Halloween

I'm the room mom in Ryker's class this year.  I was in charge of the Halloween party today.  I set everything up with another parent volunteer while the kids did their costume parade. 

The whole crew after the parade.

The kids all enjoyed an icee treat and water provided by the PTO

Blue teeth and tongues for all!

The kids cycled through 4 stations.  They made a craft, played two different games, and had fun in a photo booth. I manned the photo booth.

Ryker's group.

The boys.  This was the funniest part of the party in my opinion.  The kids had a great time and they had me laughing like crazy.  I shared all the pics with the other parents which was fun too.

After the party, we went home to get changed and ready for trick or treating.  The weather was awful again this year.  Super cold and snowy! We stopped by my grandparents, my aunt and uncles, and a few of their neighbors before heading the Harvest Hoedown event at our church.  For the ages of our kids, it's the perfect place to enjoy Halloween.

The kids and Robert all went as scarecrows tonight.  They were pretty cute!

Leaves

Aunt Karen gave Cam a rake and shovel set a while back and he couldn't wait to use his rake to help me get the leaves in a big pile...

perfect for jumping in.

They had a great time! This was always one of my favorite fall activities and enjoy doing it with them every year.

Westminster Village Fall Festival

Every year the nursing home my mother-in-law works for hosts a fall festival.  All the kids go in costume and the residents pass out candy.  We always have a great time and it means a lot to the residents.  Plus, my mother-in-law enjoys showing off her grandkids to her coworkers and patients.  :-)

Riella sure loves her daddy!

I whipped up some scarecrow costumes for the kids last minute this afternoon and I LOVE them!

Nathan and Ryker.  He isn't wearing any shoes because the soles on his boots came completely off both feet while we were there.  Good thing we were inside most of the time!

He was seriously so stinkin' cute!

Nonna and her only granddaughter

Cam was adorable too.

Brothers manning those strollers like bosses. ;-)

Cara and I with our little ones.  Jaxson is getting so big and he is just so sweet!

Trying to get a family picture.  Always a challenge!

Kindergarten Field Trip

I had the privilege of going on Ryker's field trip with him today.

We passed the time on the very long bus ride as best we knew how. ;-)

Finally arrived and ready to explore Russell Farms!

Listening to Spookly the Square Pumpkin

Doing farm chores.  This was Ryker's favorite part. They had to collect and clean eggs...

Put new straw down for the cows, milk a cow, and move hay and a few other things.  Very fun hands on activity.

Then we took a hayride to the pumpkin patch and we all got to pick a pumpkin.  Ryker found the perfect one!

Enjoying the hay ride with Ryker and Carson.

Then we got to have lunch.  All the chaperones sat together.  Lots of fun with Anna and Jamie on this trip.

We may have had more fun with the photo props than the kids did. :-)

Scarecrow Ryker

After lunch the kids had free time to explore the playground area.

Everything was great until the second after this was taken.  Literally a second later, the goat bit Ryker's finger.  Like, broke through his fingernail and skin, made it bleed, the whole bit.  He immediately burst into tears and started saying how he hated goats now.  I got him some ice and a bandage and I did a whole lot of consoling. He eventually calmed down and played for a little while longer before it was time to go.

Post bite. Smiling and trying to have fun.

Ruby helped him really feel better. ;-)

Class picture before we left.  He has a great group of kids this year.

Jalyn kept Cam and Riella for me today.  Ty and Riella had a great time. 

Unfortunately, when I went to pick the kids up, Riella's bottom lip was super swollen and so was her thumb and hand.  Jalyn said she cried once while they played outside but it was for just a second and as soon as she picked her up she was fine.  We are pretty sure she got stung by a bee or a wasp.  She had a pretty severe reaction which was scary. 

Thankfully after some Benadryl the swelling began to go down a bit.  It took about 4 days to go away completely with doses of Benadryl and Benadryl cream on her hand.  Guess we know to really stay clear of bees with this little one!

Dinner on the Farm

My friend Andrea invited everyone in our small group out to her mom's house in the Knightstown/Carthage area for dinner tonight.  Her mom lives in a log barn that was converted to a home on a gorgeous piece of property.  They have some cattle and a few goats too.  We were all thrilled to accept the invitation and enjoyed a night of great food, great friends, and tons and tons of laughter.

We are so blessed to do life with these people!

Happy 1st Birthday, Cord!

Today we celebrated Cord's 1st birthday with a Halloween themed party at the church.  Kate did a great job with decorations and we all had so much fun!

Everyone was asked to wear costumes and Cam was pumped to show off his ninja skills. ;-)

Cord was the cutest little Indian you've ever seen.

He did not like his cake at all.  It was so funny!

Hudson was an adorable cowboy.  

Robert went as a lumberjack.  He's low key on the costume stuff. ;-)

Riella wore her owl costume.

I went as Rosie the Riveter.  It was an easy, cheap costume.  Just the way I like it!

My parents NEVER dress up for anything, but my mom found this cloak and decided she could be a monk.  She carried around a Bible too.  Pretty funny.  I convinced Dad to wear his hunting gear.  I was so proud of them! ;-)