First Snow

We seem to have shifted to winter weather. Last week, high temps were in the 30s with some snow flakes here and there. I'm hopeful that temperatures will increase and we'll get in a few more mild days before the deep freeze really sets in, but either way, we're ready. 

Last year, mid-November snow caught me off guard. Burke and Ryan had a snow day, and I hadn't even gotten Ryan snow pants yet. We purchased winter gear in October this year. 

Last year, we struggled getting our leaves up because of the cold, ice and snow. This year, we've been picking up leaves every weekend and bought a leaf blower. 

After 4 years, maybe we're finally starting to get the hang of fall's transition to winter in southwest Michigan. 

This morning the boys wanted to go out and play in this adorable amount of snow. Their youthful enthusiasm is inspiring. Sporting some of their new gear: Ryan's new coat (I hope to get 4 seasons out of that coat between the two of them.) and both boys have new boots. 

Pushing snow

Not enough for shovels? Or maybe they forgot about shovels?

They stayed outside longer than I expected. When they came in, they had a treat to warm up. 

Hot chocolate with marshmallow and a twisty straw. 

(Evan was particularly excited about this treat.)

For kicks, I did a search in this blog using the word "snow." If you have a few minutes, you could look back too. Fun to see how they interact with the snow differently at different ages. Also, it's interesting to recall each season's snow accumulation.

We have yet to see what Winter 2014/15 has in store. They're predicting another rough one, like last year. Here we go...

All Things Halloween

2014 Halloween Festivities

October 19

We visited DeVries farm, which we do annually. They do some major decorations and sell pumpkins and such. They also have a play area for kiddos. I'm afraid they are beginning to outgrow the play area, especially Ryan. This Halloween has made me nostalgic for their younger years. 

They really got a kick out of this witch-flew-into-a-pole decoration. Every time we drove past it, they pointed it out and discussed its hilarity. 

After visiting DeVries, we went to a farm stand to get some apples. The farm stand was all decked out as well, and the boys loved running around to inspect everything. 

Below with Frankenstein, "We're brothers. Cha!"

Scary!

Very interested in this little cemetery set up. Ryan learned about RIP this year.

October 26

Jack-o-lantern

Well, finally on his seventh Halloween, Ryan finally repeatedly scooped pumpkin guts with his hands.  Evan still wanted nothing to do with it.

Awesome final product!

October 27

Halloween pudding treat

October 29

A local church hosted a trunk-or-treat event. The boys did a great job walking to and from the parking lot (it was kind of a hike) and waiting in the line. After we visited all the decorated trunks, we stopped by the DJ area and the boys danced to the music. They were so adorable and happy. 

A little background on how they selected these costumes. Ryan and I were on a walk earlier this fall, brainstorming costume ideas. Somehow, through the discussion king came up, and then once I reminded him his name means "Little King," he was sold. Evan had originally been interested in being a police officer, which was fine with me because we have that costume already. Ryan wore it in preschool. But when we went to the store to get Ryan's king accessories, Evan spotted this knight costume and he zeroed in on it big time. And so it was... Accidentally thematic Halloween costumes.

Back to trunk-or-treat... Part of trunk-or-treat seems to be waiting in line to get to the cars. Once you get to the cars, the line moves along great. So, I'm not sure why the initial line. The boys waited very patiently. There was music and a guy in a banana costume to keep us entertained.

October 30

Evan's preschool dress up party

Seven out of eight girls were dressed as princesses. Mrs. Meyer wanted to get a picture of Evan as a knight protecting the princesses. See the little girl on the far right with the blue crown? That's Naomi, one of Evan's favorite friends. By the way, creating Evan's shield was a team effort, a fun project the boys and Burke worked on together.

October 30

Burke's biannual Halloween Haunt-cert.

Yes, he was a random panda.

Too funny!

October 31

Ryan's 1st grade fall party

At the bingo center

At the drawing center

It was a cold, windy Halloween night, but King Ryan & Sir Evan (and their bundled parents) made it all the way "around the loop." Now they have enough candy to last until next Halloween!