Halloween 2017

Happy Halloween!! We have been busy with many Halloween activities over the last couple of days, and we finally made it to the actual holiday!!

The kids really enjoyed their evening. Emma dressed up as Bat Girl for a second year in a row, and Elliott made a very cute Captain America (or Napkin America as he says it).

Grandma Barb and Grandpa Jim came to our house for supper, and then helped hand out candy while John and I took the kids Trick or Treating. It was pretty chilly this year, the temp was around 36 degrees, but it felt more like 26 with the wind chill. So, we bundled the kids up and went around the neighborhood.

The kids had so much fun trick or treating. The basically ran from house to house, grabbed candy out of the bowls, and then had to be reminded at every house to say "thank you". They were adorable though, and we have way too much candy at our house now!

We ended the evening by letting the kids stay up too late, and eat too much candy. They are finally asleep now, but it was definitely a battle. And the Dodgers are leading the Astros in game 6 of the World Series right now, so it's been a pretty good Halloween.

This past weekend, my mom came to town to watch the kids on Friday, since Emma had no school and I had to work (John was at a work retreat). I think they all had a really good time hanging out together. Since my mom was here, we decided to do some Halloween themed activities over the weekend.

On Friday evening, we went to a Lutheran Elementary School to Trunk or Treat inside the gym. The kids had a really good time, and it was nice to do an indoor activity since it was pretty cold outside.

On Saturday, we went out to Jim and Barb's house so Mom could see their new house, and then we stayed and helped them move some furniture while we were there. After that, we had a nice lunch in Sioux Falls, and then did some trick or treating at Scheel's, as well as rode the Ferris Wheel and let them play in the play area. They were pretty tuckered out after all of that. My mom also was wore out, and left that afternoon to go back home.

That evening, Emma and I headed to Good News Church and we did some more Trunk or Treating. Emma and I had a great time. She got a bunch of candy trunk or treating, there were games to play, and we ate supper at their Soup and Pie supper that was going on. And we bid on and won a Silent Auction item. It was a really fun Emma and Mommy evening.

We had a great Halloween here. The kids had a really good time, and I am kinda a sucker for Halloween as well. We had a lot of fun handing out candy to all the cute trick or treaters as well.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Party at the Museum of Visual Materials 

Juice Stop Treats 

Enjoying one of the last nice days of the fall 

Trunk or treating 

Emma and Natalie 

Captain American and Bat Girl 

Trick or Treating 

Hay rides and Leaf Piles

Once again, this past week has kept us on our toes. Last Sunday, we went to a farm place of a family from our church and had an evening of fall fun. There was pumpkin painting, a hayride, supper with apple cider and hot chocolate, and trap shooting for the adults. The kids had a blast, and they especially enjoyed the hayride. As soon as we left, Emma wanted to know when the next hayride would be. It was pretty adorable. Both kids also painted pumpkins, and had a lot of fun with that.

The work week flew by pretty quickly. I ended up working about 47 hours last week (yuck) and John was really busy with work and photo editing, so the nights just flew by in a hurry.

On Wednesday evening, there was a special screening of a Martin Luther movie at the Century 7 Theatre here in town. So, John and I and a bunch of people from church went to go see it. This year is the 500 year anniversary of the Reformation, so that is the reason for this new movie being shown. It was a pretty good movie, it got kinda long towards the end, but it was good. The kids stayed home with Grandma Barb, which was awesome, since they would have been a nightmare at the movie theatre.

On Friday evening, we packed up and headed out to go to Minnesota for the weekend. We rescheduled Kyle's Senior Photos (for a third time) for this past weekend. It actually rained again on Saturday, so John shot his photo this morning.

On Saturday, since the weather was pretty rainy, we packed up the kids and went to Mankato for part of the day. Rachel and Elena met us at Applebee's, and we all had a nice lunch together. Then, we took the kids to Bounce town for a couple hours so the kids could wear off some of their endless energy. Emma and Elliott had a really good time and played really, really hard. We hit up Schmidt's Meat Market on the way home, and then called it a day and headed back to my parent's house. After all the running around, it was nice to just hang out and relax, and spend some time together.

