halloween

Let me introduce you to the most adorable Wonder Woman and Firefighter I ever did see!  I have no idea why Brooke wanted to be Wonder Woman, but she had been talking about it for MONTHS!  As a family, we decided that we could all dress as superheros, and Colby was totally on board since he loves Spiderman.  (The kids have never seen any of the superhero shows, which is why I was confused, but I guess they recognize the characters and think they are cool?)

When I saw the Wonder Woman costume at Costco, I was sold!  It was super cute and a great price :) The Spiderman costume was okay, but the firefighter costume was ADORABLE, and Colby immediately wanted it.  Mostly because it came with an ax, a fake walkie talkie, and a whistle, haha.  I liked the idea of a family costume, but I really liked the idea of a costume he could wear for other things, like community helper day in Preschool next year.  Plus, Kevin and I no longer needed to dress up if we didn't have a family theme, so it was a win for everyone. 

Brooke barely fit into her red shoes, but they completed her outfit perfectly!! Thankfully, I brought a back up pair to the Trunk or Treat, which she ended up wearing :)

These pictures of Colby the Firefighter melt my heart...

I may or may not have threatened to cut off the whistle a few times when it was driving me nuts, but that is what I get when I let them wear their costumes starting in early September.

The Trunk or Treat was super fun, and I am really grateful that it was jut our ward this year.  Last year we combined with another ward, which just felt more chaotic and not as safe because we couldn't make a circle of cars and I want eyes on my kids at all times.

We had so much rain on Halloween day, so I wasn't sure if we'd have many trick-or-treaters.  They started later than normal, but they eventually started knocking and my kids LOVED it!  Brooke carefully handed each child 2 pieces of candy, and Colby was grabbing handfuls of candy to put in the buckets.  I had to explain that we would quickly run out of candy, but I loved his generous spirit.

After a while, we placed our bucket of candy on the porch with a note (handwritten by Brooke) instructing the kids to take 2 pieces of candy and we headed out to trick or treat. We ran into the Hawkins at the second house, and stuck with them for the rest of the night. It's pretty great when some of your best friends are also your neighbors!

The kids were excited to check out their loot, and they definitely came home with a lot!!

We definitely had a happy Halloween :)

family pictures

Miss Danielle did it again and captured some beautiful pictures of our family!  I overthought our outfits, just like I always do, but I love how it all came together.  Our babies are precious, and I'm glad we have so many pictures that capture their personalities and relationship. 

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Outtakes, haha...

Danielle makes the whole process so low-key, which is great since I over-stress before the actual pictures! The kids are so comfortable with her, and she encourages them to explore and play which allows them to relax.  At the end, they just wanted to run up and down this random street we used for our pictures.  

Another funny thing to remember: we took a lot of the pictures on the property of my OB/GYN's office, haha.  They have beautiful trees and a small field to the side of their building, which seemed perfect for what I had envisioned.  Plus, it's close to our house and since Kevin would be coming straight from work, we would have more daylight.  (Danielle came to us, which was much appreciated!!)  The funny part was that as the nurses were leaving the building, they kept looking over at us.  I knew they recognized me, and at my next appointment, they told me that they were texting Dr. Northrop when they saw us taking the pictures, haha.  Then they all wanted to see the final pictures :) 

arlington patch

Although only 2 of the 4 of us actually still live in Arlington, this group of friends will always be know as "The Arlington Gang" in my book :)  We were missing Andreia and her kids, and a few of Tracy's kids, but it was a great time together!  We've been meeting up at this pumpkin patch for years, and my kids adore our time there. Brooke loves Cam Cam...

Colby loves his Maddy...

And I love watching the kids run and play together...

The pumpkin patch doesn't really change year to year, so we have these same pictures from over the years.  It really is great since you know I love a good comparison picture :)

Danielle snapped a few pictures while we were there, which I am always grateful for.  It seems vain to want to be in the pictures sometimes, but I want to be remembered with my kids as well. Mom life is amazing, but definitely not easy.  I really put a lot of effort into being the best mom I can be and providing a happy, nurturing, safe life for my kids, so when I see a picture of me being mom, it makes me feel valued and important. Maybe that seems silly, but these pictures mean a lot to me.

I love these girls so much!  They really have been such great friends and supports to me over the past 11 years.  

At the last minute, I decided to also make this an impromptu birthday party for Colby.  We were going camping on his birthday, and having a family birthday the next weekend, but Brooke started asking Colby about what kind of party he wanted to have which brought the whole "friend party" conversation to the table.  I was going to buy cupcakes to eat with friends at the pumpkin patch, but the morning of, my friend posted that she had extra sugar cookies for sale.  They were adorable (as always), and Halloween themed, which would go perfectly with a pumpkin patch outing.  I quickly messaged her about buying all the cookies, and the party was ready :)  Easy, Peasy!!

Colby was so stinkin' adorable as we sang to him, and it made me so happy that it all came together. 

He was surrounded my little friends (and their Mamas) that love him, which made my Mama heart SO grateful. 

Happy third birthday, little buddy!