Happy Halloween!

Fear not, faithful blog followers! The wait will be well worth it... I have LOTS of Halloween related activities to show you. Let's get started!

Weekend before last, my mom came down to visit, which was awesome. On Saturday morning during a break in the rain, we all ran out to the pumpkin patch!

We went to a family farm where they also sell produce... and home made donuts! They smelled delicious, so we had to buy some. Payton loved it!

Family picture! (Notice still clutching the donut)

Pumpkins!

My Grandmas! :)

SO muddy!

Her weight's not included, right?!

We stayed semi-dry!

We had a great weekend, just spending the rest of the time relaxing and hanging out. I'm really looking forward to when my parents retire and can hopefully spend a lot more time with us! :)

The following week Payton's daycare class was taking a field trip to another local pumpkin patch. I got the day off so I could be a parent volunteer!

Payton observing the other kids looking for pumpkins. She didn't really like touching them; she thought they were too dirty!

Cutest pumpkin in the patch

This is an attempt at a group picture with toddlers... very successful as you can see!

Payton and her friends waiting for hot chocolate. From left to right: Brody, Alexandra (everyone calls her Flower... don't ask), Payton, Alex, Pyper, and Luke. 

Yum!

Payton got to pick out her own little pumpkin to take home, it's sitting on the dining room table. Now every morning when she gets up there for breakfast she sees it, and talks about going to the pumpkin patch. She got to go on a hay ride too, but her favorite part of all was riding the bus back and forth! She talked about it for days!

Last weekend I was on call, so we couldn't do much. We decided to go to an open swim just to see if Payton liked being in the water. She's liked swimming before, but I was thinking of starting her in lessons and wanted to see how she would do. She loved it!

I love hugs!

And kisses too! 

I'm having so much fun!

She really seemed to enjoy it, so tonight Kyle and I took her to her first lesson. She was amazing! She's a natural. She even put her face in the water, which I didn't think she would do for a while (this is a little girl who's afraid when the wind blows). There was only one other little girl in the class and she left halfway through, so it was practically a private lesson. We're looking forward to taking her back!

Sunday morning we decided to carve pumpkins. When I told Payton of our plans and to meet us in the garage, this is what I found:

Warning: apparently pumpkin carving is so dangerous you need a helmet! And, just like her momma, she would rather watch Kyle get his hands dirty from the comfort of her own chair :)

Exhibit A: This is Payton's face when Kyle tried to get her to touch some of the pumpkin innards. I can't blame her, I feel the same way!

The finished product!

Yesterday was, of course, Halloween. Payton wasn't very excited about wearing her costume until she got to school and realized everyone else was dressing up too. Then she kept walking up to people and saying "I a cowgirl!" She was the CUTEST cowgirl ever; seriously, you had to see the costume in person to do it justice.

Mommy took this picture at breakfast yesterday before I got in my costume; don't I look so grown up??

Yeehaw!

For trick or treating this year we decided to take Payton to a "trunk or treat". They do it in a church parking lot, and you basically go from car to car (most of them are themed) and trick or treat out of people's trunks. It might sound a little weird, but it was actually really great; it had an almost festival feel to it, and to us it was like one stop shopping. Payton is pretty shy right now, and I had a feeling getting her to walk up to complete strangers doors and talk to them would not be happening. She wouldn't say "trick or treat" or "thank you", she just stared at people when they talked to her. She's not shy if she knows you, but if she doesn't you probably won't hear a peep out of her! Oh well... maybe next year!

Look! A fire truck!

I even got to climb inside it!

Yummm... Mom even let me eat a little candy! :)

All in all it was a successful Halloween! Payton still has all of her candy in her pumpkin bag, which she  likes to walk around the house with. She calls it her "purse"! 

This weekend we're celebrating Tanner's birthday! Brittney is coming up from college and hers is the day after his, so we're able to celebrate hers too. The big 2-0! We're going to lunch on Saturday, and then going to watch the Duck game. Other than that, no big plans. Cleaning up around the house, grocery shopping... the usual! Hope you all have a great weekend!