Halloween

The kids' requests were pretty straight forward this year. Kyle wanted to be a red super hero and Claire a snow leopard. A google image search landed us on Baymax from Big Hero 6 for Kyle. He was quite happy to wear the costume around the house and even got to wear it to school last week.

Surprisingly, there was a girl's snow leopard costume easily available that made Claire happy too. She chose not to wear the white fur boot covers, but they would likely have been wet and muddy when we returned. 

Since Halloween fell on a weekend, our neighborhood trick or treat took place on the actual day. Unfortunately it was cold and raining the entire time:( The kids were happy to make it around our circle and head back in. The houses were happy to see us and rewarded the kids with extra candy.

We had to make a quick stop at the grocery store after. Kyle was happy to keep his costume on while Claire thought everyone would be looking at her and took it off in the car. She also didn't want her brother to see her off to the bus the day he was dressed up for school. It's interesting to watch her self-awareness and self consciousness develop. Makes me a little sad. The new car carts at the grocery store, however, made both of these kids happy as can be.

Fast Forward

Well September and October flew by. It seems we had commitments every weekend with no time to catch our breath or blog! So, here are random photos to explain what we've been up to the past few months.

We visited Oktoberfest in our city. We had heard great things and met some of Lucian's family there one night. The kids had fun and so did we. We'll definitely do it again next year.

We met friends at the zoo

 We took Frida on some urban adventures

I completed a 10K!

And Kyle is starting to master #2 on the potty! He is motivated by hot wheels, so while we may blow his college fund by the time this is over, I am not longer washing poopy underwear! I think it's a win win.

Claire is 6!

Better late than never, right? I started this post back in Spetember. It's now November, so let's see what happened.

This little lady turned 6 years old this month. Her birthday was during the week at school, so we sent rice krispy treats for the class. We had a family celebration at the house with cake and presents.

 

Claire was super excited to receive clothes this year. She also got some fashion jewelry and a baby doll carrier, which she had her eye on at Target. She also kind of got a puppy, whom she adores. 

We love our sweet, silly, opinionated, bright and caring young lady.

Pumpkin Farm

Trying out a new look for the blog. Here goes... I got to chaperone Kyle's class field trip to the pumpkin farm. Unfortunately the day was quite cold with rain, but they had plenty of sheltered activities for the kids. He and I really enjoyed our time together.

He loves to ride the bus. I sat with him.

He touched a bunny, snake and chicken.

We took a tractor hay ride and saw the muddy pumpkin field, but picked our pumpkin from a bin near the barn.

They fed the goats

And we rode a "train" that looked like Thomas. 

He napped well that afternoon:) It can feel hectic to fit stuff in like this while working, but I feel really fortunate to have had the opportunity to go. He's growing so fast!

Welcome Frida!

We are dog owners again! Some neighbors brought home a golden puppy this summer and I started to get the itch. We contacted some breeders and recently found an available Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy (same as our previous dog Tatum).

Lucian and I drove to meet her and her siblings thinking we were one of 3 people interested in her. Turns out we were the only ones ready! We named her Frida; a nod to the painter Frida Kahlo and a childhood nickname of mine, Frida Dita.

We made the long drive over Labor Day weekend to pick her up, splitting over two days with a stay at a water park hotel! We stopped in Madison on the way home so she could meet her biggest bro:)

She is now 9 weeks and is settling in and adjusting to home life. My parents spent last week with us to help make her first days nice and easy. It was great.

Claire loves her and is very good with commands, controlling her and pitching in. It really seems she was meant to have a dog.

Off to School!

Kyle started a Pre-K program this year. He is excited and doing well. He was always with me when I picked Claire up and begged to go on the playground equipment and play with the classroom toys. He is in heaven now that is allowed and learning a lot about following rules and having more structure to his day. His teachers say he is so polite and very enthusiastic about school.

He and Claire attended the same school for one whole day. His first day was her last. She was a wonderful big sister making sure he was doing ok and playing with him on the playground. That night she even asked me in a very concerned way "Who is going to play with Kyle tomorrow?". I assured her that he would make friends.

Claire is in full day Kindergarten this year! She knows the drill and seems very confident riding the bus and finding her way around the school. I hope it's a fantastic year for her.

Kyle did cry again on her first day saying how he wants to ride the bus. Luckily there is a field trip coming up for him where he will get his chance:)

Camping

We tried our hand at camping a few weeks ago. Camping is not my thing, I'll admit. I resisted this kind of trip for a while, but the economics of it are hard to argue with. Claire lost a tooth the night before we left.

We loaded up the van with gear and the 5 of us and headed to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

We all slept in a giant tent. 

We made s'mores.

And explored the coast of Lake Superior. It was a long drive. My two take aways: 1).You can't reserve a camping spot in a National Forest. I would only like go to grounds where you can reserve a spot. (For a while). 2). You only need half the food you think you do.

I will try it again, but much closer to home.

Although I packed a bin of toys, this is how the kids spent their time. Throwing rocks, making food out of sand and playing with sticks.