Happy Halloween from my little cupcake!

This photo was taken this morning before we left for daycare.  She told me she was excited to go Trick-or-Treating tonight.

 

 

 

 

Our first stop was at Amanda's. 

 

 

Payton, Amanda, and Albert the Cat

 

 

Posing for a picture with Karla, our favorite daycare provider! :)

 

After we drove to a few houses of people we know, we decided to walk up and down our street. 

All done Trick-or-Treating.  Posing for a picture in front of her pumpkin.  She is wanting to get inside to eat some candy :0

 

 Chad got this from a friend and fellow Chiefs fan today.  I thought it was pretty funny.

 

 

 



Carving Pumpkins

Sunday night we had a little pumpkin carving party. As you can tell from the photos, Payton had a blast! She loved digging out the inside of the pumpkin and of course, playing with the slimy goop and the seeds. :)

 

 

 

And here we have the finished products all lit up.  Mine is pretty sad looking.  My pumpkin carving skills are quite lacking.  Chad's looks great.  He took this pumpkin carving task very seriously. :)

 

Wedding Weekend

This weekend we traveled to the Quad Cities for Chad's step-brother's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. Payton had a blast on the dance floor and I literally had to pry her off when it was time to go. You name the dance, she did it: Cha-Cha Slide, Electric Slide, Cupid Shuffle, YMCA, Macarena, and of course, we had to do a little Gangham Style.  :)

 

Family photo in front of the fireplace

Payton and her cousin Bailey on the dance floor

Dancing with Uncle Joel






Chad took this video of her doing the Cha-Cha Slide.  Too funny!

 

A Fun Weekend

Well, we survived "marathon week."  I am happy to report that I had 100% attendance at conferences.  I enjoyed visiting with parents and am so grateful to have such a wonderful group of kiddos this year!  Needless to say, Friday night I was in my jammies at 6:30.  :)

Saturday we left for Cedar Falls around noon so I could do a little shopping before the UNI game. Then Sunday it was church, Sunday School, and then the Pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful day! The place was packed! Payton had a lot of fun with all the activities, but wasn't into posing for any pictures. I really wanted to get one in front of the "How Tall This Fall" sign, but that wasn't happening. I have one of her in front of there from the past two years and was wanting to get a collection of them, but oh well. We picked out our pumpkins and are hoping to get them carved tomorrow night. It was such a fun day. One of those days that you will never forget.

This picture pretty much sums up how Payton felt about posing for pictures that day

 

And here is a little collage I made of some photos from our trips to the pumpkin farm.

Priceless

Admission to the pumpkin farm: $24
3 pumpkins: $15
Caramel apples, popcorn, and pop: $8.50
Listening to my daughter laugh hysterically on the big, orange jumpy thing: PRICELESS! :)

 

And marathon week begins....

Chad and I always refer to this week as "marathon week."  Yep, it's that time already...

 

So, here's a peek at our week:

 

Monday:  Payton - Dance 6:00 PM

Tuesday:  Angie -  Conferences until 7:30

Wednesday:  Chad - Conferences until 8:00

Thursday:  Angie and Chad - Conferences.  Thanks to Nana for coming to stay with Payton that night!

Friday:  Conferences all day.  Come home Friday evening and CRASH!  (Actually, we probably won't because there is a home football game that night, but I'm sure we will be exhausted!)

 

 

What do you do?

....when your trip to the Pumpkin Patch gets cancelled because it's too cold and rainy?? Why, make cookies, of course!

 

 

So, all week long we've been planning a trip to Carroll's Pumpkin Farm in Grinnell for Sunday after church.  I did all my usual Sunday chores yesterday (laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning) in order to have the entire afternoon today free to do the pumpkin farm.  Well, Mother Nature had other plans.  So, after we were done with church and Sunday School, we came home and decided to make cookies.  Hopefully, we will be able to get to the pumpkin farm next Sunday.

 

*Side note on the aprons: 

Last year for my birthday, my mom got me these cute little aprons. They have one for the mommy, child, and even for the doll. I always forget to put them on when we bake together, but remembered to do it today. Payton thought our matching aprons were pretty cool. :)

Our Weekend

First I need to make a shout-out to my mom as today is her birthday.  Happy Birthday to the best mom a daughter could ask for!!
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We had a nice weekend.  I had some teacher friends over after school on Friday to help me kick off my bday weekend.  It's always entertaining when a group of teachers gets together after class.  :)

Saturday was my birthday (officially 31--yikes) so my mom, Payton, and I went shopping in Williamsburg. I think Payton is officially set with fall and winter clothes! I wanted to do the Color Run that day (which I think everyone in the state did), but it was sold out when I went to sign up for it. Saturday night my whole family went out to eat at That Place in Conrad to celebrate Mom's and my birthdays. Then everyone spent the night at our house because we had my uncle's tractor auction here in town the next day. He had collected over 1,900 toy tractors over the years! It was amazing to see them all spread out. The auction went from 11 AM--5 PM. I'm sure my uncle was smiling down knowing he was making so many people happy that day. :)

I had a great birthday weekend and am so blessed that I was able to spend it with such great family and friends!

Thanks, Chad, for my new Uggs!  I love them!

Just a fraction of the tractors at the auction