And accordian folded pumpkins and cats, the girl loved it even if I never did actually hang them up. I saved them for next year so all is well. Free Fall decorations, yay!
These kids, I love these kids. We've been doing a writing co-op for several years now and they bring me so much joy with their writing, their spunk and their ability to turn anything into a joke. They share my love of sugar and for that I am eternally grateful.
October wouldn't be complete without a trip to the corn maze. The kids probably know the maze by heart but that's not the point. The point is to see their friends, have a good, clean time and make memories. I like that. Who doesn't love a good sunburst and a sumbrero, I mean really.
Doin' it High School Musical style! And thank you, Mrs. Hamilton for adding your amazing artistic eye to anything and everything. I never would have thought to have them jump. Love it.
OK, so the real reason I was willing to schlepp my kids out Livemore to roam around dead corn arranged in a confusing manor was really so I could have tea with two of my favorite people. Have you ever had tea in a corn maze parking lot? No? Well you should. It's so much fun. So out of context and different. The other moms couldn't resist so we shared our extra chairs and goodies and let them in on our time together. They probably needed to make a memory too.
I love them. That is all.
Oh, and I love everything about this. Tea in a beautiful teacup, crocheting, folding chairs in a parking lot, surrounded by friends and the strange yet amusing sound of the rushing freeway next to us. It worked, trust me.
The sun started to set and I couldn't resist trying to capture it on film so I could remember this moment as special. 
Oh, it was good.
Do I really need to say more about this? I don't think so. It's pretty self explanatory.
The next week we carved our pumpkins early in the morning because that's what the girl wanted to do and she had waited patiently for me to agree to this activity. I don't really enjoy it but the kids seem to love it. The boys have had years of pumpkin carving but this little one hasn't. Sometimes the last kid gets the short end of the stick if you know what I mean but I am determined to give her memories just like I did for my boys. She will remember this, I know she will.
Thanks to a handy dandy pumpkin carving tool all the kids were able to easily carve their own pumpkins. Love.
Oh, and the best part, they also cleaned out their own pumpkins. I don't know why it has taken me this long to figure out that using rubber gloves makes this procedure so much more bearable. Cleaning out a pumpkin rates right up there with cleaning a toilet and I think I would rather clean a toilet.
Oh, so cute.
Gross, but so happy it was done so easily and I didn't have to do it.
And now, for dressing up and gathering candy. Breanna has an obsession with cats so she was a leopard and she even did research on the difference between a cheetah and a leopard. Bryan was a Disneyland tourist and Justin dressed up like his small group leader who is also named Justin. He loved it.
Marcus was able to trick-or-treat for the first time. We're a little embarrassed that he's 15 and has never gone but oh well. He went with a huge group of other teenagers and they had a blast.
And of course, to end a perfect night on the last day of October I looked up and this is what I saw. So magical.
