Happy Halloween!

Yay!!  Halloween is over!  I think it's because it's the first "big" holiday since...the fourth of July?  But, we always over-do it.  To the point where I'm Halloween-ed out before the actual night of trick-or-treating.

I survived though.  I found someone to cover my 3rd hour so I could go to their Halloween party at daycare.  I mean, what's the point of having kids if you have to miss moments like this?

Could these two be any more alike?

After work we rushed over to my sister-in-law's house for our annual tradition of chili, cornbread, and mummy dogs (hot dogs with crescent rolls to look like a mummy - thanks Pinterest!).  We quickly ate, dressed the kids, and headed out for some candy.  Rainy weather didn't stop us!

The cutest penguins, fireman, and fire dog if I may say so myself.

And now with Halloween behind us, the most wonderful time of the year officially begins.  The "holiday season".  Squeee!!!  Christmas music on Pandora, shopping for gifts, pinning things on Pinterest to make for Thanksgiving, family, cooler weather, the first snowfall, jack frost nipping at your nose, need I go on?

I.can't.wait.

"A hint of grapes"

It was one of those gorgeous fall weekends in Michigan.  And that even includes a crazy storm early Saturday morning that woke everyone in the house up.  It was all so fitting considering it was the weekend before Halloween.  10 of us packed up and headed up to Traverse City for Kristen's bachelorette wine weekend getaway.  

After a week full of rapid strep tests, urgent care visits, and two days off of work, I made a last minute decision to stick with my plans to go up north.  I had been on meds for 24 hours, was feeling much better, and was surprised to get my blessing from Scott to leave him with the boys for the whole weekend.  I figured chances like this don't come around too often, grabbed my belongings, and got on the road as soon as possible.  6.5 hours later (rush hour + stopping for food + a 4.5 hour drive normally) and we arrived.  Mind you it was 11:30pm, crazy windy outside, and the house was set back in the woods on a lake.  Perfect setting for a horror movie.  #iwatchtoomanyscarymovies

We wasted no time dropping the bags off in our rooms and cracking open a few more bottles of wine.  We had some catching up to do to the other 6 girls who arrived earlier that day.  A dance party in the kitchen, a few rounds of Ellen's "Heads Up" game, and several empty bottles of wine later, we called it a night at 2am.

Saturday morning we were all awoken by the vicious storm.  But, the clouds parted and we were graced with some sporadic bouts of sunshine.  We all bundled up in some warm sweaters and boots, ate a quick breakfast, and hopped in the party bus to hit the wineries on Leelanau Penninsula.

It's truly all about who you know.  It just so happened that one of the girl's on the trip's architecture firm is doing work for the Brengman Brother's winery.  So, yup, we got the hook-up.  A private wine tour inside and outside and many bottles of wine both in the bottle and in the barrels were opened and shared.  While I can't say that the wine trivia was the most fascinating to me, I enjoyed seeing things behind the scenes.

Our short stop ended up being close to a 3 hour visit at Brengman Brother's, so we boarded the bus again and headed to Chateau de Leelanau for some more tastings and lunch.  The lunch was quite the fiasco, but was much needed for many of us.  We were ready for more wine!

One last stop at L. Mawby for some sparkling wines and dressed up employees in their Halloween outfits and our time ran out with the party bus.  We headed back for some relaxation and much needed naps.  We decided to order pizza in and hang out at the house Saturday evening.  After all, we had bachelorette gifts to open and a penis cake to devour.

We ended the night with several rounds of Mad Gab and Cards Against Humanity.  Seriously, both of those games are going on my Christmas list this year.  They were so much fun!  Although...I don't think I'd play Cards Against Humanity with my family.  It's a little raunchy...

Sunday morning we hit the road anxious to get home to our families and normal Sunday funday activities like laundry and grocery shopping.  It was a great little getaway and I can finally say I saw up north in the fall.  But, man, there's nothing like pulling in the driveway and having your 3 year old run out of the house and into your arms.  Maybe I should leave more often for moments like that...

My little ham at my parents' house a few weeks ago...

Such a serious, passionate guy...

Our "Halloweekend"!

