Halloween Festivities 2017!!!

We kicked off Halloween week with our annual Inspirada Community Halloween Party!! Josh and I had both worked that day and the kids had preschool so as soon as we were all gathered together, we headed over to the park! The kids had a blast and Austin cried the whole way home once it was time to leave. I have to admit, the HOA really kicked it up a notch this year with the bouncy houses, obstacle courses, and food trucks! It was kid heaven! I kept getting asked if my nursing outfit was my halloween costume (insert eye rolls here) but whatever, at least we made it! We met up with Mike and his kids (Josh's friend from work) and they joined us for the most amazing hand dipped corn dogs and lots of laughs while each kid kept losing their balloon resulting in me constantly taking a kid back to the balloon stand. The irony was too good! As soon as I'd come back with one happy kid reunited with a balloon, I'd be presented with another kid who was crying over the loss of theirs!

It's the greatest feeling in the world to come home from work and love on my babies!

We were just a little excited to be there!

Evie was all obsessed with Jack Skellington! She kept running up to him for hugs :).

The awesome obstacle course that Austin was obsessed with!

Finishing the course like a rock star!

Evie getting lost somewhere in between and requiring assistance from Mom hahaha!

My VERY happy babies :)

Hanging out by the food carts with their much coveted balloons :).

Mmmmm Corn dogs.....

The next day we had our Ward Trunk or Treat! Briana and Thomas (her boyfriend) met us there and we had a blast! We ate so much homemade chili and cornbread and the kids had a blast playing all the games that the young women had planned for them! Then, once it was dark enough, we headed out to the parking lot to let the trunk or treating commence! The highlight of the whole night was when Austin looked up at me and excited squealed, "This is the best Halloween EVER!!!" :)

My cute little family getting ready for some trunk or treat action!

We sure do love Nana and Thomas!

These girls are inseperable and it makes my heart so happy :).

Minnies!

Playing the fun games! Evie had a little trouble.....

But Austin was kicking butt!

Basically she has to hug every large Disney/Pixar character she can find hahaha!

Trunk or treating :)

Then there was actual Halloween!!! My Mom had slept over the night before so she was with us the whole day to snuggle with the kids and watch Austin kick butt in swim lessons! As usual with my Mother and I, we got into a major fight by noon and Briana had to come over to break us up.... but the rest of the evening was good! Let's just say my Mom has a strong desire to control my life which results in me having a strong desire to show her the door. But luckily we were able to put aside our differences for the Halloween party I had planned because it really turned out to be a lot of fun! I made my traditional pumpkin bisque with ham and rolls and then we all headed out for some trick or treating around the neighborhood! As always, our neighborhood did not disappoint! We even ran into friends along the way and added to our already large trick or treating gang! The more the merrier right?! :) We went home tired and loaded to the brim with candy! As soon as we walked through the door the kids had dumped out their loot and were stuffing their faces with the delicious morsels. It was the perfect end to a really great holiday :).

Morning cuddles with Grandma

This is seriously the best soup in the world! If you dare eat it...... dun dun dun.....

Halloween dinner success!

-LOVE-

The trick or treating gang!

Oh how I love my adorable little family! Evie was minnie mouse this year (surprise surprise) and Austin was Batman! They were beyond adorable but nothing trumps Dad as a pirate!

They sure do love Grandma!

knocking on doors and scoring some candy! Evie was such a trooper and refused to let anyone carry her bucket; even when it weighed more than she does!

Of course Nana had to join in too..... she hasn't grown up all the way yet ;).

A Beautiful Day in the Gilcrease Orchard

 The kids have been begging me to take them to the pumpkin patch but I wasn't feeling the carnival style vibes and the expensive, pay for everything you do atmosphere. No, I wanted the real experience. A huge beautiful farm with a REAL patch full of pumpkins ripe for the picking. Oh and lets throw in an apple orchard to wander around just for fun ;).

Sadly, this was supposed to be a family adventure but Josh was having tummy troubles similar to what put him in the hospital last December. So he had to sit this one out and I was bummed. Like trying hard not to cry the whole drive to the orchard kind of bummed. You see, Josh and I work opposite schedules now. I work weekends and he works week days and we meet each other at some point for church on Sunday. At least that's how it feels. I take the kids on most of our fun outings alone and I show him pictures of the moments he missed later. This structure has been so hard on me and sometimes I feel like a single Mom, but it is what gets us by with minimal daycare so it's just what we've got to do.

Anyways, to cut the sob story short, my heart perked up once we got to the orchard and were greeted by the delicious smell of homemade apple donuts hot off the grease (oh my gosh they were mouth watering!). We got ourselves donuts and ate to our hearts content! They were seriously the best donuts I've ever eaten!

