October and lots of Pictures

Life has been so busy lately especially with Halloween and Fall events, I can only assume it is like this for everyone.

We started out Halloween stuff in the first weekend of October with my MOMS Club Halloween party. It was a lot of fun and I am happy I organized it. I can’t post pictures because I forgot to take some before the kids came but we rented out a community center, had cookie decorating, face painting, crafts, and a trick or treat trail. The kids had a blast!!! I was sad none of my kids could come but I am happy that the other kids had a ton of fun. My kids both had soccer games and the baby wasn’t feeling the best so Dan being amazing did soccer drop off and had the baby with him all morning. I forget how busy schedules get when 2 out of the 3 kids have stuff going on. I often wonder how other parents do it when they have more than one kid and similar age in activities.

The next day on Saturday, my friend, Gloria, hosted a murder mystery party. That was a lot of fun and the first me and Dan have been to, our characters were Cindy Lou and Dick Dragster. We didn’t win on solving the mystery but I did win Mrs. Money Bucks of the night because I had the most money at the end of the night and my prize was a bottle of wine!

This week I took Scott apple picking, this was already our third time going so he was a pro at it. It is so nice to be able to stay at home and do these activities with him. I went a couple of times with my oldest 2 in September but I took advantage of the one on one time with Scott to just watch him do his thing and play with new friends.

The following weekend we went to the Minnesota Zoo for their Jack O Lantern event. It is a trail all lit up with Jack O Lanterns and it is so beautiful! We have been past years and the kids always love going so we got the earliest time 7pm and got there around 6:50pm and walked right in and no waiting in line. It was amazing, with the theme being A-Z. I know some people complain about the price and the long wait times but I didn’t mind the cost because once you get in there is literally a pumpkin in every corner. If you have younger kids it of course it makes sense to get the earliest time for bed time and enjoy it while you can aka before a fight or meltdown comes up. Surprisingly the 5 year old behaved and it was only Scott who was starting to get antsy around the letter V but by then we were near the end so it was ok. We also bought popcorn from the snack stand and that helped to keep them busy. We will definitely be going again next year and buying tickets as soon as they go on sale for the earliest time.

The following day on Saturday was super busy with pumpkin picking in the morning, family pictures in the afternoon, and at night I went on a Haunted Trolley Tour in Hudson, WI with my friend Anna. It was really good and I will definitely be going back. I love trolley tours and this one you stayed mostly in the trolley and only got out twice, once to walk a cemetery and the other to see a beautiful view of Hudson. We got to bring our own drinks and so me and my friend shared some wine. Afterwards, we went to get a late dinner and drinks.

On Sunday, went to the Stillwater Harvest Fest and that was so much fun! They had food trucks, a costume parade with trick or treating, and then lots of inflatables the kids got to enjoy.

That week I went to Purse bingo fundraiser with some friends. I spent $35 and lost lololol but it was a lot of fun just talking and being out with friends.

That weekend, I went to the Van Gogh Immersive again but this time in Minneapolis. We ate at a yummy restaurant called Young Joni and then headed to exhibit. It was still so beautiful but only 2 rooms compared to the 4 I think Chicago had.

On Saturday, Dylan, had his first Homecoming Dance. He was dressed so handsome and ate out with friends and took pictures. I swear time flies, I can still remember my Freshmen Year Homecoming Dance and going by myself and sitting on the bleachers just watching until a group adopted me into their group so I was ecstatic when Dylan had plans. It is everything I prayed and hoped for him but never said it out loud. I love how much he is enjoying high school, making friends, and really getting involved. Now that Soccer is over he has joined clubs and recently had his interview for the Police Explorer program in our suburb. He comes home everyday telling me every minute of his day and I love it! I know there will be a time he doesn’t tell me stuff so I make it a point to talk to him every night about life. It is seriously my favorite past time.

The following day I took Dylan to another Country Fest in a nearby suburb with my friend Gloria and her kids, they loved it! The had a small corn maze, corn pit, silly string fight, and live animals to pet and feed if you wanted.