Today was a pretty busy day for a Sunday. John shot some senior photos this morning, while Mom and I watched all the kids at home. Dad and Ryan are busy with harvest, so the kids got a combine ride this morning, and they loved that. Then, pretty much immediately after dinner, we had to hit the road and get back to Sioux Falls so John could shoot some family photos back here in town. Whew, busy day.

Once we got home, it was really nice out, so the kids and I raked up some leaves, and they had a good time jumping, throwing, and diving into the leave piles. It was pretty cute and they had a really fun time. We spent a good chunk of the evening outside wearing off some energy, and now both kids are sleeping soundly in their beds. I am savoring the peace and quiet. :)

Emma's First Hayride 

And Elliott's First Hayride 

Loving Fall

Another Afternoon Zoo Outing 

Adorable Selfie 

I Love Fall. 

Applebee's Lunch 

Cousins 

Fall Fun!

Beautiful Day for a bike ride

School Break

Emma didn't have school the first part if this week, so I took three days off work, and had a pretty busy three days with the kids.

On Monday, I kept both kids home with me all day. We spent the day playing at home, and then we did some school shopping with Grandma Barb. We got Emma a winter coat, and few warmer shirts for school. Elliott also got some new fall clothes. Both kids did pretty well on our outing, and we had a nice lunch at Burger King. We ended the day with some gymnastics for Emma, and overall a really good day.

Tuesday, Elliott went to daycare, and Emma and I had a mommy and Emma day. We ran a couple of errands, and then went and saw My Little Pony in the theatre. Emma really enjoyed it, and I survived, so I guess it went pretty well. Then we went home, and I tried to do some cleaning while the kids played and destroyed the house.

On Wednesday, I kept both kids home with me again and we went to Brookings to the Children's Museum with Grandma Barb. It was a pretty fun day. We left home around 10:00, and pretty much played at the museum for 5 hours straight, along with a lunch break. The kids had an absolute blast and played their little hearts out. They played really hard, and both kids slept the entire way home. It was a pretty successful day.

It was back to work and school for the rest of the week, which I think everyone was ok with. It's always nice to get back into a routine, and Emma loved going back to school again. I had a good couple days of work, and then it was back to the weekend again!

Yesterday was a pretty low-key day. We were pretty lazy and just lounged around and watched some TV most of the morning with the kids. It was a cold, rainy day, so it was easy to be lazy. Eventually, we went to Costco and then we went bed shopping for Elliott.

We decided it was finally time to get him a twin size bed, and he was pretty excited about it. He spent his first night in it last night, and really did pretty well. He got out of bed a couple times when he was trying to fall asleep, but after that he stayed put and slept there all night. He didn't even fall out of bed, so it was a success. And he got up and went potty all by himself first thing this morning, so that was great!! It was nice to turn his room into a little boy's room, and get rid of all the baby stuff. His room has a star wars theme going, and it's pretty cute.

We ate supper at Olive Garden with Dennis, Jenny, Emily, Andy, Malia, and Jim and Barb to celebrate Dennis' birthday. It was fun to get together with those guys and visit again. It has been quite a while!! We had some dessert back at Emily's house, and the kids had a blast playing with all the toys. It was a successful evening!!

Today we went to church, served the Bible Study treats, and I am home with the kids enjoying some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. John is at a Voter's Meeting right  now at church, which may take a while. Pretty soon we are going to have some lunch, and then we have a hayride to go to out at a church member's house, it should be a pretty fun time. Emma is super excited about it, and won't stop asking me about it.

Also, the Packers and Vikings play today. Skol Vikings!!!

Emma at the movie theatre 

 Playing with measuring cups 

At the Children's Museum 

Puppet show!

Emma running the cafe, so cute. 

Making music