Trick Or Treat!

Once across the street, the kids were just as eager to trick-or-treat and ran from door to door. Stacy, Todd and I tried to stick together but also tried to walk with Olivia and the faster kids. The houses are a bit closer together, although there was still a lot of walking. Many of the houses decorate and a few are really unique. Brandon and Sofia stuck together and Antonio tried to catch up to them while Olivia bumbled along, with me trying to coax her along with candy at times. The older three had a great time, as did Olivia, however, she wasn't so sure about anything remotely scary. One of the first houses we visited had a bowl of candy and when Antonio tried to get candy out of it, a skeleton hand came up from the back and grabbed at the candy too. Antonio loved it, but Olivia just watched for a bit and then turned around and decided that she was absolutely not going to grab for candy! I'm sure Halloween is a bit odd to little ones!

Another house we visited was really decorated well with a table full of "scary stuff" - brains in jars, skeletons, jars of weird stuff, etc. The woman handing out candy stood in front of the table and was dressed in a red cloak with a hood. The others ran up to get candy while Olivia inched along very slowly. Finally she stood a few feet away from the table and just looked. The lady was actually handing out popcorn packets and tried to hand one to Olivia, but she would not get an inch closer to the table to get it! It was very cute.

We ended up walking nearly the entire neighborhood! Around 8pm, Dana and CK showed up in their respective cars and we all loaded up and headed home. My feet were tired, so I'm sure all the kids were tired from all the walking and trick-or-treating. Sofia's pumpkin was completely full of candy and she could hardly carry it since the hand strap is really narrow. Olivia also had a lot of candy, although not as much since she didn't quite hit as many houses as Sofia and Brandon. It was a fun night and it felt terrible to get a car ride home! Once we got the girls home, we split up to put two excited and tired girls to bed! What a fun Halloween!

Off we go!

Trick-or-treat!

The scary house!

The scary table

A tired little monkey

More candy

Ghosts!

Neighborhood Trick Or Treat!!

At 5:30pm we met Marco, Stacy, fireman Antonio and doctor Luca to trick-or-treat around our neighborhood. We planned to visit our neighbors and then head over to the neighborhood across the street after. I left all of our lights on and our container of candy by our front door in the off-chance that we would have trick-or-treaters. Unfortunately CK had a speech scheduled in Dallas and wouldn't be able to join us until around 8pm. The first house we visited was Trent's next door to us and he had to open his bag of candy in order to give our kiddos candy. Sofia and Antonio had their "trick or treat!" down but Olivia was a little less sure of her words. Buddy, our little hot dog was happy to go along for a walk and kept trying to get an extra sniff of all that candy. From Trent's house we continued down the neighborhood and about half were home. We stopped and visited with Mitzi and Bill and also with Jackie and her mother-in-law, who was dressed up as a black cat. She actually got down and played with the kids, who loved it. Sofia acted like a dinosaur crawling around on all four while Antonio ran around and Olivia watched, not sure what to think of the huge black cat. Soon, Olivia joined in the fun and after a bit, Sofia's stegosaurus tail tore! She was devastated and thankfully Stacy explained that Dr. Marco could fix up her tail without a problem. Marco took Sofia to his house where he taped up her tail and fixed what could have been a very upsetting situation!

After the tail fixing, we visited Todd and Dana's house and their awesome Halloween house. Brandon was still decided what to be, so we waited and he joined our group as we headed over to Ann's house for treats. After stopping at Ann's house, Marco and Luca headed home and the rest of us walked over to the neighborhood across the street to further our trick-or-treating.

Meeting up with fireman Antonio

Heading to their very first door!

Trick-or-Treat!!

Picking out just the right candy

Olivia inspecting her treats!

Fireman Antonio

Off to the next house

Visiting Mitzi and Bill

More candy from Jackie

Our little monkey fishing for some treats

Horsing around with the big black cat!

The torn tail!

My monkey, stegosaurus (who is sad over her tail) and hot dog.

The fixed tail! Disaster averted!

Todd and Dana's cool house!

Getting candy from Miss Ann.

Happy Halloween!!

Halloween is here! Sofia arrived just after 3pm from the school bus as usual, and the girls had snacks before Sofia practiced her piano. Sofia was so excited to get started on Halloween, so the girls decided to get their costumes on (Olivia took a bit more convincing, but once Sofia was dressed she was game to join in). I decided to add a nose and whiskers on Olivia, although it made her look a little more like a mouse than a monkey. While adding her nose and whiskers, I convinced Sofia to wear a little bit of eyeshadow and we picked purple. I was trying to add a little sparkle and make her eyes look big, but purple wasn't the best choice since it just made her look tired. While getting ready, I ordered a pizza for the girls to eat before we headed out with Marco, Stacy, Antonio and Luca to hit the neighborhood.