That week was also our MEA break so a mini fall break where the kids get Thursday and Friday off. We normally would take a trip and I had one planned but Dan told me to hold off to next year. Sometimes I like to play devil’s advocate and ask why do we need to hold off our travels with the kids because of the virus. We can’t just keep hoping it will get better because this could be how life is for awhile. The kids want to go to places to and I feel bad not taking them. Dan always reminds me to just wait, our 5 year old has asthma and needs his nebulizer at least once or twice a week so I then remember why we can’t. We did schedule him to get his vaccine for the coming weeks and while I am still iffy about it, I know it would probably be best for him. He already has bad coughing fits and if he did get the virus I know he would need to be taken to the hospital where beds are few for kids right now. Ugh sometimes it is so hard to be a parent and make these life decisions. I don’t know how any parent does it, I know I get too wrapped up in my head and play both sides that I cause myself stress for over thinking on everything.

Anyways, those days off we hung out with one of my good friends and went to Severs Fall Festival. The kids loved it! And it was a lot of fun for them. We went with one of Logan’s oldest friend, he has been good friends with my friend’s son since they were 1.5 years old! Even though they are only in kindergarten I have a feeling they will be friends for a long time.

This weekend consisted of so many Halloween events. This was the weekend before Halloween and we went to 5 Trunk or Treats and various store events like Cub Food and HyVee.

We also celebrated another friend’s birthday and went to her get together. She lives like 40 min away and I have an even greater appreciation to how often I see her in my city now knowing how far she exactly drives. She had an awesome party filled with squid games and lots of karaoke.

On Monday, Logan had the day off so we went with my friend Gloria and her son to the Minnesota Zoo. Logan, in true form wanted to wear a costume so he chose a Fighter Pilot to wear.

At Mall of America they have something called Toddler Tuesdays every Tuesday. You get discounted or free meals for your kid but the best part is that Nickelodean Universe offers $15 wristbands for toddlers to ride the rides from 11am-4pm. It is 1/3 of the price of the full price wristband so an amazing deal!! They also have a theme every week and this was their Trick or Treat event. I went with my MOMS Club friends this day and we stayed for 4 hours. The kids all had a blast and Scott behaved so well! We had a late lunch and then headed home for nap.

Later during the week I met up with another friend for brunch at Stella Belle, this restaurant is located inside one of my favorite restaurants Cafe Astoria and we loved it!

There were so many events in the city this week that we tried to do as many as the kids wanted. These awesome bags are from one of the grocery stores here, how awesome they gave a out a stuffed animal and $2 bills!

We also celebrated Scott’s 1.5 birthday and seeing as he is the baby and our last baby we spoil him in various ways.

On Friday, we took the boys out to dinner and then me and Dan had a Halloween party to go to. After we put Logan and Scott down we headed to our friend’s Bobbie’s house. To say she went all out is an understatement, guys it was AMAZING!!! They had fish boil for dinner, a great charcuterie board, and an even better selection of drinks. It was EPIC and me and Dan stayed out into the very late hours and had such a great time with friends. I am so thankful I met this group of friends. They remind me a lot of my high school group that I am also very close with and it has been very hard to find something like that here and for that I thank God everyday I have both groups in my life.

To say she knocked it out of the park with all her amazing attention to details is another understatement!

We got home pretty late but that didn’t stop us from waking up early with the kids and doing their events they wanted. We went to 2 grocery stores and our small mall nearby to trick or treat.

In the daytime, we went with a group of friends to Stillwater and got lunch and did the trick or treat on Main Street there. The kids had a blast and after the busy morning and afternoon were exhausted by night. Later at night both me and Dan met up with friends again and we went to Stillwater for dinner and to enjoy Halloween Eve.

The next day was Halloween and I made the kids their favorite Halloween brunch and we carved pumpkins. We have been so busy and haven’t had time this past week to carve that I am happy we were able to do it the day of and get it done before night.

October was jam packed with so much and I loved it! After missing out last year I am happy the kids were able to enjoy everything and more this year. I am very lucky I live in my area where so much was offered and FREE!! November is here and I have a lot of stuff already planned for the kids. Santa events start next week for us, it’s my birthday month, and my brother is getting married!

*I don’t like posting too many pictures of my kids but with my oldest’s consent he chose a couple of pictures he was ok with posting of him and his brothers. It is hard not to post them since everything I do revolves around them but I do want to respect their privacy. I also got my friends’ permission to post their pictures since I do also want to respect their boundaries and privacy