Halloween Preparations

The kids were very excited to receive Amazon packages last week containing their new Halloween costumes!  This year, they each wanted to be something very different from one another...

We've had some ups and downs with weather - warm then cold, dry then rainy... it's definitely fall here and the leaves changed very quickly.  Unfortunately, we never got out for a color drive when colors were peak, but we did get some very stunning skies around here last week.

Monday night was Tierney's first 4H meeting and she was so excited!  We learned that there will be changes to the way things are done with rabbits at the fair moving forward after so many rabbits died this year at the fair, and this will included everyone feeding and cleaning up after their own animal.  Tierney and Alora worked on a craft while Ezri sat responsibly in the meeting.  I was so proud of her when she spoke up quite eloquently when the group was asked about any input or concerns from the past fair.  Her comment was very well spoken and clear, more so than some adults in the group were able to accomplish.  Proud mama!

The rest of our week was full of school and our usual chaos.  Friday night was spent helping friends prepare for a big yard project and Saturday was spent helping with that project, spreading top soil across much of the back yard.  The kids helped on and off, and had a great time playing with their friends for much of the day. That evening we headed to Kalamazoo to watch Kathy play in a roller derby bout, standing in for another team with a few of her other teammates. 

Sunday, after church, we relaxed a bit before getting ready for the Trunk-or-Treat event at our church.  Since the kids were all something different this year, and I was just not prepared enough, we didn't have a family theme this year, but that was just fine!

We handed out candy with our friends and other fellow church members for about an hour in the warmth of the sun, which was very welcome after a cold, windy and rainy morning.

 The kids had fun, ate some candy and perhaps went a little crazy...

Fall Fun

Our week was spent doing our usual for the most part, hoping for a weekend of nice weather so we could get outside!  After Daddy worked most of Saturday, we finally got out for some fall fun early in the evening. Our destination: New Salem Corn Maze!

Elam loved the tractor ride out to the maze.

 The kids led us through the maze, choosing when to turn, and they had a great time running around and determining our path.

 Elam enjoyed the fact that he pretty much always had a ride!

Without many re-directs, we found the end of the maze pretty quickly, and were rewarded with a slide.

 Then, because we still had plenty of day light and energy, we went back into the maze to try to find hidden clues.

 We managed to find most of the clues, enough to piece together the special "Happy Halloween" message.  Then we made our way back out to the exit and went to check out the pumpkin patch while we waited for the tractor to return.

 Elam was all about waving to that tractor!

 We let the kids play on the farm the rest of the evening, and they had such fun!

Sunday, after a morning at church, we set off for a new destination, the Rabbit River Trails in Wayland, where we hiked and explored during a beautiful fall afternoon.

 When we had exhausted the mile or so of trails, we moved on to the Wayland City Park so the kids could burn more energy as we enjoyed what could be the last nice weathered day we have for a while.

The adults had a little fun at the park too!

 When we returned home, Daddy had a good look over his truck that my uncle had taken the night before to do a little work on it in exchanged for a favor Alex had done him.  The "little work" ended up being a wash and detail, down to the engine and all!  We were surprised by all that extra work!