Trick or Treat

Happy halloween! Despite some rainy, windy weather, we still managed to sneak in a little trick-or-treating and enjoy the day! Ben got to wear his costume to school and had a little party there. Then when we got home, we hit the streets to trick-or-treat. The rain had temporarily let up, so we wanted to get out while we could.

Superman did great, remembering to say trick or treat and thank you, for the most part.

Liv's ladybug costume was a little thick for the bjorn, and she spit up all over her "baby's 1st halloween" onesie, so she just wore her pumpkin hat to be festive. She LOVED walking around and seeing all the action.

We made it to about 10 houses before the rain returned, so Ben wanted to call it a night. We came home and ate Jersey Mike's sandwiches, sampled some candy, and watched the Charlie Brown Halloween special (for about 2 minutes, until Ben lost interest).

I asked him to smile, and instead he showed me the laughy taffy he was chewing. Classy, Tammaro.

We put Liv in her costume, just so we'd have a picture to look back on. She was not a big fan of wearing it though, so we only got a few pics.

Happy Halloween! Can you believe it is November tomorrow. Where is the time going?

Kuiper's Farm

Today we headed back to Kuiper's Farm for our annual apple picking. Ben was so helpful getting ready.

Brad and Denise met us there. We got their first, so we killed time on this tractor.

Livvie Lu was all smiles, of course. She just took it all in.

Then it was time for the tractor ride to the apple orchard. It was a very nice day today and there is no Bears game on, so it was super crowded. But even so, the lines weren't as bad as they looked.

Just like Ben at this age, Livvie was a big fan of the apples. Mike bit into one and then let her lick the juice. She loved it!

Ben too. He ate two while we were there picking them.

Us adults liked them too.

We tried to get a family photo, but the kids weren't cooperating as usual... Here are the outtakes.

1. Liv is too busy staring/smiling at Ben to look at the camera.

2. Ben starts laughing because Ben was grabbing his ear.

3. Both kids staring the wrong way.

4. Liv grabbing Ben again.

5. And again. And we give up.

After picking apples, we went in for some pumpkin donuts and apple cider. I gave Liv a tiny taste of the donut. She seemed to like it, unlike Ben who didn't eat his. Surprise, surprise.

Then it was over to the kid's area for a trip down the huge slide.

Hard to make out, but that is Ben with Denise and Liv with Mike...

Then a pony ride for Ben on Teddy.

About this time, Liv took a cat nap. The fun was just too much for her. ;-)

Mike, Ben, and Denise fed the goats while I kept an eye on Liv.

 Checking out the horses.

And another disastrous set of family photos inside the hay stacks. I want bore you with all of them. There were cool tunnels and stacks of hay for the kids to climb on. Liv is still sleeping...

Then a stop at the petting zoo. Ben loved feeding the animals and was super gentle.

And finally at stop at the pumpkins. With my cutest little pumpkins.

For the first year, Ben didn't have a meltdown when we left. Usually he is so over tired and hungry, he flips out about something in the pumpkin area. But this year he was super good. And Liv was super good the whole time; she never fusses. We are lucky parents!

Ben crashed in the car. See you next year Kuiper's!