Halloween 2017

Sam decided to be a taco for Halloween last year. 😆 He saw the costume at Target, he loves tacos, there wasn't any particular superhero or other character that he was into, and so it was a perfect match. 

The costume turned out to be a hit! People got a real kick out of it, much more than I thought they would.

I made sure not to skip the ward trunk or treat party because I'd found out two days earlier that we were going to be switched into a new ward the following Sunday at Stake Conference, so this was was sadly our last activity in the Iowa City First Ward.  

  
 

And on Halloween itself...

John was in a very bad mood that evening and ended up not being allowed to go trick-or-treating because of the way he allowed it to affect his behavior. I swear that kid was possessed. But right before that happened I was able to take a few pictures. He was using his zombie football player mask from a previous year's costume.

 At the end of the night after the boys had gone to bed, Boo Boo made a nice cozy bed for himself on Sam's costume. I think his attitude was, if you can't eat it, then sleep on it!

As for Halloween TODAY, it won't be so very different from last year, minus John's bad mood. 🤞 Sam wanted to be a taco again (🙌) and I wouldn't be surprised to see Boo Boo curl up again on the abandoned costume at the end of the night. John is going to get another shot at trick-or-treating and is planning on going around with a friend, probably with the same mask that he didn't get to use last year, or a Patriots helmet.

🎃 Happy Halloween!! 🎃

(Expect to see pictures of Halloween 2018 next May. Halloween in May, why not!? I'm continuing my planned-out schedule to FINALLY get ALL CAUGHT UP on the blog. And I'm happy to report that I'm running ahead of schedule at this point. It's gonna happen!)

October 2017 Randoms

John and one of his best friends Isaac playing outside on a mild October day.

I saw this musical Ursula snowglobe at Walgreen's and had to have it. Ursula is my favorite Disney villain. She's hilarious! 

Sam got really mad one day and in a fit of rage cut all of his money in half. 😲

One of my favorite healthy vegetarian lunches--fried eggs (overhard) and stir-fry veggies.

Our side yard and the field next to our house. I miss this!

I cleaned out our marker collection and tested each one to see if it worked or if it had dried out. 

The kitchen faucet decided to dress up as a mustachioed man for Halloween.

These were my favorite boots that I'd had for about ten years. I finally gave them away because the leather was cracking and peeling so much, but I had to take pictures of them first before I said goodbye. These boots carried me many places over the years, and they were comfortable and cute to boot (ha ha).

This was a cute pair of summer sandals that I bought years ago and for some reason wore only once or twice at the most. I consigned them and at least got a little money back for them. I have the same pair in navy and I kept those because I do wear them (a little) more often. 

Peter and I went to a Joshua Bell concert at Hancher. After hearing his beautiful violin music for so many years it was neat to watch him play it!

We weren't supposed to take pictures but I covertly snapped a couple anyway.

New Garage Doors

Last fall I finally did something for the house that I'd been wanting to do almost since we moved in seven years before--I picked out and got beautiful new garage doors installed. This may not seem particularly significant, but it is when you have the type of house where your garage doors are very prominent, like ours was. I never liked the outside appearance of the front of our house due in large part to that. But I liked it better once the new barn-door style doors were on! 

Unfortunately I ended up only being able to enjoy them for less than eight months. But I think they may have helped our house sell faster, what with increased curb appeal and all. 

This was definitely something I should have done years earlier!  

BEFORE

The old plain-jane garage doors: 

 

AFTER

 Presenting the new barn-door style garage doors from Overhead Door! Aren't they pretty!? 

 

I think they turned out really nice and gave the whole house a more upscale look. I hope the new owners of the house are enjoying the fruits of my good taste. :-)

It's no coincidence that our new house in  Massachusetts has garage doors that are on the side of the house instead of front-facing. No matter how nice the doors, I think that in most cases it's a more aesthetically-pleasing look to have the garage doors on the side of the house instead of the front! 

Fall Foliage Views From My Favorite Spot in the House

The title pretty much sums up what this post is about. 

How I miss this beautiful view out of our back living room windows! That single maple tree made such a difference in the fall.

I loved how the sun would shine in and illuminate the drapes, making a pretty picture frame for the view outside.

The full view, although the foliage is blurry in this picture. In real life, it's as vivid as can be.

The view was always bright and vibrant, even on cloudier, darker days. There's a good life metaphor there!

I miss this spot so much! It was my favorite place in the house, especially in the fall.

Our Last Time at Bloomsbury Farm

For eight years straight, from 2010-2017, we'd spend a fun day every October at Bloomsbury Farm in Atkins, Iowa. I've really missed it this October now that we don't live in Iowa anymore; the month doesn't feel quite complete without the annual trip to Bloomsbury Farm. We didn't know it fully when we went last year that it would be our last time going there. We suspected it might be the case but I fervently hoped that it wouldn't be! Alas, my hope was in vain.

The weather was beautiful and mild that day. Other times it's been really cold and windy. This was definitely better!

This tire playground is one of their favorites. They never "tire" of it! 😆😖

Sam was excited to mine for gemstones.

One of Sam's good friends from school, Jessica, was there that day too. She's in the picture with him (sitting on the tire).

Peter navigated us through the corn maze with his superior sense of direction.

"For amber waves of grain..."

Do you see the pumpkin patch in the distance?

Target-shooting practice with paintball guns...

The "How Tall This Fall?" picture is an annual tradition. It would be fun to get these shots from over the years and compare them. Sam was 13 months old and John was five in the first picture in 2010; in the 2017 photos below they're 8 and 12! They grew up so much during our time in Iowa. 

We miss you Bloomsbury Farm! The farms in Massachusetts just can't compare with the farms in Iowa!