Happy Halloween!

Friday afternoon brought us to the much-anticipated Halloween! We stopped after school at the park for a brief time before heading home to begin our festivities. Meghan's outfit was in full celebration of the day!

Next up pumpkin carving. Somehow I got suckered into one big pumpkin and three babies. The little ones are not easy to carve! The kids had a brief stint helping me scoop out the innards before they were too grossed out and left the pleasure to me.

Posing on the front porch with the freshly carved pumpkins before it was time to eat dinner and get dressed up!

Sadly somewhere along the line Meghan's mood plummeted, but Clara as Elsa and Jack as the recently improvised "No-noggin" from the Curious George Halloween Boo Fest were very excited to get on with the Trick-or-Treating. 

Unfortunately despite the costume being one of my greatest triumphs, it did not have the longevity one might hope for from a Halloween costume. Eventually Jack just put on the straw hat and plaid shirt and became a farmer.

Three little princesses on their way.

Elsa, Rapunzel, and Anna.

After trick-or-treating pictures.

Clara's epic Elsa hair.

Our front steps!

And up in Richmond Nay-nay & Pop-pop are having quite the pious Halloween keeping the evil spirits away.

Saturday morning candy buffet. How nice for Halloween to be on a Friday.

Happy Halloween!

In Between Birthdays and Halloween

Everyone was thankfully recovered from their early October illnesses as we headed into the latter half of the month.

The kids pose for a picture with their Halloween treats sent to us by my lovely friend Kori. Halloween-themed rice krispie treats, yummy.

One of Jack's early writing assignments in kindergarten. "Read it. Write it. Paste it. Draw it." Jack was not happy with this task and decided to create his own sentence. "F. the dog."

All the play equipment at the park, Meghan chooses to climb on the trashcan. Of course!

The girls give their Halloween costumes a try-on before the big night.

At Fred Fletcher Park with Daddy lounging in the sun taking a break from running through the field.

Early Fall is a beautiful time for our yard. As soon as it cools off and with all the rain we got during the summer, the flowers really flourish.

These encore azaleas are my favorite. They bloom from late September until the first freeze.

Impatiens are really looking good.

And some mums from the Farmer's market to round out the Fall decor.

Camp Kanata

On Sunday after Meghan's birthday party, Clara and Daddy packed up and headed north of Raleigh to Camp Kanata for a day with Y-Guides tribe. They had gorgeous Fall weather for the event.

Meanwhile poor birthday girl succumbed to a pretty nasty cold, most likely the one her brother contracted earlier in the week.

Clara and Rosalind at the base of an enormous tree.

Chief Clara.

The girls and their torches.

Pool Days of Summer

We interrupt this blog catch-up for some real time action in the pool!

Most of my swimming posts thus far have centered around Clara and the great strides she's taken in the pool. This time, however, the focus is on Jack and Meghan and how far they've come! Our first day at the pool was Monday, and already I could see that the afternoons we spent in the cold indoor pool water this winter while Clara was at her lesson paid off. Up until now both kids have not been comfortable putting their faces under water, but something clicked with Jack, and he took the plunge on Monday!

Monday Jack swims with his face under water.

Then yesterday I got both of them goggles which really opened up a new world! All of a sudden Jack was a fish, diving for rings on the bottom of the pool.

And Meghan was kicking with her face in the water.

Jack & Meghan showing off their newfound skillz in the same frame.

After all that swimming they paused for a snack break. No time to take off the goggles though.

Meghan's Birthday Party

Saturday morning after Meghan's birthday we hosted several of her preschool friends at our house to celebrate Meghan turning 3! It was a typical Carson birthday party in the back yard with the children playing various activities. Thankfully we had excellent early fall weather with sunny skies and comfortable temperatures.

Playing in the sandbox

Meghan's friend Maggie.

Meghan climbing Mt. Swingset

Mary enjoying the swings.

Birthday girl climbing onto the coaster.

Nolan joins Meghan for a ride.

Snacktime. Jack's got his eye on the goldfish.

Nolan & Meghan at the table.

Happy Birthday to Meghan!

Pumpkin decorating.

Once the guest left Meghan unwrapped her presents.

Tired from a busy day.

Cheers to another great party!

2014 Wolf-Walk-a-thon

Meghan's birthday we spent the morning supporting Jack and Clara during their school's Wolf-Walk-a-thon.  It's the big PTA fundraiser for the year (that I'm in charge of next year, yikes!) and a great way to get everyone moving for money.

Clara runs in for some water.

Meghan hanging out in the spider web, watching the walk.

Clara's teachers, Mrs. Baker & Mrs. Lockhart.

Clara and Rosalind walking.

Clara finishing out her walk.

16 laps completed!

Big hug from Meghan.

Second graders welcome the kindergarteners to their first walk-a-thon.

Jack walking his laps.

Jack with Emmy in front and Adam behind walking their laps.

Jack & Adam go 'round again.

Zev and Adam with Jack's teacher Miss Hill in the background.

Birthday girl enjoys playing with the balloons.