Halloween

Mia considering her costume choices earlier in the week.

Pre halloween festival play

At a neighborhood Halloween festival.

Sophie, thrilled with her face paint.

Zoe comparing her costume mask to the alpaca's ears.

Sophie at the school parade. She's a 'pajama swimmer'. A pajama swimmer is a swimmer who wears her long sleeved pajamas underneath a bathing suit to avoid being cold.

Zoe at the school parade. She's bat girl.

My bat girl, devil girl, and pajama swimmer. Before our regular trick or treating we often go to our neighbor's house who  prepares the most wonderful goodie bags especially for them.

 Then dinner and trick or treating with some pals.

Mia wasn't feeling so terrific so she helped hand out candy and cuddle with daddy instead of going trick or treating.

My favorite part of Halloween was the next morning. I came down stairs and Zoe and Mia were sitting at the kitchen table with all of Zoe's candy spilled out on the table in a huge mound along side the one little treat bag that Mia got from our neighbor. I asked what they were up to, and Zoe replied that they had decided to combine all their candy and were sorting it together. I thought that was the most generous and kind-hearted thing of Zoe to do. It was very sweet to share all her candy.

Apple Picking

 As fun as it was, we really over did the picking this year. Apples, tomatoes (enough sauce has now been made for the entire winter), green beans, potatoes, onions, etc. Everything on the farm looked beautiful. Including the three little kiddies below...

Mia and Zoe angling for more apples. They won.

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Pumpkin picking

Weekend Away - Pennsylvania

While Zoe visited a nearby sleep away camp, we explored Lancaster, PA. It was a really cozy weekend in a lot of ways. First, we shared a hotel room ... and it was fun. You are old enough that everyone slept well, and it felt like a sleep over. 

We went on a horse drawn carriage ride. Needles to say, this was a highlight.

 We also went on a very old-fashioned train ride. The bonus was getting to see more of the landscape.

 Then, off to a nearby theme park called Dutch Wonderland.  The rain cleared out, and we were able to play for a few hours.

Sophie also perfected her fish face on this trip.

What I don't have pictures of is one of the biggest highlights. The hotel had an indoor water park. We were able to swim and go on water slides before bed.

On the way home, we stopped at one of the biggest country stores I've ever seen. We ended up spending an hour there, doing seasonal activities, and picking up a few fun things.

Toothless Mia

Thank goodness this tooth came out! I don't think any of us could watch the thing dangle any more. Congratulations Mia! You actually laughed it out. I was helping you floss your teeth, and you started giggling and it popped out when you moved your head and my hand jerked. You were delighted!