A Soggy Halloween and other Scary Stories

October simply flew by. Quicker than I had hoped for. We squeezed in a last minute trip to the pumpkin patch. It was so very busy being the last Saturday of the season. This nice lady gave Kase two tickets to get free pumpkins so we were happy about that. The girls loved riding on the hayride to the patch. There were pumpkins scattered everywhere and they eagerly went looking for the perfect one. It didn't take long to realize most (if not all) of the pumpkins were rotten. It was bad. Really bad. However, a tractor pulled up and started tossing fresh pumpkins out into the field. I was afraid Eliza was going to get hit in the head with a pumpkin. Caroline picked a giant pumpkin that needed Daddy to carry it, and Eliza picked a perfect Eliza-sized one. We got in line to wait our turn to ride pack to the farm. The next thing we knew Eliza had dropped her pumpkin. It was rolling down the hill with her chasing after it. We were trying to juggle Caroline, a pumpkin, the camera, and diaper bag in order to rescue Eliza and her pumpkin. Another nice lady jumped out from the line and saved Eliza's pumpkin, now covered in rotten pumpkin juice from rolling through all the rotten pumpkins.

We then enjoyed the rest of the activites on the farm. We visited the goats and chickens. A nice boy gave Eliza some of his feed so she could feed the rooster. (There were so many nice people there.) Their favorite thing was the sand area. Both of the girls loved playing in the sand. On our way home, we stopped at a little local dinner called Twisters and had dinner. It was very good and the perfect ending to a perfect day.

That Sunday was the Primary Program. Eliza actually went up on stage and sat with her class. She was the 3rd child to have to get up and say a part. She went up to the microphone with her teacher by her side. She said something to her teacher and sat back in her chair. She did a great job singing all of the songs. We thought she had gotten too scared and didn't do her part. However, her teacher told us later that she said her part to her teacher but not in the microphone. We were very proud of her. Her part was "I'm a child of God and can be like Him someday."

Halloween week was a busy week. On Wednesday, we went to the church trunk-or-treat. Eliza was Elsa (surprise!) and Caroline was Anna. They were both very excited about their costumes. Caroline kept giggline and saying "Anna" when she put her dress on. On Thursday, the girls came to my work for our annual trick-or-treat through the office. It is so much fun to see all of the coworkers kids. They get SO MUCH candy and there is a party with cupcakes at the end of the trail. Eliza ran ahead and followed my coworker's granddaughter around. Carolien stuck with me and took her time deciding which piece of candy to choose. One stop had M&Ms and apples. Caroline was so excited about the apples and immediate started eating one. She sat at the cupcake party table finishing her giant red apple. It was the cutest. On Friday, actual Halloween, we went to a friend's house to trick-or-treat. It was the worst weather: cold, rainy, and windy. I had dressed up like Sven the reindeer with paper antlers and a black nose. I was supposed to look silly but I think it was a little too silly. I had to carry Caroline, her bag, and an umbrella. Meanwhile, Eliza's shoes were too big. Did I mention it was cold? The wind blew too hard and my antlers flew away and my umbrella flew off and broke. We kept going, but then Eliza fell down some steps thanks to her too big shoes. She also kept trying to take off her jacket because the "cold doesn't bother her anyway." Caroline kept shivering and wanting her hat back on. By the end of the night, I was thinking that I'm not such a big fan of Halloween after all. I'm grateful for the patience of our trick-or-treating friend that went with us.

To remember for next year: Kase MUST come trick-or-treating with us, NO princess shoes shall be worn while trick-or-treating, and black reindeer noses look silly when your antlers get blown away (Well, they look silly before that too so just forget the black reindeer nose).

   Shopping for a birthday party gift:

Anna and Elsa: