Halloween Hullabaloo and Trick-or-Treating 2014

Like many families we know, we participated in so many Halloween festivities over the last two weeks, it was scary. The Great Pumpkin even made a visit, bringing new toothbrushes and toothpaste (clever fellow!) for the girls. The girls wore their costumes so many times, there's no doubt we got our money's worth out of them!
Brace yourself for a terrifying amount of Halloween pictures ahead....

Julia the Ladybug and Margaret the Kitty Cat head off to Halloween Day at gymnastics class. 

Gymnastics is more fun when you can wear your costume.

This ladybug can really fly!

It's a bird! it's a place! No, it's a flying cat!

Carter and Julia paint a pumpkin at Westwood's Fall Family Night.

Margaret looks all too pleased to be decorating a bat at the same party.

Caroline and Margaret patiently wait to see who won the cake walk... 

...it was Caroline! 

Julia requested a giraffe from the balloon man at Westwood.

Pumpkin carving time!! Julia drawing out her design.

 Finished pumpkins 1 and 2.

                                                               Finished pumpkins 3 and 4.

Ladybug Julia at her preschool Halloween parade.

Kitty Cat Margaret at the FPP Halloween Parade.

Caroline in the Collegiate Halloween Parade, carrying her coins to donate to the "Ton of Coins" drive. 

Paige, Caroline, and Quinn

Caroline and the girls in her Kindergarten class.

Halloween party time in Caroline's room!

Margaret taking a break from the Halloween Hulabaloo to play on a playground.

Sweet Caroline.

Margaret showing off her stash while trick-or-treating at Daddy's office.

Lil' C and Big C go trick-or-treating at Harris Williams

Julia loved visiting Daddy at work.

What do you mean I can't eat all of the candy I collected? 

Having a grand time with Daddy.

Rockin' some Halloween jammies.

The girls had an amazing couple weeks of tricks and treats, and it all came to end end last night with the grand finale: trick-or-treating.
I donned my hippo ballerina costume per usual, the girls got decked out in their costumes, Daddy grabbed a beer, and we rolled out to the neighborhood Halloweenie Roast to enjoy a casual dinner with our friends before pounding the pavement for treats. It was a great night.

Halloween 2014 

Margaret as "Kitty Cat"

Julia as "Ladybug" (who actually ended up as a cupcake to go trick-or-treating)

Caroline as "50's girl"

Caroline as "Jack-o-Lantern"

MaryKate and Margaret at the Halloweenie Roast.

Campbell and Caroline hamming it up at the Halloweenie Roast.

And she's off! Jack-o-Lantern on the run!!!

My favorite front porch of the night.

Checking out a spooky skeleton in the grass.

This Jack-o-Lantern was a champion trick-or-treater. 

Margaret gave it her all...

                                 ...but threw in the towel in favor of riding in the wagon after about 30 minutes.

Julia was exhausted, but never gave up. She trick-or-treated with the big kids right up until the end of the night.

We had a blast!

Despite the late night, Caroline was up and 'em early the next morning, ready to sort through her candy stash!

Carter's Mountain 2014

We took our annual trip to Carter's Mountain today to pick apples with the Benjamin and Milligan families. The weather was perfect for apple picking: blue skies, crisp fall air, and a nice breeze coming across the mountain.
We collected over 13 pounds of Granny Smith and Fuji apples before we were all "picked out." I have no idea what we are going to do with all these apples, but I have a feeling I'll be baking a massive amount of apple inspired goods in the coming weeks. Apple muffins, apple pie, apple fritters....you get the idea. :-)

Two Wheelin' It!

We are so proud of and excited for Caroline! She officially made the transition a two wheeled bike today! Check it out...

Princess Shooting Star and Brave Flying Eagle

Caroline and Daddy began a really fun adventure this past weekend as they joined a Y Princesses tribe together as Princess Shooting Star and Brave Flying Eagle. I have great memories of doing Indian Princesses with my Dad, so I was really excited for Caroline to have the opportunity to take part in this experience with her Dad. The first event of the year was the Longhouse campout at Camp Whitehall. It was Caroline's first time ever camping out, and from what I heard, she did a fabulous job and had a great time!

Pumpkin Patch Visit

Yesterday we took our annual trip to Ashland Berry Farm to the pumpkin patch. I have to say, it was our most pleasant visit thus far. The weather was perfect, and I have never seen the patch less crowded. We didn't have to wait in any lines, we had a great pick of pumpkins, and we were in and out of the farm in a little over an hour. It was a really nice and easy outing.

Where Did the Month Go?

I swear I blinked and the entire month of September flew by without any warning at all. The start of Kindergarten and Preschool, ballet and gymnastics classes, and tennis and horse riding lessons have kept our lives full, happy, and busy.

Caroline is absolutely loving Kindergarten. The transition to a long school day was a lot easier than I thought it would be.  We adore her teachers,  are excited to see that she has made some great new friends, and we're pretty sure she could be a walking billboard for the Admissions team at Collegiate School if they needed one.

A lot of parents have a hard time getting information out of their children at the end of a school day, but for some reason we are lucky with Caroline. She is a wealth of information. She is always singing the songs she's learned in music, spouting off new Spanish words, reading her "just right" books or reciting poetry, talking about what she did as a scientist that day, or reporting about who was or was not being a "good listener" in her classroom that day. :) It is a joy to see her thriving.

The twins are enjoying school as well. They are happy as clams, hopping out into the carpool line every day and scurrying off to join their friends in their "big kid" classroom.
Unlike Caroline, the twins are not a wealth of information at the end of the day. I am often left wondering where on earth they have been all morning because it does not appear that they were at school...or at least not at the same school. For example, Margaret will share that the class went to Music, but Julia will vehemently deny that they went to Music that day. Or Julia will share that a particular friend was not in attendance at school that day, and Margaret will quickly dispute that statement, saying that the friend in question was, in fact, at school that day. Sigh.

 One of the most exciting things going on right now in the girls' world is a four-legged creature named Vinny. Caroline is taking riding lessons on this adorable pony, and even though the twins are not officially enlisted, they have somehow managed to finagle their way into every lesson!

Caroline's first lesson. Getting acquainted with Vinny (and all the work that comes along with riding a horse!)

Doesn't Vinny look thrilled to have Julia grooming his mane?

Caroline leads Vinny out of the barn for her first lesson.

Lesson two: two point position.

Back in the barn and feeding carrots to one of the other horses.

Margaret was the most hesitant around Vinny, but by our 3rd visit, she jumped in and got busy with the grooming brush!

Before long, she was up on Vinny too!

You know Julia had to have a turn, too! 

Julia back on the ground (but not for long!) at gymnastics class.

The weather has been perfect for bike rides in the neighborhood.

Caroline went apple picking at Carter's Mountain with her Kindergarten class. She was nice enough to bring home an apple for her sisters.

We welcomed a new cousin into the family this month! Baby Catherine was born a couple weeks ago. Caroline loves to hold her.

The month of September was fun but exhausting!!!