Days 214-215: Happy Halloween!

Halloween certainly looked very different this year, but we had a blast! Our neighborhood usually sees about 300 rick-or-treaters and shuts the streets down. This year, though, the HOA didn't close the neighborhood since traditional trick-or-treating was not advised. Half of the neighborhood opted to stay dark, and the other half opted to set up tables at the end of our driveways with individual treat bags. With the two approaches, we were able to have a really safe, small Halloween in the neighborhood.

Because we knew it would be smaller and there wouldn't be the traditional neighborhood party, we opted to make our own Halloween feast. We also knew the candy haul would have to live in quarantine for a day, so we made extra treat for the evening. Issa and I basically spent the day in the kitchen:

We made gluten-free chex mix, Halloween puppy chow, cupcakes, and mulled cider:

Not pictured are the mummy hot dogs!

Our family costume was the four seasons:

They were relatively simple costumes that were a huge hit:

The boys did a little weapons training in the driveway while Issa and set up for trick-or-treaters:

And the kids were thrilled to head out:

The traditional first trick-or-treater pictures:

And they were off:

 I had two moms cry in our driveway because they were so happy their kiddos were getting to have a little slice of Halloween. Even though there were fewer houses, the kids still had quite the haul, and we ended the night with out feast and Little Shop of Horrors.

Like everything 2020, it was wildly different than years past, but we still had a fabulous time. I love how the neighborhood pulled together to do this safely--masked and six feet apart. It made this Halloween not so scary after all.

Day 213: Halloween at the Studio

Halloween Week is always a very big deal at the studio. Each team coordinated costumes every day, and they even let the girls get close enough for one group picture that the studio emailed to all of them.

Monday, the Teens were condiments:

Issa chose sriracha, which we found hysterical.

Wednesday, the wanted to be fairies since they had pointe class, and Issa chose Vidia:

Check this out: less than a month on pointe and she is off the bar:

She even did some across the floor for the first time Wednesday night!

Last night, they were hydro flasks, but they didn't get a picture. They even printed off the stickers that they have on their real water bottles so they matched.

This is such a sweet, creative team, and I love that Issa got to have some fun with them this week!

 

Day 212: The One Tradition I Hate

I love a good holiday tradition more than most, and I love when our kids find new traditions to begin. That said, I hate this one:

 Do you see that ugly rat hiding on my coffee cups. Yep. I spent the entire month of October finding that stupid thing in places meant to scare me. I hate it.

Day 211: We Went to the Zoo!

The kids didn't have school on Monday, and I managed to wrangle a day off, so the three of us headed to the zoo. (Daddy had too many meetings one the books.)

It was our first trip to the zoo since Covid hit, and we were so impressed by the safety measures. We had to reserve our slot ahead of time (no tickets at the gate), and they are only allowing 100 people in per thirty minutes. That meant we had almost every exhibit to ourselves. We saw one other couple at a several enclosures, but the zoo had viewing areas marked off for each family. Masks were also required at all time. Bottom line: we felt very safe!

We had a beautiful fall morning for our trip:

And the zoo had decorated for the season:

There is currently no climbing on the statues, but we still snapped a picture with one:

It is so fun to go to the zoo with big kids, and with so many fewer people the animals were more active and came closer to the glass. The big highlight was watching Obie, the baby chimp:

We probably stood there for twenty minutes watching him. The cougars and gorillas were also really active and close. Even the elephant was the closest we have seen him:

Also please note that the children and I took turns carrying the backpack! We had to a carry our own water (all of the drinking fountains are off), and that thing gets heavy! Can I say again how much I love having big kids?

We were some of the first people back in the aviary since March. It is the first building that they opened, and they are only allowing one family in at a time. It was so cool to have the whole thing to ourselves!

We were sad to not see the puffins or otters, and you can't see any of the animals from the lower levels. The zoo is also all one way right now, which meant we got to take some paths not normally open to the public.

Just look at those faces:

 I'd say it was a good zoo day!

Days 207-210: Happy Birthday, Daddy!

This weekend, we celebrated Brad's birthday. He is not a big fan of big birthday to-dos, but he does a little mostly to keep the rest of us happy. The kids presented him with a Dundy for the being the best dad, and then we made a life choice:

Brad has always wanted to learn how to pick a lock, so here we go:

He is getting really good! 

He did request fondue for dinner:

This is a new recipe, and it was perfection.

