Halloween on the Square

This year's Halloween festivities began about a week before Halloween. Gavin dressed up as a SWAT Team Member (complete with glue-on mustache), Vivian was Rapunzel, and Pax was a dragon. All three kids were very excited to take photos on the front porch before we left.

When we got there, we immediately went to put the kids in the costume contest. 

One of the best costumes in the 0-12 month category was a sandwich. It was amazing.

G & V stood with Wes in the competition. And Gavin Charles won in 

the 4-6 year old group for Most Original costume! He was very excited.

Once the competition was over, we met up with the Whitehursts. Olivia was a leopard.

Our kids just love that little Olivia.

After the contest and playing a few games, we went from shop to shop to restaurant to restaurant in Downtown Harrisonburg trick-or-treating. The kiddos thought it was the coolest thing ever.

It was a really fun (totally free) event in our little town.

Day Date

Last weekend, we went on a date! By ourselves. 

Without the kids. For TWO hours.

We started off at this little pastry shop downtown where we ate a delicious raspberry cream cheese tart. Sooooo good! Right next to the pastry shop was the Harrisonburg Tourism office and gift shop. It was fun to walk around and actually read stuff about our little town (without having to chase little ones all over the place).

We spent the next hour walking around downtown before going out for some local BBQ. When we came home, the kids were exhausted. Gavin even fell asleep on me.

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

The other day, the twins had a field trip at school to a local pumpkin patch. I had to work, so Wes and Pax decided to go with. 

Apparently, it was very cold but also very fun!

Three Kids Live Here

Our bathtub drain upstairs was clogged for a few weeks. Wes tried all kinds of things (like Draino, sticking something down the drain, etc.) and nothing was working. So we broke down and had a plumber come in. It took him over an hour to get what was stuck out. And when pulled these two beauties out, we knew exactly how it happened.

What are they? They're fabric diving toys for the pool. It's a piece of fabric in between two plastic, weighted pieces. And there were two of them in our drain. 

We asked Vivi about it and she said, "I didn't even know they were down there." Then we turned our attention towards our older son. Gavin replied, "Oh yeah, I remember when dat happened. I knew it."

Seriously?

I guess this is the stuff that happens when you live with three kids.

Little Circus

On Monday afternoon, we took the kiddos to the circus. We had free tickets for the kids, so you know we had to do it. It was... well... a very small circus. But totally precious. 

Lucky for us, we arrived late and our seats were bumped up to VIP seats, which meant we got to sit in the VERY front row. We were only about 3-4 feet from the ring. It was crazy. 

We got cotton candy. The twins and I devoured it in about 6-7 minutes. Pax tried some and wasn't impressed (weirdo).

The best part of the whole thing was when Wes was pulled from the crowd as a volunteer. Yes, Wesley Rosier was in the circus on Monday night. He's on the far left in the Maryland hoodie. 

And yes, I got the whole thing on video. You're welcome. 

It wasn't the best circus we ever went to, but it was really fun- and that's what counts!

He's a Troublemaker

Children's Museum 10th Anniversay!

Last Sunday was our fave little children's museum's 10 year anniversary. They had all kinds of extra things at their party- and it was all free (music to my ears!). We had to go. And we had to go with the Whitehursts. 

We started off with some normal playtime in the museum. 

Outside, the fire dept. brought a ladder truck and a smoke house (to show people just how hard it is to see when a room fills with smoke). Wes and Gavin and David and Olivia went right in; crawling on the ground, trying to make it to the open window. Vivian was not at all interested in this activity. 

They also had some fun games outside. 

And face-painting!

Then it was time for cupcakes! They were delicious!

As per our usual routine, we ended our trip with a tantrum from not one but both twins. Oh well. We love our little children's museum. 

End of September MD Trip

We took a weekend trip up to MD during the last week of September.

Our first stop was at GG and Max's new apartment (they were moving that day).

There's no pool at their new apartment (tear), BUT there's a great little playground right at their front door! The kiddos loved it!

Aunt Rachel and Grandma Née-Née met us there for some playtime. 

Then we went to the Richelsen's house before heading over to the Botanical Gardens (where I did my first engagement photo session) and Wheaton Regional Park (where Wes, Tony, and the children all played while they waited for me to finish the shoot. Here are some pics of the kids at the park:

And here are a few of my favorites from the engagement session:

It was really fun. That night, Stepha nd I went over to April's house for a girl's night with Mitchem and Brandy. As always, it was so so great.

We slept at Steph and Tony's house that night. Early the next morning, I had another photo shoot. This time, it was with two sisters (one was 6 months and one was 5 years old). Here are my favorites from that session:

After the sessions, Brandy and her two (Carter and Lea) came over to Steph and Tony's to play some video games before we went to a local pumpkin patch.

The pumpkin patch crew consisted of the five of us, the Richelsens (Steph, Tony, Nick, and Steph's future Sister-in-law, Kristen), Brandy and her two kiddos (Carter & Lea), and Philip, Courtney, and their new baby, Grant. There were lots of kids, lots of other people, and the farm was huge.

We went to lunch with Philip, Courtney, Grant, Linda, and Ted after the pumpkin patch and then drove back to the Burg. It was definitely a fun, jam-packed weekend.