Happy Halloween!

I have to start this post by explaining Ryan's eye. I think we all grew up hearing that we were going to poke our eye out with something and it actually almost happened here Friday night. In our case, it was the tip of a model airplane that caught Ryan... an airplane I bought him (guilt!). Luckily it was right below his eye, but it caused quite a shiner. Too bad he wasn't going to dress up as Rocky! In all seriousness, it was very scary, but he is ok.

Yesterday we enjoyed a beautiful day at the Genesee Country Museum with Grandma and Grandpa C. They had a trick or treat event so we had to check it out.

It was a chilly day despite the sun.

I discovered that it is really hard to get a decent trick or treat picture. I always get their backs. This will have to do.

Pretty day.

The village did a really neat job with the event. Each home was staffed by someone in period dress and they were all great with the kids.

In addition to treats, there was a house where you could roast a marshmallow inside, another where your fortune was told by counting the seeds in an apple, a schoolhouse where you could play the magic pumpkin and another house where Jack told the spooky story of the Jack-O-Lantern. Fun!!

Overall, it was a beautiful day with family.

Today I took the afternoon off to attend Tyler's school party and parade. I'm really glad I did. The room moms did a nice job planning the party. They had candy corn bingo...

Decorate (and eat) a cookie.

And, check this out... a mummy with openings where you could feel eyes (grapes), guts (spaghetti), bones (celery), teeth (candy corn), nails (pumpkin seeds), and toes (hot dogs). Very cool!

Here is the whole class. Tyler's teacher was dressed up as Mr. Smarty Pants with smarties taped to his pants... that is my kind of costume... simple!

Here he is waiting for the parade to start.

The parade itself was absolute chaos so we won't share any pictures of that.

On the way out, I snapped this picture of Tyler's locker. Tyler had to describe himself on the ghost and I think he did well... except for "tall" and "fast." The rest is right on... cool, smart, lucky and talkative. Funny stuff.

We picked Ryan up on the way home to get ready for tonight and wait for Aunt Donna to join us. Upon arrival we had a bit of a tragedy... Tyler's front zipper on his costume broke!! It is a long zipper right up the front and it was completely non-functional!! I still haven't figured out how it broke (according to Ty the rug broke the zipper pull in half... that darn rug!), but it caused quite a stir. Dan reminded me that these costumes aren't made for durability and tonight was our 5th Halloween event. I guess I can't complain.

Tyler didn't want me to pin him in his costume so he was looking at other options. His plan to be a vampire didn't pan out so we started going through the dress up bin. Unfortunately Ryan then decided that he didn't want to be a race car driver. Aaaaahhhh! Madness!

In the end, Ty allowed me to pin him up and Ryan selected a train conductor costume. It wasn't the plan, but he's a cute conductor!

Here is the crew, anxious to get started.

Bruiser. This is our rough and tumble boy for sure!

Trick or Treat!

This picture is blurry, but it tells a story. Pure joy.

Two hours of trolling the streets and it was time to check out the loot!

Both boys brought in a large haul. We'll be bouncing off walls for quite a while.

Fall Family Pic

Trunk Or Treat

After a year hiatus, we were back at Trunk or Treat!!

Tyler insisted on being an astronaut this year so we went with it and did a space theme for our trunk. It looks empty without two boys sitting in it!

I have to share this picture because Tyler is wearing his helmet. He HAD to have a helmet, but he wore it for all of 30 seconds. I sure am glad we made this one and didn't buy the one he really wanted.

The ride in the fire truck bucket was a hit... again.

Hi Mom! (Got to love the zoom lens!)

Tyler did well with the eyeball race!

Ryan enjoyed having a car painted on his face. It was very serious business.

Ta da! A race car driver needs a car even if it is on his face.

Tyler sat in the trunk most of the time and handed out the candy. He loved it!

We should start planning our trunk for next year. Maybe I can do something without garbage bags next time.

Soccer

Today was Tyler's last day of soccer. And what a muddy mess of a day it was!

I took quite a few pictures during the season playing with my camera. This one was on the formal picture day.

Here is the half of the team that showed up for the team picture...

This is how Ty spent most of his time of the field... biting his nails.

The ball is over there Tyler!!

Look! I think Tyler is actually touching the ball here. It only took 1000 pictures to get him and the ball in the same shot!

In the end he got what he wanted... a reversible shirt and a trophy. Simple pleasures.

Oh, and a really muddy pizza party.

I'm off to do some laundry!

Saturday

Yesterday was a fabulous day as well. I think awesome weather this late in the year requires a great time.

We got up early and headed to Fowler's for their chocolate factory tour. How could we resist? It was a factory tour... and it was chocolate!!

Pictures weren't allowed in the factory, but I did manage to snap a few of my favorite little people. Ryan was quite taken with his hair net! Or, maybe it was all the chocolate he had just spotted.



We got to see them making some favorites like peanut clusters and sponge candy. The sponge was kind of funny looking... more like foam. But, it sure did taste good! We got to see them mixing the batter for the sponge, cooking it, slicing it into squares and then sending it down the conveyor belt for the chocolate bath. Yum!

Here are the boys testing out some of the chocolate. You could eat as much as you wanted while in the factory. That is dangerous!

He was quite pleased. I'm very surprised he didn't get sick. I only let him have one of each thing, but there were a lot of things to try. This was only one sampling table!

We had a great time and will be back next year!

On the way home, we stopped to pick out our pumpkin.

It was a very difficult choice, but we ended up with the largest pumpkin they had. Big surprise.

After soccer, it was time to head out to our friends' chili cook off. What a great night for it! They treated the kids to hay rides complete with decoration in the trees and apples for the deer!

There they go!! After dark they continued the rides and I thought the boys were going to go again, but at the last minute Tyler jumped off leaving Ryan without anyone he knew. Do you know that kid went and had a great time? It was dark!!

It was a great day 1 of a fabulous fall weekend.

Adventure

I should have my head examined. Seriously. Today was chore day. We should have been home safe and sound. But no. I saw the beautiful day it was outside and knew that the laundry would have to wait. We were going on an adventure. So with no thought to the gas gauge, I headed out with my boys right past the Bills stadium... on Sunday with a home game scheduled. Not smart.

Even worse, I had no idea where I was going. Don't get me wrong, I had a destination, I just had no idea how to get there. The destination, Griffis Sculpture Park, ended up being in the middle of absolutely nowhere. An absolutely beautiful middle of nowhere. The colors on the trees got brighter with every hill we climbed, every corner we turned, and every wrong turn we made!

Finally, we made it. And it was worth it!

Nature experiences have been lacking on our to do list so I was very pleased to see the setting of this park. The sculptures were hiding everywhere and were awesome. Check this out.

The boys thought these statues were great. I'm sure you can imagine the comments as they passed by the backside of each one.

This one was benign enough for them to stand next to.

But, not this one... too scary!

What a gorgeous day! Check out that sky. The sculpture was called 'Ravens.'

It was just breathtaking. We walked through the woods to get to this clearing.

Hopefully this is the largest mosquito we'll ever see.

If I recall correctly, this is a wasp.

Another clearing brought us to this structure. The boys had a ball.

Art that you are encouraged to enjoy... what could be better??

They weren't sure what to make of this.

I love this picture. I could have stayed here all day.

The reds, oranges and yellows were so vibrant against the blue sky.

Sharing it with these two made it an almost perfect day. Next time I'll be sure to schedule it when Dan can join us.

On our way out we spent some time at this structure.

How they didn't end up with slivers is beyond me.

Fun!

I am happy to say that I learned my lesson and didn't get lost on the way home. And, I didn't drive off the road even with the gorgeous views.

Yes, next time I will be sure Dan can join us so I can enjoy the ride!