Costumes and Pumpkin Farms

Saturday we went to the "Trunk-or-Treat" at our YMCA. It is absolutely unbelievable how these people decorate the trunks of their cars. Isaac and Grace got a ton of candy. Isaac quickly learned to say "trick-or-treat" which mostly sounds like "ck-a-teat." Grace is dressed as Bat Girl and Isaac is obviously a tiger. Both of them enjoyed choosing their own costumes. I was hoping for Raggedy Ann and Andy, but no such luck.

Yesterday we headed to a huge pumpkin farm about 30 minutes away. The day was gorgeous. 75 degrees, sunny, with a slight breeze. We spent 3 hours on the farm and still didn't get to do everything. It was a great day. I was feeling full of energy (and these days I just never know) and the kids were having a blast. I felt so fortunate to be able to spend the afternoon with my kids; to see their faces at every discovery; and to be the person with whom they wanted to share their excitement.

Grace's favorite thing to do was the tunnel slide. It is long and underground and can be quite fast. But she could care less- no fear. Neither of my children have any fear.

Here we are on the train. You can rest assured that little brother was in no way going to cooperate for a photo.

The engineer stepped up and took one of the three of us.

They have this adorable 'Bunny Town.' The bunnies go right up to the kids...I have no idea why. Isaac and Grace both loved it. I thought Isaac wouldn't be interested, but he was fascinated.

Another new attraction this year is the hay loft. It is about 5-6 feet of hay and is softer than any pillow. The kids spent 30 minutes jumping off of the hay bales. This was the hi-lite of Isaac's day. He has really been into jumping off of things lately, so I was thrilled to see this fabulous idea. They ate a huge lunch after this activity.

Grace took this picture of me and Isaac-no kidding. Pretty good.

You can see that the belly is getting big!

New rule: You pick it- you carry it.

Grace's pumpkin dress is so adorable.

I got brave and let Isaac do the tunnel slide with Grace. They both thought it was so neat to do it together. I have a feeling that next year they will not think it is so fun to go together, but for now it is precious.

Too bad we had to head home after this.

The Attic and Isaac

The renovations are moving along at a snail's pace. Lots of hold-ups with inspections, passing inspections, and other trivial things that result from a lack of planning and organization. We are getting to the antsy point. Just ready for something to be finished. I think we have about 3 weeks until we are finished with everything. Phew- not sure I would do this over. Below is the attic as of last weekend. Framing is finished- (we didn't pass inspection b/c one of the load baring beams was not supported...isn't that why we hired a general contractor...to know that stuff?) and finally passed inspection. This week the drywall went up. I will take a picture and post it soon.

It always makes me nervous when Sid goes poking around. He is VERY picky.

On Saturday we went to a fall festival at a local church. The kids got their faces painted and ate lots of candy.

Isaac has really taken this construction life-style to heart. Here he is with his toolbox. Apparently he is going to help.

Yes, definitely helping. He chose a perfectly reasonable hammer and screw.

Things I didn't have to worry about with Grace: Do not leave toddler alone with cereal while you go to the bathroom.

Isaac's Tape

Well, the renovations are moving along- they are not moving "right-along" but at least they are moving. Isaac is a boy at heart. He has loved every single aspect of this renovation from the very loud tools, the constant mess, the new faces, and most of all the tape measures. In the business a tape measure is simply called a "tape" and that is a word that he can easily handle. He now has his own "tape" that he chose from Lowes. He loves it, carries it everywhere, and WILL NOT use any substitute tapes.