Because he is the absolute best, we spent the evening watching this Billye Eilish concert:

Issa is a huge fan, and we were able to purchase live-stream tickets. It really was a killer concert.

Our second course was a chocolate fondue:

I doubted when the recipe suggested dipping Oreos, but I am now a believer. 

Brad's final request was a pumpkin pie:

We had some fresh pumpkin that I roasted in the morning, and it was a near perfect pie.

We sure do love celebrating him. Here's to many happy returns...
 

Day 206: Small Disasters

Yesterday, nothing went horribly wrong, but we had a series of small, annoying snags that just made me laugh.

The first and most jarring was the washing machine. I had started a load, and then we lost power. Unfortunately, I completely forgot that detail! So, I went to move the wash and we had a waterfall situation. I stood there for a second trying to figure out why my feet were getting wet before I thought to close the door. Thankfully, it was clean water and Evan jumped in to help me soak it all up. 

This, however, is the doozy:

 That would be glitter, friends. It is all over the floor from our tutu fabric, and it is really happy there. We might all be sparkling for weeks.

Day 205: Getting Crafty

This year, our little family has decided to be the four seasons for Halloween. Issa and Brad made the trek to get the supplies we needed, and last night she and I started actually making the costumes:

She and I will have tutus:

Can you guess our seasons? All of us will have cool headpieces, and we have a few surprises as finishing touches. Now we just have a lot of crafting to do in the next week and a half!
 

Day 204: Weekend Happies

The rest of our weekend was filled with lots of projects. Mom needed a new tv installed and set up, so we spent a lot of time over there. 

We also voted, and Issa wanted to be a part of the  process:

It's hard to believe that she will get to cast her own ballot in the next political election.

She and I also did our nails, which we now do every other Sunday because we are having great fun with Color Street:

It's polish, but it goes on more like a sticker, and we love the festive designs:

We already have Thanksgiving nails in the wings, and we will order our Christmas nails when they go live tomorrow. This is yet one more layer to my holiday fun!

I'm finding great joy in these little moments. I'm very aware that this one launches in three years, and I'm so excited to see what she does. She's going to be amazing. I'm just soaking up these moments now...
 

Days 202-203: Pumpkins with Goats

We had a fabulous weekend with a lot of very different things happening, so I'm going to split it up into separate posts over the week. The highlight, though, happened Friday when we went to carve pumpkins with goats.

There is a farm just a few minutes from our house, and they hold multiple events with goats. We finally decided we would go check it out, and we will absolutely be back! When we arrived, we spent some time in the farmyard feeding the critters. I have never seen so many ducks in my life:

The highland cows were the highlight though:

Turkeys and chicken wander the whole farm, and all of the animals have huge pastures. They clearly like people and being fed and patted, though. 

The next step was picking our pumpkins, and then we chose our table in the pasture. They were standing tables that were about six feet square, so we had plenty of room to carve. They also provided two baskets full of all kind of scoops and knives for carving. And...there were so many goats:

They just hopped right on the table to eat our treats and pumpkin guts, and they loved having their ears scratched:

They just stick their heads right in there:

We had a blast carving and playing with the goats. Most of our lids don't fit because the goats nibbled the edges, but we don't care at all. Not only was it super fun, but we also had zero mess to clean up!

The pumpkins finish our fall porch perfectly:

Even Brad wants to go back! Now we just wait to see what event is next...
 

Day 201: A Different Kind of Supporting Local

We love The Produce Box. Every week, we order produce fresh produce from local farmers, and then it juts shows up on my porch. I love it. 

A couple of years ago, they added local artisans, and we love getting gluten free breads, local honeys, meats, and cheese delivered right to our home.

This week, we got a different twist on local:

The state fair should have been going right now, and many local vendors sell their products there. The Produce Box offered a state fair option, complete with kettle corn, candy apples, fudge, spiced nuts, and cotton candy. I'm sure it will be enjoyed by all, and I love supporting these local folks, too.
 

Day 200: Yep, 200

 Y'all. 200 days in Covid Times. It hardly seems possible.

I've stopped calling quarantine because it really isn't. We are slowly dipping our toes out of the bubble into other very safe bubbles. Issa goes to the studio; the boys go to the dojo; I go to work twice a week. That's it, though. We still haven't sat in a restaurant. Movie theaters are open, but there is no way we are going. School is still fully online.

We are still feeling incredibly blessed. We are healthy and still relatively enjoying these times. We are looking for and enjoying silver linings--especially since there is no end in sight. 

