Halloween has been a three day event this year.

We started Friday with a snow-day (classroom parties were canceled and the kids were really bummed)

Thank goodness our gym was having a trick or treat street indoors….My son was snake eyes/ninja and my little Beauty decided that morning to ditch the unicorn idea and be a butterfly.

We came home, played in the snow and my son built his very first snowman on his own.

That night we went to a kids Halloween party held at the karate studio.

Saturday we went to another trick or treat street this time outdoors and with 65 degree weather, we celebrated with 5,000 other little goblins– after 3 snow days off of school and being stuck inside -you can imagine the energy this group had stored up.

Halloween night we went to a neighbors house for a quick party then out trick or treating around the hood with friends.  So glad I brought a wagon, Beauty lightened her load a few times by dumping them into the wagon and then about 2/3 of the way trough our route she decided she had enough.  She hopped in the wagon and munched on her favorites as the boys trick or treated some more.  I had a glass of wine in hand so I didn’t mind pulling her home all that much.

This time Beauty was dressed as Ariel from the little Mermaid (a choice she made as we were on our way out the door)  and my son stuck with his ninja choice!

We had great fun and the kids have a ridiculous amount of candy….

When we got home we did the tradition dump and sort on the family room floor so they could get a good look at all their loot.

I had the kids choose a small portion of their favorites to keep and we will be participating in a local candy buy back this year.

Operation Gratitude (a group that rounds up treats/goodies to send to the troops in Iraq)  takes the candy and gives the kids 1$ back for every pound they donate.

I feel much better about the candy going somewhere else besides the trash where I usually end up donating.

All said and done, I am exhasted and looking forward to the rest of the Holiday season which has offically begun in my book

We just got back from a family weekend in the mtns.

My sister came out all the way from back east to join us. My little nephew is so sweet, and such a great baby. I love him to pieces!

Sometimes we forget the beauty of the things we take for granted, like being only an hour and a 1/2 from a place like this.

I love it up there. So do my kids, they didn’t want to come home and I don’t blame them.

I promised them we would go back again soon.

Feeding the chick-a-monks as Beauty calls them was definitely a “gotta do it again” experience.

We tried to get them to venture down the trail for a longer hike but they were obsessed the the chick-a-monk stop.

They also had a really great lake side park, so fun they could have stayed for hours.

I love the mtns!