Tree Hunting All on My Own

In the past, we've been able to work things so that Teag is in town for both Thanksgiving and tree hunting the following Saturday. This year, it didn't quite work out that way; Teag got Thanksgiving with us, but wouldn't be home in time to trek off into the mountains. So for the first year ever, I went to tree hunting by myself.

And by myself, I mean that I went with my dad and all my brothers. But I cut my own tree down! Sawed that baby like nobody's business!

And because Nate likes to keep things interesting, we kept an additional three or so feet that we didn't need on the bottom.

I think she's a beauty.

Lots o' Leaves

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; one of the things I love about our neighborhood is all the big mature trees. It can be a beast as far as raking goes, but I love the giant leaf piles we have to play in. The kids got the pile as high as they could make it, and went to town.

The leaves end up getting everywhere, in their hair, sock,pants, underwear, you name it. But they love it. And I love that they love it.

And on another leaf related note, I made some pretty fancy pies for our Bayly family get together.

This was one of those times when they tasted as good as they looked, and it was a sad day when the last slice was eaten. Good thing there's more to come!

Halloween 2016

We had a great Halloween this year, with lots of candy, and perfect weather. We started the morning off at the kiddie parade at school. For some weird reason they wouldn't let the Pre-K kids dress up, so I only have pictures of Danyn and Rory.

After school it was pumpkin carving time! We had lots of pumpkins this year, but we made the mistake of forgetting that with Maisie getting home so late, she wouldn't have time to carve her pumpkin. So I did hers for her with a magical theme. Finn was interested in his for about ten minutes, and then he was done. All he really wanted was a ghost.

Danyn wanted to carve a bat with a tree nearby, but learned that intricate carving can be tricky.

Rory wanted to do a witch, but she kept drawing things that were too tiny. So I suggested Teag copy the design from my Halloween shirt, and he ended up with a pretty impressive display.

I figured out that by using a dremel, I could carve through a pumpkin and get some pretty fine details, which was also how Teag did the witch so finely.

It allowed for a much more elaborate carving ability than what we've had before. And given the fact that we had pirates on our porch, I felt it was only right to carve my pumpkin into a Jolly Roger.

Once they all had lights, we had quite the pumpkin collection.

After carving, we hurried to get some pictures of the kids in their costumes. Finn was Chase, a Rescue Bot (Transformer).

Rory was a Winter Princess, whatever that may be.

And Danyn was Wednesday Addams, a role which she took very seriously, as you can see by the picture.

Maisie was a social butterfly for her party at school, but by the time we got her pictures, she didn't have the Facebook/Instagram/Twitter etc. badges on anymore.

After that, it was time to go to Grandma Rogers for the annual Spooky Dinner. It did not disappoint!

As gross as the meatballs looked, they were tasty! I also stole a skeleton cupcake for myself, to tide me over while handing out ten pounds of candy to neighbor kids. We got to see all the cousins in costume, which ran the gamut.

Teag took the youngest three Trick or Treating, while Maisie, who's aged out, went to a party with friends.

It ended up being a pretty good night, but ended rather poorly when Finn peed through his costume with no warning. Oh well. That night, we felt it best to bring our porch skeletons into the house in case any hoodlums decided to make off with them. And that gave us a great idea to surprise our kids in the morning.

But apparently our kids have no sense of humor, and didn't appreciate waking up to a skeleton sitting at the kitchen table in the dark. Can't understand why.

All in all, a great Halloween, and another one for the books!

Fall Fun

The Baylys had a pretty awesome Autumn. We had a lot of adventures packed into that month! First off, we got to ride the Pumpkin Train.

The kids had a great time dancing in the aisles, eating pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, singing Halloween songs, or just hanging out with their cousins.

Afterwards, we got to pick out our own pumpkins to take home. A little while later, Teag introduced the kids to a tradition he remembered from his own childhood, making ghost cookies.

Nutter Butters dipped in white chocolate, with chocolate chip eyes. I love how precisely they place the eyes too, they were so careful. Even Finn, whose head is barely taller than the counter top.

I must admit I got pretty into Halloween this year myself. It all started with a pirate skeleton from Costco... Luckily, I have a very patient and talented husband who helped me create a box that looked like it came straight out of the 1800's, and a cool sign to warn off anyone thinking of making pirating their future.

We had quite a positive response from our kids and the neighborhood in general, so I think people liked our decorations. And every time I drove up to our house, I'd smile when I saw them. Teag might be slightly worried for next year...

Fun at School

In October, Newman elementary sponsored their annual Walkathon Fundraiser. In the past, I've been involved through the PTA, but this year, I ran with my kids around the school. They were so excited to see me there, and to keep pace with me. Rory especially introduced me to every friend we encountered.

Danyn wanted to make sure she got her picture with the Newman Tiger to commemorate the event.

Shortly thereafter, Finn's Pre-K class participated in the Read for the Record challenge, where all the parents got invited to come read the same book together. I got a chance to see what Finn's day at school looks like.

We got to read, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich, along with people all over the country.

And we got to make our own bear masks, so we could pretend to be the bear.

The kids even got their favorite kind of sandwich, an ice cream sandwich, for a snack. I've always been fairly involved with my kids at the school, but this year with me stepping back from the PTA, I've been less so. It was nice to get a chance to spend time with them in that environment, and to be able to support the people who make it happen.