Princess, Princess, Strawberry, Princess

This Halloween we had a very special visitor, the cutest little strawberry since Kate. We were all so happy to see Sloane and Uncle Richie and Auntie D, but I think the girls most of all. I can already tell how much fun they're all going to have once Sloane and their other should-be-here-any-day-now cousin get bigger.

While Rich and DeAnn took Sloane home for bed, we set off trick-or-treating and found another princess friend along the way. And then another princess and a Spiderman too (not to mention all the other neighborhood kids).

Happy (or Scary, whatever you like) Halloween, everyone!

Halloween Prep

Who needs a fancy Merida wig when you have naturally red hair and a mom with a little sister who loved crimped hair?

Not this girl!

A Pumpkin for Each

Halloween may or not be on tomorrow night, so we need to make sure we have our pumpkins ready! The girls were so excited to help, can you tell?! (That's the seed scraper Kate is holding against her face like a telephone, by the way.)

We had picked up a big pumpkin for each girl, and they each had their say in how their pumpkins would be carved. Emily wanted a scary pumpkin, Kate wanted a happy pumpkin, and that's what they got.

Then they started getting a little crazy, and this is before they even have any candy. Yikes!

We're ready for Halloween now. We just hope the rest of the neighborhood is too!

How We Survived the Hurricane

Hurricane Sandy ravaged its way up the East Coast yesterday, and after the damage of Katrina seven years ago and even Irene last year, we all now know that these storms have to be taken seriously. Mimi and Pop-Pop spent the weekend at the shore preparing the beach house for the storm. They left on Sunday, well before the storm hit, but still saw the beginnings of what was to come.

Meanwhile, back at home, we weren't hit too hard, but knowing our creek has flooded our backyard in just a heavy rain storm not once but twice, we knew we had to be prepared here as well.

I joked that we were baking up a storm yesterday, but really I just wanted to make sure I baked the cookies for the girls' Halloween parties while we still had power. The girls were more than happy to oblige.

During Hurricane Irene last summer, we were concerned about both flooding and falling trees and slept with the girls on the family room floor to be safe. Since we survived without any flooding then, our concern this time shifted primarily to falling trees, so we decided to camp out in the basement. The girls loved it. Daddy and I, not so much.

Today we should have been celebrating Halloween with the girls at their preschool parades and parties, but instead we're still cooped up inside. It's a good thing we picked up a few extra pumpkins at Linvilla, because they were a perfect distraction!

We're so very lucky to have survived without any damage. Now our focus can shift back to Halloween. Here's hoping trick-or-treating is still on schedule tomorrow!

Fall's Finest

Our backyard view says it all: Fall is here!

If that view doesn't prove it, the leaf piles throughout our neighborhood should. Emily spent the afternoon playing in a giant one over at Caitie's house along with her brothers Ben and Nick.

Look at those smiles. Such pure, simple joy. I hope they never end.

Pumpkin Patch

Today our township hosted a fall festival at a nearby park, and guess who we stumbled upon while there? Aunt Patti Lynn and cousin Kyleigh and Connor!

We took a hay ride to the "Great Pumpkin Patch" which was really just a ton of small pumpkins scattered across a giant field, but, hey, it's the closest our girls have come to a real pumpkin patch (since Linvilla already has the pumpkins picked and piled in boxes), so we'll take it.

Patti Lynn and the kids left the patch earlier than us, but no matter, because we found a few other friends along the way. This time, it was our neighbors (and Aunt Kelly and Uncle Rob's next door neighbors), Avery and Alex.

The point of the pumpkin picking was to find a pumpkin to paint at the festival, but by the time we made it back with our pumpkins, the painting station was a little chaotic. We promised the girls we would paint them at home and distracted them with spin art instead.

Once at home, as promised, I set the girls up to paint their carefully chosen pumpkins.

Portrait pumpkin by Emily, abstract by Kate, fun by all!