4. Leaves changing color
5. Pumpkin Patches
6. Lots of birthdays, including Chad's on the 13th, and mine on the 31st.
7. Pumpkin seeds
8. Cute fall decorations
9. Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks!
10. And of course, HALLOWEEN--which means, dress up and candy.

I've always L-O-V-E-D Halloween for the reasons above, but over the years I've added and deleted from my "favorites" list....deleted the "being scared" part (I've turned into one big chicken over the years, I guess.) AND added an even greater love for trick-or-treating since Chalin has been here, especially this year, because he has really gotten into his costume and saying "Trick-or-Treat!"


I'm sad to say with all that we have had going on with the move, getting our house ready, and just being in a new place, we did not make it to the Pumpkin Patch this year; however, we got to go trick-or-treating at the zoo with some wonderful friends.....




....We went to the Lake Arcaida's Storybook Forest, which was AAAAA-MAZING by the way, and will now be a tradition of ours...Seriously, if you have young children, you MUST go to this. They create scenes from your favorite childhood stories (3 Little pigs, Old Mother Hubbard, Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc...) and you walk along a trail and have the opportunity to read these stories and see these storyb00k characters. They also have games, food (hot dogs, marshmallows for roasting by a campfire, hot chocolate), and a hayride!

Chalin and Humpty Dumpty

Chalin at the Gingerbread House

Fishing with Daddy

On the Hayride, which was a HUGE hit!

(Not the best picture of me, but the best I could get on the hayride with my cell phone!)

State Fair 2010

After Disney on Ice, we decided to take Chalin to the State Fair because we knew how much fun he had at the County Fair earlier this summer. He really enjoyed it, and so did we!

State Fair 2010

Kiddos with their Daddies

Riding the Merry-G0-Round with their Daddies

Checking out the baby chicks

Riding the scary ferris wheel

Riding the train with Mommy

"Hi Daddy!"

Silly boys

Riding the motorcycle

Riding in the canoe

He LOVED this...quite scary for Mommy though.

THANK GOODNESS he didn't listen to Daddy and raise his arms...he might have fallen out!! That thing was fast and jerky!

What a F-U-N time at the fair. Can't wait until next year!

Disney On Ice

This year, we were invited along with some friends to watch Disney on Ice. We didn't know how well Chalin would do sitting through an 1.5-2 hour show, but he did so good. He REALLY enjoyed the part when he got to see Woody and the gang from Toy Story--and "Doo-fy," of course, which he says is his "favorite."

On our way to the show.

Mickey & Minnie and the Gang

Chalin and Haddee sharing a seat & enjoying the show.

All the Disney characters

Chalin didn't get the memo that Mommy was taking another picture.

Sweet Emmee Kate with Chalin's Mickey Mouse ears.

"There's Buzz and Woody!"

"HI Buzz and Woody!"

Some Toy Story characters

Sweet Haddee

Finale

Chalin & Mommy after the show

We had a GREAT time...next, I'll post some pictures of the State Fair, which we enjoyed after Disney on Ice.

"Happy B-Day, Daddy!"

Happy B-day, Daddy!
We celebrated Chad's birthday on October 13. Chalin and I spent the day shopping around for a b-day gift in our new town (which takes way more time than shopping in a familiar town, in case you didn't know), baking a cake, and taking Daddy dinner since he had to work late. I asked Chalin what he wanted to get Daddy for his birthday, and he said, "I want to play dominoes with Daddy!" So, Daddy and Chalin played a game of Disney dominoes after dinner, and guess who won? Chalin, of course!