After the girls were dressed, I got Buddy into his hot dog costume and took them all out on the front yard for a couple of pictures. I was able to get a few good ones and we all were excited to get started with our trick-or-treating!

Our stegosaurus and headless monkey

With Buddy, the hot dog

Our monkey who looks like a mouse

Sofia the stegosaurus

Our sweet girls

All ready for some trick-or-treat fun!

Buddy, our hot dog

More practicing before meeting up with our friends

The Pumpkins at the Dallas Arboretum

On Tuesday, Olivia and I went with our friends Traci and her son Dalton to the Dallas Arboretum. I've been wanting to go since the pumpkins arrived, but haven't found the time, so when Traci suggested we go, I jumped at the chance. Olivia and I went last year with the Colleyville Garden Club and it was spectacular. Tuesday was grey and we got a little sprinkled on, but otherwise it was comfortable and not cold or windy. On Monday and Tuesdays, the Arboretum has "Toddler Crafts" that include face painting, various hands-on crafts and a petting zoo. We first went to the petting zoo, where Olivia loved petting the goats, sheep, bunny and chicken. There was also a miniature donkey, but she wasn't interested in it, which surprised me since she loves horses so much. She found a brush and brushed the goats and really loved touching the bunny which was incredibly soft. After, we headed over to the pumpkin village, which was spectacular! It wasn't nearly as crowded as I expected and we split up to take pictures for a bit. Olivia loved playing on the hay maze, but liked walking on top of the mounds of hay rather than walking between them like a maze. I did end up getting a few cute pictures of her with the pumpkins and must take both girls back so Sofia can see it too.

After the pumpkin village, we stopped to grab a bite to eat and then we walked over to the newly-opened Children's Garden. It was incredible and significantly larger than I expected! I know Sofia would love it and want to spend hours there, with many of the educational sections lost on our little ones! We started at the play area, where Dalton and Olivia played on ride-on bugs, in the sand and small house. Olivia also explored the bird's nest and large wood ant! Then we walked around the actual Children's Garden, visiting the maze, waterfall and river, indoor classroom and learning center and then the hands-on energy learning area. It was fantastic! We probably only walked through half of it too, but needed to get back home to welcome our girls home from school. I'd really love to return on a Saturday so Sofia can enjoy it too!

Olivia fell asleep halfway home and even after dropping Traci and Dalton off at their house in Southlake, I was able to transfer her to her crib where she slept for another long hour! It was a much-needed nap after a fun day!

The goat

The super soft bunny

Pumpkins!

Playing on the hay maze

Olivia inside the pumpkin house

Sweet girl

Our little cowgirl - she loves her shoes and has recently fallen in love with Sofia's former boots, which were given to her by Aunt and Uncle when she was Olivia's age

A close-up

Hanging out with Dalton in the double stroller

Heading to the Children's Garden - she ran and acted like a lion the entire way

Running! (She can run surprisingly well in those cowboy boots!)

Trying to find a squirrel that was just on the path

Exploring the huge nest

Riding the wooden ant

Jumping on the music board in the maze. She loved that she could actually jump and make sounds!

Practicing for Halloween

After carving the pumpkins, I convinced the girls to try on their costumes so I could get a few photos of them. Sofia absolutely loves her new costume, so it takes no convincing to get her into it. I pulled out the adorable monkey costume my Mom made for Sofia to show Olivia and get her into it, however, she made it clear she wasn't as into the idea as her sister. Finally Sofia and I convinced her to put it on and she was fine wearing the outfit, without the monkey "head" even though I know the costume is very warm and I'm sure she was getting hot. The costume just fits her and it's sad to know that she won't be able to wear it again. It's really such a work of art and I love that both girls have enjoyed it. Finally, after offering her a piece of gum, Olivia agreed to put the monkey head on for a few pictures. I even put Buddy into his hot dog costume, which he's perfectly comfortable wearing. I bought it at TJ Maxx a few weeks ago and saw a cute costume of a shark, but it would be on Buddy's head and I figured he wouldn't be as comfortable wearing something like that, so I stuck with the hot dog.

I had the girls walk with Buddy toward me so I could get a few pictures of them. After, they ran around and played and then Sofia figured out that they really needed to "practice" trick-or-treating! She suggested that she and Olivia go door to door, but knowing that most wouldn't have candy yet, I told her to practice on our door. She and Olivia took turns knocking and getting York Peppermint Patties from me (the only candy we have). It was cute and probably a good idea to get Olivia used to Halloween and what could be an overwhelming night.

Our little monkey checks out her paws

The monkey, stegosaurus, and hot dog

Such a cute monkey!

All set for Halloween!

Our stegosaurus' adorable feet

And her "claws"

Her tail...

Our sweet girl....