Day 199: Really Finished This Time

I believe I have mentioned Issa loves Halloween, and she has been working for years to get Brad to put an inflatable in our yard. This year, she finally won him over:

They decided we needed the whole cast of The Nightmare Before Christmas, so Sally joined the front porch:

And we have an inflatable, light-up Zero in the front yard:

She is over the moon. I did declare that we now have to be finished, though, because I refuse to become the Griswalds of Halloween.
 

Day 198: Connection

 A friend of mine is taking classes to be a yoga instructor. To complete the training, she has to hold multiple classes with different goals for real students. In the pandemic, this is of course happening on Zoom.

I took my third class with her last night, and for the first time I was the only one who showed up. We did a lovely practice, but then we just sat and talked. It was lovely, and it showed me something important...

I'm missing friends. I have had short interactions with friends, but they have been pretty haphazard. I'm going to start looking for ways to reconnect with friends--even if it's over Zoom. It's worth the effort.

Days 196-197: Cozy Crafting

We had big outdoor plans this weekend, but the remnants of Hurricane Delta washed those out. Instead, we had a cozy weekend snuggling and crafting.

First, though, this picture cracks me up:

Inks looks like she is judging Buddy for just being Buddy.

I got to go to pottery again this weekend! I glazed two bowls that will be food and water dishes for the cats downstairs, and I attached a handle to my gravy boat:

The bowls should fire a brick red for fall, and I'll glaze the gravy boat next time I go!

The kids made all of our trick-or-treat bags for the neighborhood trick-or-treat parade. We are all doing grab and go bags laying on tables, and kids will stay on the road/sidewalk instead of going up to doors where it can get crowded. We are really trying to find a way to make it happen while staying safe!

And Issa and I are dangerously close to finishing her rug! We would be closer but someone needed attention:

Both dogs think the rug is the absolute best place to be:

We have high hopes of actually going outside next weekend, but this one was pretty cozy.
 

Day 195: Enjoying the Little Things

We are enjoying lots of little things this week. Issa and I finally hung the bats from our Boo Basket yesterday:

I sit at that table for work when I'm home, and the hanging bats earned me some major cool points in some elementary classrooms yesterday.

Frosty and Inks are also becoming quite good friends:

Look at how this sweet baby sleeps:

We are very much enjoying snuggling up a bit more in this season. We have big plans for more of it this weekend.
 

Day 194: I Joined the Club

After 18 years of faithful service, our crockpot finally died this week. The knob fell off a year ago, but it still worked fine--although a pair of pliers were sometimes necessary to adjust the temperature. This week, though, it turned itself off...and then on...and then off. No good. We use our crockpot at least once a week, so I started researching. I finally just called a friend who loves his InstantPot, and I took the plunge:

This one can be used as an InstantPot or slow cooker, which is really nice. I spent a lot of time reading the manual and assembling last night, and this morning we tried it for oatmeal. Y'all. In about 15 minutes total we had perfect stealcut oats. I'm a believer, and I will be spending the next week pinning new recipes!
 

Day 193: We've Been Booed!

In a year where we have had to let go of so many traditions, our neighborhood found a way to keep one going:

We love the Booing that happens every October. Neighbors leave treat baskets on each other's front porches. It's fun to watch the signs go up on front doors indicating who has been booed. This year, the note looked a little different, and the treats did as well. Only in 2020 would a Boo Basket include Halloween face masks:

The kids were most thrilled by the socks:

And the skull ice cube molds:

And we are still trying to decide where to hang the bats:

We masked up and went shopping yesterday to assemble our two Boo Baskets. We dutifully wiped everything down, masked up, and ran like crazy after we left them on porches. 

In a world where things sometimes feel so very different, it was lovely to carry on a tradition that is so fun.
 

Day 192: A Spooky Porch

We decorated the inside of our house a few weeks ago, but our HOA won't allow Halloween decorations outside until October 1, which aggravates Issa to no end. Alas, we had to wait until we got home Sunday to decorate the front porch.

Issa is particularly proud of the snake winding down the banister. 

And Brad is particularly proud of this raven welcoming everyone to come in:

But this is what summarizes our family:

 

Characters from Brad and Issa's favorite Halloween movie holding my sweet harvest pillow. They made a coat hanger skeleton to get Jack to sit up, and Issa worked long and hard to get Oogey's head at just the right angle to be talking with Jack. I'm sure more will appear on the porch, but as long as they keep giggling as they are doing it I couldn't care less.