Busy, busy October

Here are a lot more random events from our busy, busy, busy October. I swear this month is twice as long as the others but is also my favorite. I love the holiday, the birthdays (heehee,) the scenery and for the most part the weather. But we still have a few days to go, Halloween hasn't technically happened yet and I'm already very exhausted.

Last Friday, the 26th, Morgan's school celebrated Halloween with class parties and a costume parade around the school. It was a cloudy and threatened rain but it stayed dry and everyone had a great time.

Sarah as Yoshi.
Behind her is Super Mario. Oddly enough this was probably the most common costume I saw. I also saw some TMNT, and other characters from my childhood. Weird.

Sarah's mom, Stephanie with an Ironman. Supher heros were also in abundance. As were Cleopatras...who knows?!

I thought this was a genius costume! There was also an oragami crane made out of cardboard covered in shiny wrapping paper. Love the creative costumes.

Mrs. Gonzales, Morgan's teacher.

Morgan as Captain America with some of his classmates.

Pepper and I watched the parade with Lesli and Lafe so we kept a look out for her other two children. Here's Ellie as a vampire. She did her own makeup.

And Addison went as a mad scientist.

Pepper really enjoyed watching all the older kids in their costumes and luckily a friend came over to sit in the house while Hazel napped so we all had a fun afternoon. Later that afternoon Pepper went to a friend's princess birthday party in her Snow White costume. She had a blast going to her first drop-off party all by herself.
The kids and I have been working on raking the leaves in our backyard. Why I tried to do this before the tree was done dropping leaves, I have no idea. Because each morning it would look as if we had never raked at all, despite the ever growing piles on our hill. But the kids have been having a great time playing in the leaves.

Here's a video of them in action:

On Thursday, the 25th, Pepper's preschool had an open house and program for the parents. Everyone was so cute and did such a great job singing.

The Pre-K kids singing songs about bats. Too cute.

Pepper, Lafe and their classmates singing some Halloween songs. Everyone took turns singing a little solo, which is mighty brave for 3yr olds. I was videoing all of them and right before Pepper sang I ran out of space on my camera. I was so, so sad because she sang out so clearly and was so proud of herself. I'm really very upset I didn't get it but just know she was wonderful!

Here are some videos of their singing:

Waving a tiny "hello" to Hazel. Apperently, babies can only see tiny waves and hear very high pitched voices.

After the singing, we went to the classrooms to meet the other parents and see what they've been up to.

Pepper was very happy for me to meet her friends. Hazel was happy to play with the toys.

Pepper and Gracie, I hear about this cute girl every day after school.

One of the songs they sang was Purple People Eater. Here's Lafe holding their own One-eyed, One horn, Flying Purple People Eater.

Sarah and the kids hanging out one day after school. I love Hazel's look in the corner of this picture.

After the open house on Thursday, Pepper, Hazel and I picked up our friends, Emily and Elsie and headed to the zoo. It was a beautiful, warm morning and the animals were all very lively, especially the big cats. It was a great day to be out and enjoying some nature.

Pepper and I took a ride on the train.

Hazel playing in the little play village they have set up.

Elsie, coming to join her.

Elsie is on the verge of walking but still spends most of her time scooting on her knees like this. Too cute. And painful looking.

Inside the play store.

Inside the house.

Hazel dragged that tin lid all over the place and mainly tried to eat leaves also.

So, now for Hazel's 1st birthday and Halloween. Bring it on.

Walsh Farms Pumpkin Patch Playgroup

On Friday, October 19th, our church playgroup went to Walsh Farms to pick some pumpkins, ride some hay and generally have some good ole Ohio Fall fun. It was a beautiful morning and everyone had a great time.

Great buddies.
Brigham, Pepper and Avi holding hands and ready to start their pumpkin adventure.

There were some beautiful bright orange trees that seemed to perfectly match the pumpkins.

Avi and Pepper are in there somewhere.

Eli making a fine scarecrow.

This was a working farm, in the sense that after this picture the kids of the owner fed these calves from bottles. The farmer had to keep taking a break from his chores to help us pay for things or go for a hayride.

Inside a barn he built this huge corn box and play place. We spent a huge portion of our time just letting the kids play while we sat and chatted. It was fantastic.

Avi emptying out two bootfuls of corn.

Mindy chillin while Hazel had had enough of sitting in the stroller and missing all the fun.

Pepper and JohnEllis driving the tractor.

I was worried she would just try to eat the corn and choke but she never tried to put it in her mouth. She just crawled around and played and had a grand time.

This was a tire tractor swing thing.

Crazy, just crazy.

The petting zoo area.
Pepper wandered in with the rest of the crew but quickly remembered she does not like farm animals. They brought her back out once she was approaching hysterics.

Avi seemed okay.

Check out the stuffed coyote with a stuffed crocodile in its mouth. Pretty darn sweet!

The hayride was a little pricey but a lot of fun. It was one of the bounciest hayrides I've ever been on and the kids thought that was awesome. The scenery was pretty and the company was perfect. Here are some family shots of our playgroup.

Elizabeth and kids

Sara and her two boys

Lesli and Lafe

Heidi and Myles

Kami with her two littles

Me and the girls

I think the trailer really adds something, don't you think?

The kids chillin in the little train.

Avi's aunt made her killer hat. So jealous!

These pics are from Kami's camera.

Hazel and Hugo all bundled up and ready for action.

Inside the playhouse.

Part way into our hayride Hazel grabbed my sunglasses and mashed them together. One of the lens popped out and flew out the back of the wagon. I contemplated going back out to look for it after the ride was over until two seconds after this picture, Hazel ripped them off my face again and threw the whole lot off the other side. Thanks, a lot Hazel! So helpful.

This covered bridge led the way back to the parking lot. It was so pretty we attempted to get a family shot with the girls matching outfits.

Such cuties.

Can you tell I really, really liked those orange trees?!

I'm really glad we decided to explore another new farm this year. We had a great time. In some ways this month has been a bit tedious but you really can't beat Fall here in Northeast Ohio! Love it.