Halloween 2014

 Another fun-filled Halloween is in the books! The kids had a great time celebrating this year:

Caleb got to go to a trunk-or-treat with Nana Pam (Leah was at a birthday party and Joel was napping). He had a ton of fun and enjoyed bringing home our first batch of candy! 

We had a blast carving pumpkins with family and friends who might as well be family (Nana Pam and Ed). The kids are all so great about digging in and getting messy. Not that I enjoy de-staining orange clothes, but it is nice that my kiddos aren't weirded out by the icky feel of the pumpkin guts! 

 

The kids all celebrated Halloween at school. The preschoolers trick-or-treated throughout the building and brought home way too many trinkets, treasures, and treats! Caleb had a party at school (where I didn't have a minute to take pics because we only had a half hour to cram in tons of fun stuff).

I found some great Halloween crafts on clearance at Michaels and the kids had fun with those (thanks to the ever-so-crafty TiTi for helping). It was a great way to distract them from asking all afternoon about when trick-or-treating would start.

After we all got bundled up, we headed out with our neighbors for almost an hour of freezing cold trick-or-treating. The kids stayed quite warm because they ran and ran and ran and ran from house to house. Fun was had by all! 

And Halloween wouldn't be complete without the traditional candy-sorting lesson given by TiTi. We ended up with WAY too much candy!

Fall Fun

We have had a few really lovely Fall days in the midst of some icky days that remind us of what is to come. After a winter like last year, it's hard to embrace what is coming! We are doing our best to make sure that every single nice day we have left is enjoyed. We are outside as much as possible and soaking up what's left of warmth and sunshine! On this particular day, we headed to one of our favorite spots - Pilcher Park - to enjoy the changing leaves and warm sunshine.

One Day Getaway

We used to be so good about trying to get down to U of I at least once a year to visit our old stomping grounds. I guess having three kids makes that tradition a hard one to keep up with! This year, however, we finally got the chance to head down there for a day and it was such a wonderful overnight getaway.

all ready to head to Champaign-Urbana

 having fun at the (freezing) tailgate

 Caleb's first Illini game

 enjoying the game despite the cold

 watching movies in the back of the car (too cold for tailgating)

 a nighttime stroll around campus

 a visit to the Alma Mater

 future Illini???

 We love U of I!!!

 Illini kids

 on the quad

 college sweethearts

 

 apple picking

 first visit to an orchard

 picking a winner

 fun with Grandpa and Grandma

 we love Curtis Orchard

 off to the pumpkin patch

 found one

 all smiles

It was so sweet to share this weekend with our kiddos. Caleb was especially interested in knowing all about what life is like on a college campus and had tons of questions. He is now fully sold on becoming an Illini one day like Daddy and Mommy. We are thrilled, but will most definitely need to start playing the lottery!!!

Backyard Bash #7

Another successful Backyard Bash is in the books! We had the most wonderful weather, which was good, because there was no way we would've fit so many people in our house. The kids all had a blast playing outside and made great use of the jumpy that Grandpa Rob and Grandma Leslie rented. The adults enjoyed good conversation and great food. This year, the trophies are back on Lake Road with our 4th grade neighbor winning the chili contest (he did do some campaigning throughout the night to help boost votes) and our other neighbor won the baking contest.