After our tummies were full and our moods more perky, we grabbed a wheelbarrow and I let the kids run free. They spent hours pushing each other around in that wheelbarrow, picking apples, finding sticks, and just enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. THAT is the experience I was looking for!! :)

There was also a hay maze that Austin thought was AWESOME! He was so excited to be the leader and find a way out for us! Such a cutie :) Just look how proud he is in the picture.....

 We could have played in the orchard all day long but we had church at 1pm and our time was running out! So we headed over to the pumpkin patch to find us some big ol' pumpkins! Austin had a blast rolling his pumpkin around over mounds of dirt and Evie was having a blast just running around in general. I just sat back with our wheelbarrow watching them and feeling the calm happy feeling of peace that always comes from watching my babies in their element. :)

Happy 33rd Birthday Josh!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

We celebrated Josh's birthday this last weekend, and as usual, we did it in style! My parents took the kids for the weekend, and although I had to work on Saturday, coming home to the birthday boy and walking up the street to the local restaurant (Rounders) and enjoying a delicious kid free dinner was just what the doctor ordered! We love our kiddos more than anything, but sometimes Mom and Dad need a break! Oh, and the owner of the restaurant gave us 20% off our meal because we are Buckeye fans and everywhere Josh goes, he has to talk sports with people... SCORE!!!

The next day I had to wake up early and run to the lab to have my blood drawn because I accidentally stuck myself with a dirty needle at work and now for the next 6 months I am on surveillance for HIV and Hepatitis :(. Luckily, so far everything has been clean and good with my lab work so I think I should be fine. The day got much better once I got home and we went up to the New Day Cafe for breakfast and then headed to China Town for a couples massage! Okay, I got the massages for super cheap on Groupon and didn't really bother to look at where it was located. So it was interesting to say the least.... let's just say Asian massage is very different. Better in some ways, and worse in others. Josh was slightly violated and for that I feel so bad, but he didn't care much haha!

Heading off on our kid-free adventure!!!

Then we checked into our hotel at the Aliante Resort and went to a movie! Do you know how long it has been since we've seen a movie together?! Like ages! We spent the rest of the night eating way too much Mexican food, playing some slots, and we passed out early like the old farts we are now (hahaha!). Seriously though, Josh was asleep by 7pm and I went to bed at 9:30pm! We are so starved for sleep these days, so we take it whenever we can get it! Quite honestly though, we didn't care that our days of staying up into the late hours of the night are over. Apparently having kids changes you :).

The next day we woke up and ate breakfast at the Farm, a breakfast joint at the Aliante Resort. The food was sooo good and we were sad the trip was ending. But we were happy to see our kids and learn what they had been up to over the past two days. They had gone hiking out at Valley of Fire, visited the Lost City Museum, and built the most amazing box fort I had ever seen with Aunt Briana. Seriously, this thing had multiple levels and tunnels that led into different rooms! It looked like one heck of a party! My Mom had bought cupcakes for Josh and we sang Happy Birthday to him there :). The kids were so cute with him :). They love him so much! Almost as much as they love  blowing out candles! They each wanted to take a turn blowing out the candles after Josh had his turn, and since we had forgotten candles and were using matches instead, it was interesting haha!

Getting ready to blow out the candles!

Yayyyy Daddy!

Loves from Sis, aka the cuddle bug :).

And of course, loves from the A-man who loves his Daddy more than anything in the world :).

Happy Happy Birthday Josh!

We made the trek home and the kids fell asleep immediately in the car. Proof that, as always, it was a very overstimulating and incredible weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house! Once we got home and got all our bags unloaded, the kids surprised Josh with their homemade cards and the candy bar/beef jerky bouquet we made for him! It was so fun watching each kid excitedly show their Daddy their cards and pretend to read to him what each of them said. Evie was overjoyed to show him all the Pooh Bear stickers she had decorated her card with and Austin was all about the Power Rangers! It was a fun way to end a very fun Birthday!

***Here are some pictures to prove why the kiddos were so exhausted! ;) Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! And let's not forget Aunt Nana and her boyfriend Thomas!!

Hiking at Valley of Fire!!!

Having fun and getting dirty!

This was one of my favorite places to go as a child! So much climbing and adventure!

The red sand there is the best! Seriously, it's the softest sand you'll ever feel!

Just look at that messy face! I love it! And look how high Austin and Nana climbed! :0

Our beautiful Indian princess in her element :).

 

 Exploring the Lost City Museum!

 It's a cool museum outside of Overton that is full of actual adobe houses and all sorts of treasures left behind by the Paiute Indians hundreds of years ago! Austin was totally enthralled by all the rocks and gemstones, and of course he talked Grandma into buying all of them for him.....

Going back in time.....

Inside one of the adobe dwellings! Too cool!

Happy Birthday my love! We all love you so much and I don't know what we would do without you! You deserved every fun surprise this weekend had in store for you! ;)

We had a movie night/sleepover in Mom and Dad's room that night because apparently nobody wanted the party to end ;). That's how you KNOW it was a good one!