Happy Halloween

Halloween with these two girls was so much fun. I had a busy October and didn't have it in me to make elaborate costumes for the girls this year, so we took the easy route. Mya wore the Little Red Riding Hood costume I made a few years ago for Bryn and it worked perfectly. Bryn wanted to be Cinderella and I had big plans of making her dress, but then I passed this $10 dress at the store and decided to swallow my pride and save myself some work this year! All we had to do was make a quick ribbon necklace and cover a headband with some blue fabric and tulle that I had in my stash. 

 Bryn had a fun Halloween party at school today, including a costume parade through the elementary school.

We couldn't let Bryn have all the fun, so Mya and I did some Halloween activities at home.

 After school we had about an hour to get ready for the neighborhood Halloween party at the clubhouse. Bryn got to wear a little Cinderella make-up and do her hair fancy, and it was too much for her! She got totally into character and spent a good ten minutes posing in the mirror, fluttering her eyelashes and blowing kisses with her lipsticked lips. It was hilarious. Josh and I couldn't stop laughing. 

Doing "Cinderella make-up" isn't my forte and her eyeliner got a little crazy. Bryn loved the lipstick and blush, but when she saw her eyelashes in the mirror she started crying and said I made her look like a scary witch. Ha ha! Luckily we wiped it off and got her calmed down before the party. 

 Bryn's best Cinderella poses.

 At the neighborhood party with her buddies JJ and Emma

Mya, a little scared by all the noise and people

 After the party Mya and I went back home to pass out candy (and dance to "Thriller" in the living room) and Josh took Bryn trick-or-treating with her friends. 

Happy Halloween!

October Days

October was a fun, busy month with lots of outings and parties, but also lots of fun, simple days at home...

The first thing Bryn does in the morning is slide books through the crib bars for Mya to read. (Sometimes more books than other days!) The girls' reading time gives Josh and I about 15 extra minutes to hit snooze a few times and finally crawl out of bed :)

Pre-Bedtime walks are one of my very favorite things.

Evenings at the park

Afternoon tea parties with my girls

Bryn draws/paints/writes stories all day long. One day I asked her what she wanted for lunch and she asked if she could paint her lunch order instead of say it. 

Bryn went on a real school bus with her preschool class to the fire station. She thought it was the coolest thing ever and can't stop giggling about the phrase "stop, drop, and roll"....which actually isn't a joke!

The colorful fall leaves have mostly fallen and now we're left with sidewalks and yards filled with crunchy brown leaves. The first thing Bryn does each day when we pick her up from preschool is run straight for the leaves.

 This is what Bryn looks like when I let her dress herself. Stripes, leopard print, lots of bright color, an oversized scarf, and my glasses.

 Mya and I love our quiet afternoons while Bryn's at school. It's so fun to have the one-on-one time with my sweet Mya girl.

We love our evening walks, but it's getting really cold lately so we've really had to bundle up the girls. We actually had snow flurries this morning, so I think fall is officially ending!

So long, October!

Pumpkin Carving

 We carved pumpkins for Family Home Evening on Monday and invited our friends Dan and Jenny to join us. They are from Korea and had never carved pumpkins before, so it was really fun to "teach" them....although they were quick learners and their pumpkins turned out better than ours!

 Bryn and Amy would rather play dress-ups than scoop out goopy seeds from a pumpkin. Smart girls.

Church Halloween Party

On Saturday we had a Halloween party at church and it was another fun excuse to dress up and get more use out of our costumes. The Primary presidency was in charge of the party, so I spent most of the night running around helping with the meal and activities....hence the lack of pictures :)

 Josh said the mustache/goatee from his Colonel Sanders costume would restrict his eating, so we cut a quick strip of fabric for a headband and he went as a Ninja Turtle :)

Tiny Tuckies Halloween Party

 A few days ago we had the Halloween Party at Tuck for all the "Tiny Tuckies" and it was a blast!

 Something cracked me up about Mya sitting at the table with Bryn and the big kids.

 Trick-or-treating through the halls of Tuck to the professors/administrators

 On the way out of the party Cinderella lost one of her glass slippers on the steps and it was quite the dramatic scene!

 I love this little Red

 Fun party!

October Hiking

We've done some fun family hikes this fall, but I've also fit in some fun, longer hikes without kids. Here are a few beautiful hikes from this past month...

MT. CARDIGAN

I hiked Mt. Cardigan with my friend Cat and it was a fun one! Gorgeous panoramic views from the top! 

BOSTON LOT LAKE

I think I've posted about Boston Lot Lake ten times before, but here are a few more pictures because I hike it about once a week and it's still so pretty to me. It takes less than 20 minutes to hike/jog from our porch to the lake and the trail is so beautiful. Then there is another gorgeous trail that loops around the lake. 

 MT. ASCUTNEY

Cat and I hiked Mt. Ascutney about a week ago and it was another pretty one. It was a good, long hike - about 4 hours to the top and back - and my knees were feeling it for a few days afterwards! But the views were spectacular and it was such a fun hike!

 I love New Hampshire.