CCP Halloween party

 The County Club's Halloween party is one of the kids favorite events. We lucked out and had a gorgeous day for the end of October.

 Minnie Mouse, Sofia the First and Star-Lord posing with their pumpkins.  They got to pick out a pumpkin on the way into the club.

 In the past they painted the pumpkins.  This year they had cute sticker sets for them.  Evelyn is trying to wink like her witch.

 They had other Halloween crafts too

 Treat bags for all their goodies they collect at all the stations

 The kids always enjoy the hayride around the course

 Munching on the hay

 I can't even count how many s'mores they ate

 They were all a big sticky mess by the end

 Rice Crispy bar

Chuck was away at a conference that weekend.  We had to send him a hayride selfie.  Minnie Mouse didn't want to be in it. 

crafting at the playhouse

Carter and Audrey got to come along to the Playhouse for a PMSA play date since they had a day off from school.

 They had snacks and made Halloween lanterns.

 They really enjoyed the craft and it was fun to see how they all turned out so differently. I have no idea what I did with the picture of their finished products.

 After they were done with the craft they got to play in the Playhouse.  It was a great way to spend the day off of school.

That night we put Audrey's hair in foam rollers.  She wanted to have curly hair for the party the next day.  It was a blast from the past.

Rock Island State Park

 The weather was so nice that we took the kids to Rock Island State Park for some hiking. We were hoping there was enough fall colors left as well.  There was some but the trails were still pretty.

 The kids were ready to explore the trails

We let them pick the routes

 There were a lot of look out points.

 Another hiker was nice to stop and take a family picture for us.

 There were a lot of great views of the river

 A picture of just the 2 of us courtesy of Carter

 Found some color

 The kids had a blast and didn't want to leave.

 Playing in the leaves

 The most colorful tree we found was at the entrance to the trails. The kids definitely want to come back.  We'll have to go again in the spring to see the waterfalls.

Odds and ends

The last weekend of September was the Art Festival down at the riverfront.  Carter even found an artist he liked.

 This is how she rolls.  Everywhere we went Evelyn had to bring a baby for both Carter and Audrey's seat.

 These two definitely have a special bond.

 A bond that was created with a lot of treats.

 I attended a fashion show benefiting the Salvation Army with this great group of girls.  Here we are enjoying post show drinks at the Pierre Marquette.

 This girl is also in the tutu phase.  This is one of her favorite dresses because not only does is have a tutu but it's sparkly.

 The beginning of October we had amazing weather.  We couldn't believe we were able to enjoy lunch outside in summer dresses in October!

 October also brought the start of gymnastics for Evelyn.  She was hooked after her first lesson.

 I truly enjoy watching Evelyn develop friendships with the other girls in her class.

 We are blessed with a fantastic group of kiddos and some great moms as well.

Evelyn had to bring in a picture of herself on her bed for a project for school.  Naturally, she had to include Bitty Baby with coordinating pajamas for the pic.

Homecoming parade

We went to the Dunlap High School homecoming parade.  We snagged a great spot right by our favorite coffee/snack shop, Jamberry.  

Protective Carter holding Evelyn back from jumping into the parade route.  She was excited to see the start of the parade coming.

 Evelyn's friends Brendan and Maddie joined us.  All the people walking in the parade throw candy so the kids had a blast.

 The football team got to ride on top of the fire trucks.

 The reason we decided to watch the parade this year was because Audrey got to be in it with her Daisy troop.  She was so excited to be in her first parade.

 The girls blew bubbles since they couldn't throw candy riding on the float.  Only the walkers were allowed to throw candy.

Carter shaking hands with his future middle school mascot. 

 One off the better floats of the parade.  Some of the teams got creative.  The soccer team threw mini soccer balls instead of candy.  The kids also got frisbees, cups and necklaces. 

 These kiddos were happy with their loot.

 It was a beautiful end of September day for a fun parade.

 This girl is happy to be a daisy scout.  She thought it was awesome to be part of the parade until she found out she missed out on the candy.