End of October

10/23

The library put on a little pumpkin event for kids with story time, picking out a pumpkin, a station to paint said pumpkins (hard pass!), cider, goodie bags, and a free book. We braved the 30-degree temps, some threw on a costume, and headed down to Macon plaza. See the little garden gnome in the group shot of story time? That's Hattie's friend Teigan! Haha! We brought home little pumpkins, new books, and a bag with a few pieces of candy in it. Win! 

After the pumpkin event, we went to Jared and Michelle's for a birthday party for Kinsley who turned 4 on the 23rd. Earlier that morning, Matt packed up and headed out to northwest Colorado to elk hunt. He pulled the camper and packed up to be gone for the whole week, or as long as it took him to shoot an elk before the season ended 9 days later. 

On Sunday, I harvested my sweet potatoes!! I was pleasantly surprised at how well they did. I hoped and hoped all summer long that they were growing, but since they grow underground, I couldn't tell at all how they were actually doing. I had a grand ol' time digging them up!! I got a lot for my first year growing them! Some of them were quite sizeable, as big or bigger than the ones I buy in the grocery store. Some of them are little, but that's ok. I was happy that I got something at all! 

Holding Michelle's youngest daughter Avery... and she fell right asleep in my arms. She is squishy and darling!

A welcome sight in the fall!

The kids worked on their own posters for Fictional Character day at school on the 29th. Hattie was there for moral support!

So apparently elk hunting isn't hard... hahaha! Matt shot one on opening day and was headed home the next morning. We spent the next few days processing right around 100 pounds (maybe a little more) of wrapped meat for the freezer. Sweet!!!

Fictional Character day! Charlie is Charlie Brown, Alanna is Nancy Drew, Hattie is the butterfly from the Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Molly is Curious George. 

Pumpkin carving time with Daddy!

On Halloween, Larissa and I went to this food distribution in Canon together. It was $40 for well over $300 worth of food. We got there super early to get in line which left us with a few hours of time together to talk and walk and talk some more. AND we got to come home with several boxes of food! It was a wonderful morning with a dear friend. 

Ready to trick or treat! Molly and Charlie stuck with their fictional character costumes while Hattie chose to don a super hero cape (leftover from her sister so it has a big 'A' on the back - ha!) and Alanna decided to be a baker. Easy peasy! 

 

Happy 5th Birthday, Hattie!!

Happy 5th Birthday, Hattie Elizabeth!!

Hattie got to spend her birthday at preschool with her friends. She wanted to bring a special snack so we brought Lucky Charms breakfast bars for the class to match with Hattie's rainbow birthday cake. Plot twist - I was actually home with Hattie on her birthday since two days prior, all of CCHS was moved to virtual learning due to the first student COVID case of the year. I wasn't sad at all to be home with Hattie on her special day, that's for sure!!! 

How in the world is this baby of mine five years old?!? Sheesh. Time flies. She is a precious little thing! I can't imagine life without her; she is joy-filled and sweet, hilarious and imaginative, and we are so glad to be her parents!! We love you, Hattie Liz!

 

A Visit from The Edwards'!

October 15-18

Kathy, Jason, and the kids flew out to Colorado for a quick weekend away!! They flew into Denver on Thursday and we met up with them at a hotel in the Denver Tech area that evening (after school and parent/teacher conferences for us). We spent the evening swimming at the hotel pool and hanging out in the rooms. It was great to see cousins on our home turf!! :) On Friday, we drove west of Denver on I70 over to Silverthorne. It was a chance for us to get up into the mountains a bit. I packed a cooler for a picnic lunch on Friday, so we found a fun playground and stopped for a sunny yet chilly picnic. I think it was 43 degrees outside but thankfully not to terribly windy. We ate sandwiches and played and chatted. From Silverthorne, we drove south to Breck. We walked downtown for a while and shopped a bit. We made it to the top of Hoosier pass before the sun went down and had time to take a fast picture. It was chilly up there! On our way back into Canon, Edwards' picked up pizza so dinner was served immediately when we got home. Score! 

On Saturday, the kids played together all day - Nerf wars, Barbies, dressing up crazy, etc. The adults sat on the back deck most of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine. We even got our beanbag set out and played a few games. Matt and Jason went for a walk on Skyline Drive. It was low-key and fabulous! The Edwards' had to head to the airport late Sunday morning, so it was a fast weekend, but I'm so glad that they took the time to come out to see us! We always love having visitors come to us.