Spooktacular Fun!

We filled the last days before Halloween with as much as we could!

 We have the best pumpkin patch by my parents' house.  We love it!  The Saturday before Halloween Russ went up to his parents' cabin to help get it ready for winter, so the kids and I headed to the patch and we invited Grandma Juju and Papa Bill to come along.  

This year B actually wanted to get on the tractors and my dad filled him in on lots of tractor facts, fun for me to hear too!

I loved watching B search the pumpkins until he found the perfect one.

 It was fun to watch him push it around in his wheelbarrow.  It tipped over a time or two.  He sadly thought he got to take it home though.  He said mom, now I can help Dad out in the yard!  Christmas idea... 

Lex loved getting down and dirty with the pumpkins :)  She would have stayed down in the dirt the whole time if I would have let her. 

That next Monday we headed off for another of our favorite traditions, the witches at Gardner Village!  Baylor actually liked them this year, we just keep doing better!!!  He keeps amazing me with the things he is willing to try, especially compared to last Halloween.  And his cousins are on the same track as me so they got to join us!

And the biggest surprise, Baylor saw kids taking pony rides and he asked if could do it... um YES!  So I bought the ticket and sure enough, he hopped on.  And he even got the white pony that he wanted, her name was Marshmallow :) They led him all through the village and he absolutely loved it.

We did a few little crafts at home...

And my Mom's annual Halloween dinner, always a hit!  She never ceases to amaze me!  She puts so much work into the dinner and we all have so much fun.

Baylor kept hauling around this balloon and of course after me telling him all night we needed to tie it on, it floated to the ceiling (moms are psychic geniuses).  So my sweet dad went and got the super ladder and got his balloon back.  Good thing there's grandparents...

Halloween morning we had orange pumpkin pancakes, yum!

 And then Captain Hook got to go to his preschool Halloween party!

I had fun making these little treat bags for his class.  And thanks to pinterest, I found these little labels that fit perfectly on juice boxes :)

 The one and only Miss Shannon, Baylor adores her.

 That night before trick-or-treating, some of our family came over for pumpkin shaped pizza

 Trick-or-treating was a blast!  I had so much fun making Alexis' costume.  She was definitely a hit at everyone's houses.  Some of our neighbors even wanted pictures of her :) 

 Baby cheetah accompanied us and in no time, Baylor filled his pumpkin right up.  I bought him a special pirate bag, but he insisted on the pumpkin 

 We met up with my other niece, Aspen, who after seeing Lexi's costume decided she wanted to be a peacock too!  My sister had a little harder of a task, but I think they turned out darling.

 Admiring their "LOOT"

 And here are the pics I had my sister do in their costumes.  

I love how they turned out, thanks Michelle!

Princess Peacock

 And the "pesky pirate, Captain Hook!"

I usually can't wait for Fall to get here, and this year I've been in some strange denial LOL.  I had to take down 4th of July stuff to decorate for Halloween.  I think it's the fact that time just keeps passing too quickly.  I just haven't been ready for the warm weather and summer fun to go.  But we had a blast celebrating Halloween and since I can't stop the clock, I guess we'll keep on trucking!  I hope you all add your kiddos in their costumes onto your blogs, I love to see them!!

Wally World

On the last day of our trip we decided to go to Legoland!  B absolutely loves legos, so we thought it would be the perfect place.  AND my dad feels the opposite about Legoland, and he had to fly home that day so we headed for Carlsbad- excited as ever.  

We arrived and pulled into a VERY empty parking lot.  WHAT?!  Russ walked up to the empty gate to read the sign stating that after Labor Day, Legoland is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Awesome.  We seriously felt like the Griswalds when they arrived at Wally World.  So disappointed, mostly because I had totally talked it up to Baylor.  But we decided to just drive a little more and go to the San Diego Zoo instead.  Heaven knows we love the zoo, so it was the perfect alternative.  

 Baylor is my little animal enthusiast.  We had to make an immediate purchase of a safari hat so he could cruise the zoo in style.

 We loved seeing all the animals, but especially the ones we don't have at our zoo.  

The sweet little Koalas were sleepy, but so cute.

 I tell ya, this boy LOVES animals.

 The PANDA bears!

 To our excitement, there was not just one baby giraffe but TWO!

 It was a highlight for us to see a real cheetah- I've failed to mention that for over a month we have been a family of cheetahs.  One random day Baylor started calling me "mama cheetah", he's "big boy cheetah", Lexi is "baby cheetah", you get the idea.  And it's not a one time or random thing, it's ALWAYS and I think it's HILARIOUS.  So our little cheetah family got to watch this amazing cheetah.

 Big boy cheetah did nothing but smile :)

 We had the BEST time at the zoo!  It's crazy big, with lots of twists, turns, and hills, but so fun.  The habitats are amazing and you can get so close to so many different animals.  And another highlight, Baylor got his own "baby" and yes, it's a little cheetah that he since hauls everywhere.  He's still holding Patch from Disneyland in this pic :) and sadly, the other day he told us that baby tiger was still at Disneyland.  We thought he had forgotten, but he hasn't.  We've talked and someday maybe we'll get another tiger, but for now baby cheetah is a hit.  

And look at that little safari smile.  Nothing makes me happier.

 The sun was setting as we left the zoo, but we decided to hurry to the nearest beach so we could have Lex put her feet in the ocean for the first time. 

She thought it was funny, even though it was so cold.  Our happy little lady.

B thought it was pretty fun too

 And we even had enough light to look for a few shells.

 We had the best trip.  Nothing beats making memories with the people you love.  

Our last memory was at the airport.  Russ was returning the rental car and so my mom and I got the privilege of taking this load through security.  Keep in mind, shoes, jackets, baby out of seat... you get the idea.  And I know what you're thinking- why didn't you just check the carry-on luggage... we just didn't want to pay all the extra money!  I would much rather get some fabulous Disney souvenirs (which we did;) than spend it on checking bags.  So we whipped out our super skills and got us through.  We rock.

And that my friends, was our California, October 2012 adventure