Trick-or-Treat 2013

Halloween was a whole new ballgame for us this year.... mainly because Max and Jack decided that they would actually speak this year-- you know a "trick-or-treat" at the door, screamed in sheer ecstasy, followed with a "THANK YOU!" that was genuinely filled with gratitude, because a holiday that includes getting oodles of candy? Why yes, that is the best idea ever, for which they are most certainly thankful!

Meet our baby bear:

And Mickey Mouse:

And Peter Pan:

And our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Donatello:

And we tried for some family shots, but..... this was the best one of like 10000! Sam thought he should eat that weapon.... yummmmmy!

But of course when I was trying to take a picture of Gabe, then all of a sudden, a picture sounded like a great idea.... and they appeared right behind the tree :) And it ended up being a super cute shot!

We started out in Downtown Woodstock because I knew Gabe's mom would want to see him all dressed up and Gabe would love seeing his sister... they were cute as can be and Kimbrel did NOT understand why Gabe wouldn't be joining her in her wagon- so adorable!

There were tons of games and fun set up in downtown Woodstock but it was a total zoo- like might lose your children among the throes of costumed kiddos which just wouldn't be good. Anna and her girls met us there too-- once again, our children had themed costumes... Max and Lizzy were Peter Pan and Tinkerbell and ABSOLUTELY adorable! I got Gabe a really great Captain Hook costume, which at one point he said he wanted, but it turns out he completely did not want to be that and tried to pretend like I wasn't standing in front of him holding it. I picked up what he was putting down and offered to take it back so he could pick another- obviously that IS the direction he decided to go!

Man oh man does Max love his Lizzy. They are such good friends!

Jack and Evie were Mickey and Minnie and quite the adorable pair as well, BUT Evie was sick, poor baby, and spent most of her time in the stroller, not smiling. BUT she didn't want to miss the fun altogether and go inside.

Uncle Eli joined us too- which with wild man Jack, we seriously needed his adult help. Speaking of Jack.... this was the BEST thing that ever happened to him. He strutted down the street as people shouted about how adorable he was, he ran up to a house, said "trick or treat" was handed candy and preceded to immediately pop it in his mouth if he could get the wrapper off before I could get to him. He was so elated after every single house. Which would sometimes send him running with shouts of glee... into the street! Thankfully, I could be on candy-to-bag duty, Chad could be on stroller duty, and Eli would be on street duty/ save the child from being ran over. Then we would switch. Max also informed me that we would not need a wagon because "actually Eli would like to hold him and Daddy could hold Jack," It also helped having Gabe there to show the kids the ropes- it took no more than 2 houses for them to understand that speed was their friend and if they ran fast enough the adults would give up shouting for them to wait and just keep up.

Now all of this fun wore the baby smack out. He was sound asleep before we even made it out of the Prusa's yard. It's rough being the 4th boy....

Happy Halloween from the cutest boys around!

It's Fall Y'all!

Fall is my favorite time of year- for many reasons-- I love the crisp weather and the smells and the colors. I love the activities that go along with this time of year, and the clothes, and the food too. I love football on tv, and for some reason, fall just gives you more reasons to get together with people.

The beginning of fall is marked by football season-- and I really do love my Dawgs. This season has been a bit rough- we were flying high and then plummeted, but red and black nonetheless, woof woof! And it's been fun celebrating and watching with friends too, and making sure my boys know that Saturdays mean it's time for our jerseys.

The North Georgia Fair was also on our list for this fall-- Gabe earned it after reaching some goals at school and so we dropped the baby off with Annie and headed out for a family night. The boys loved it- even Chad- but I've got to tell you, the food used to be "good" me-- and now the smells alone make me nauseated... I'm getting so old. And when you break down the actual seconds you spend on rides with how much it costs, it ain't pretty. But again, I'm old. The BOYS loved it- grinned all night and talked about it for days afterwards, which of course makes it worth it.

We visited the pumpkin patch and corn maze-- it's our annual tradition with the Spivas-- this is our 4th year and we've managed to add a new pumpkin each year... and next year will be no different! They're expecting punkin number 3 in May, yayyyyy!!! We saw lots of pumpkins, shot a corn cannon, fed goats (nasty!), did the corn maze and the hay ride, but the boys had the most fun on this big pile of tires and a kiddie maze made from soy bean plants- they ran around that thing like nuts. It was so cute. And then of course Jack was covered in mud by the end....

We also got to go to the fall festival at Gabe's school. It was extra fun because it was put on by our church- so we got to work the hayride and meet and talk to people, as well as bump into Gabe's classmates. They decorated pumpkins, Gabe did the cake walk until he won, which was like 100988 times, they rode the hay ride, passed out candy, loved on the animals in the petting zoo (again, yucko!) and of course had to play in the jumpy. By the time we got home, we were all worn smack out. Just how I like it... there is nothing quite like a good Saturday afternoon nap!

And we're closed out "fall festivities" by carving and decorating pumpkins tonight. This has always been something for Chad and the boys and I just stand back and take pictures-- I get to stick my hands in enough goo between all the diapers, snot noses, and spitting up going on in these parts, so it's the least I can do :) This year, Gabe was our designer, Chad is still the only one yielding knives, Max was all about scooping out the guts, Sam watched and laughed, and Jack was all over the place in typical Jack form.

(Man I love these boys!)

I'm so thankful for this time of year-- you can see God's creativity, beauty, and love everywhere you look.