We are in full-blown Halloween celebrating mode around here!  Last Thursday night, Scott and I put the finishing touches on the firetruck wagon while listening to the Tigers on the radio during their playoff game.  And just in time considering we had two Halloween events on Friday night and Sunday afternoon.

We made the decision over the summer that Sean would be a fireman and Evan would be a dalmatian.  How cute is that?!

But, of course, since then Sean has declared he wanted to be a witch, a ghost, and a skeleton.  Fortunately, all I needed to do was show him the wagon we were making and he was easily persuaded back into being a fireman.  We'll let him be a skeleton in his skeleton PJ's from Old Navy at his daycare party since wearing a fireman coat around inside all day will be too much.  Win-win for the both of us!

Friday after work we ordered in pizza and salad for a quick dinner, packed up the wagon and all the costume parts, and headed over to Greenfield Village for a 6:30pm entrance into their Hallowe'en event.  I hadn't gone to that since I was a kid, so I had no idea what to expect.  I was hoping for anything better than the Zoo Boo (that thing is seriously lame!  Could we walk by animals at least??)

Oh my gosh - this place was decked out to the nines!  Beautiful costumes on the employees, creative things for the kids to walk by and see including the grim reaper, the headless horseman, a spooky bridge, skits being performed, a fortune teller, pirates on the pond, etc.  There was never a dull moment and everything they did appealed to all ages - not just kids!

Seriously?!  Carved pumpkins hanging in a tree.  How clever!

It was a beautiful fall evening.  Not too chilly with temps in the 50's.  The harvest autumn full moon was out.

Scott was elated to have his picture taken with the boys with Roary.  So, all in all, it was a great family night!

And the wagon stayed in one piece!

It was a good thing because we needed it again on Sunday afternoon for the Plymouth Pumpkin Palooza event downtown.  I love this event!  But, I hate the time.  It's from noon-3pm.  Hello, nap time anyone?

We headed down a little before noon and rushed over to the Creatopia store's table so the kids could do their fingerprints.  They always do fingerprints on tiny square tiles and then turn them into something for you to pick up in December.  Adorable!  We also were lucky enough to be first in line to see the firetrucks!

The "real" firemen loved the boys' costumes and even said they could join their team with their firetruck wagon.  Perfect!

A few games of pumpkin bowling, pumpkin putt-putt, and trick or treat stations, we decided to head back home for naps.  It was getting extremely crowded, as it always does.  But, we left just in time to watch a local dance studio perform Thriller.  Sean was in heaven - that boy loves some MJ!

We'll be hanging up the fireman coat and boots this weekend, as I'm off to Traverse City for a bachelorette party.  But, I'm excited to finish off our Halloween celebrations with some pumpkin carving early next week, their daycare party the morning of Halloween, and trick-or-treating later in the evening with their cousins, Sydney and Adelaide.

Happy Halloween!

TGIF!!

What a long, brutal week at work!  Coming down from the birthday celebrations last week coupled up with a water main break at work on Monday, a power outage on Wednesday, and Parent-teacher conferences on Thursday evening, I'm exhausted.

I needed a normal evening with my family.

You know?  The kind of evening where Evan is walking all over the house, chasing Sean's soccer ball, trying to put it over the gate.

The kind when you say, "I'm gonna get you!!" evokes a smile like this one followed by giggles and the sound of his little feet running down the hall.

One laid-back evening with Monsters Inc. playing in the background and Sean re-arranging the couch cushions until they all end up on the floor and he begs to play "mosh pit".

One where we made a simple dinner of grilled marinated chicken, grilled corn tortillas, fresh salsa, and shredded cheese for some delicious chicken fajitas.

And one where the boys worked off their meal by cutting the grass because it was long overdue.

Simplicity can be such a beautiful sometimes.  The kind of evening where enjoying the unusually warm weather we're experiencing this October, outside, with no toys = finding fun in the Halloween decorations.

And now with two loads of laundry in the wash and two sleeping angels upstairs, the kind of evening where editing pictures, updating my blog, and writing thank you cards from Sean's birthday party is just what I needed.

Sometimes less is more.