our november.

Wasn't it just Halloween? And now I'm cleaning up from one Thanksgiving dinner with friends and preparing for our big Thanksgiving dinner just a few days away. Slow down time!

It's been such a good month. With a short break in between sports seasons we've had more time on the weekends to spend as a family and more cuddle time together as the weather gets colder.

One of the kids' favorite things to do is visit bookstores. They wander, browse and read for over an hour and beg to stay longer when it's time to go. I love it!

The other day one of the local bookstores had a Reading with Rover session. We didn't plan to be there for it but it turned out great! Lucy finally had some confidence to try reading out loud and Simon loved petting all the dogs.

 We went home and cuddled up on the couch to watch the Seahawks game. Matt was at the game and it happened to be cold, wet and rainy. So while I love going to games, staying home was fine by me!

 I've really tried to make more of an effort to spend time with friends regularly. In this busy season of having young kids it's often hard to remember to take time for yourself. But getting together with a few of my mom friends away from the kids (playdates are great but mom nights are fun too!) is so good for us. One of my good friends Amber and I have started taking quarterly cooking classes. This time we chose a demo class so we could sit back and watch the meal get made but still have tastings and get all the recipes at the end. It was a fun night learning some new skills!

 I got to spend a few hours alone with Carter last week and loved it. He's growing up so fast and changing so much so I love these moments where we can have time to reconnect. He insisted we sit next to each other in the booth at lunch and then took the lid off his milkshake so he could share his fries with me and dip them in. Ha!

 Last weekend we got away for a few days and went up to the beach house. We usually don't come up much in the winter but it was actually really fun to bundle up and take a cold, wet walk around the neighborhood.

 For an afternoon treat we took the kids (all bundled up!) to the local Dairy queen. I opted for some hot coffee because I'm basically freezing nonstop from October to March. Matt just laughs at how cold my hands are on a regular basis.

 Simon is such a flexible toddler and always gets shuttled around day after day. This means naps are either nonexistent some days or just way too short. Luckily, last week we had 2 uninterrupted days where I could just cuddle up and let him sleep in my arms. He needed the extra sleep so badly and I didn't mind sitting for a bit either.

 Lucy is now a full fledged reader and we couldn't be more proud. She is memorizing more sight words every day, feeling confident in sounding out letter sounds and putting new words together. It's fun to watch her try different books and get excited to read to her brothers.

 To celebrate a week of school, conferences and family movie night we ordered pizza for the kids Friday night. To be honest, it was their reward for flushing the toilet after every bathroom use for 1 straight week. Yes, I was desperate. It was a huge problem and this was a big incentive. It took 3 weeks but they did it! Whew.

 And finally, last night we had Friendsgiving with 2 other amazing families. We've gotten to know them the past 3 years through sports and all 9 of the kids get along so well! We made a feast, let the kids run and play and spent hours just talking. Such a fun night and definitely the beginning of an annual tradition with them.

 Next week....Thanksgiving, Black Friday shopping, reindeer visits, Polar Express train and getting a Christmas tree. It's my absolute favorite weekend of the year. Yay!

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halloween 2017.

I was never really big into Halloween until I had kids. And now it's one of my favorite holidays. The excitement that builds as the day approaches, the adorable costumes, parties and traditions. And the unofficial start to the big holiday season. It's really the best!

We've continued to have amazing weather in the PNW. I always say summer is my favorite season but fall is right behind it. The colors of the leaves falling to the ground and the crisp, sunny afternoons are simply beautiful. We had amazing weather the days leading up to Halloween and probably the nicest night I can remember while trick or treating! 

Those bright sunny afternoons? Best spent at the park. Simon continues to be an active toddler climbing and jumping onto and off of everything. 

We watched Lucy's last soccer game of the season this past weekend. They were 7-1 for the season and played so well together as a team. Tonight we get to celebrate with a team pizza party, so excited for her!

This has nothing to do with Halloween but I was so excited I couldn't help but share. We got a bed! That sounds weird, we've had a bed (like a mattress) but have never had a bed frame/headboard/anything remotely resembling a beautiful master bedroom. I've wanted one since we got married over 10 years ago and we finally saved up the money to buy it. Technically it's time to upgrade our mattress and I want to replace our nightstands too but for now I'm so happy with what we chose. We always put it off choosing to spend money on the kids rooms or another house project but for our anniversary this is all I really wanted. So, hooray!!!

We finally carved our pumpkins a few days before Halloween too! Between the pumpkins Grandpa Tom grew for the kids in his garden, plus the ones we randomly purchased at the store one day there were plenty to choose from. The kids scooped out all the guts, sorted out the seeds and I did the carving trying my best to follow their requested designs. They turned out pretty great!

We spent the rest of the weekend playing outside, watching the Seahawks win a big game and putting the final touches on our Halloween costumes before a week of parties.

Monday morning Simon got to attend his first preschool Halloween party! He dressed up, of course, as a baseball player and was so cute!

And then it was the big kids' turn. I love that their school still lets kids dress up, have a party and even a school costume parade. I think it's so important to put the normal curriculum aside and let kids be kids for a few special days each year. I was able to attend both of their classroom parties and go around in the parade too. Such a fun afternoon!

We came home, put the school stuff away and got ready for our annual Vance/Boal Halloween soup dinner. One of my best friends has come over with her family for the past 4 years to eat a delicious soup dinner and go out trick or treating together. It's so fun to let the kids run around and enjoy a hot meal before walking in the cold.

Her daughter was so cute in her big birthday cake costume!

We met up with some other friends in the neighborhood while we were out and went to as many houses as we could to get ALL the candy!

After about 1.5 hours of walking around (little ones walk slow!) we came home to check out the loot. And, oh my goodness...we have so.much.candy.

This morning the kids woke up and quickly emptied out their bags again to admire their stash, make trades and count and sort (easy way to incorporate some math homework in for Carter too!)

 Another great Halloween to add to the memory book!

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