Hello October, Goodbye October

Happy Halloween! I don't have my Halloween pictures uploaded yet, but will share those in a separate post. October started off feeling like summer and it ended feeling like winter. October is always a busy month for us since I have my region meeting for work in the middle of month, quickly followed by Madeline's birthday, then George's birthday, then Halloween! This year, I also added in a work trip to Boston and the four of us went to Syracuse and Rochester this past weekend. Now that I think about it, I've spent half of the month away so it'll be nice to have a couple of uneventful weeks this month. But you know us, we have a few adventures on the horizon. First, Emily is coming here in a couple of weeks for work. She'll be staying with us for 2-3 nights before her work stuff begins. We're ready for some Aunt Emily time! Then, my parents fly here during Thanksgiving week and the six of us will drive up to NYC for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Macy's is on our bucket list -- I can't wait!! Next, we are heading to CO for our annual Beaver Creek ski trip in early December. Finally, George is going to AZ for a long weekend in mid December for his cousin's wedding. It was going to be too much for all of us to go so he is representing. We are staying here for Christmas and New Year's. Now onto some pictures from October...

Luke is at such a cute age right now. He can definitely be a handful at times (he's a typical active toddler boy), but he is so happy, silly, and curious. Everything is funny to him. I love this stage, even if it is exhausting

 In early October, we made our way up to a pumpkin patch and apple orchard. We have a book about apple trees and making an apple pie so Madeline wanted to be sure that we picked apples and made a pie. George encouraged it. 

We made a Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Pie with lots of crumb topping! :) :)

 We also carved a pumpkin! It's been years since I carved a pumpkin. It was messy (I scooped, George carved), but the roasted seeds were worth it. 

We hired our first ever babysitter in PA for the Cardinals vs. Eagles game. The Cardinals got crushed, but it was still nice to have an entire day just the two of us. Probably the hardest thing about moving out of state is that we don't have any help with the kids, but the kids did great with the babysitter so we're going to have her back again. Not sure why we waited so long! 

This year, Madeline came with me to Arizona for my region meeting. She's a little expert traveler -- she knows the whole drill and comes prepared with her headphones, a movie on the iPad, and snacks. We had a little birthday celebration for Madeline and Parker. My mom made the cutest cake...half Batman, half Frozen. 

 Donuts with Aunt Marie! 

The birthday buddies...

When we got back home, we did a little birthday celebration with the four of us. We went to Chuck E. Cheese (Madeline's choice) and had an ice cream cake! 

Finally, this past weekend, we went to Syracuse to see my Grandma Clark, Sarah, DJ (all who are moving to AZ next week), and Aunt Lesley and then Rochester to see more family and help prepare my Grandma's home for the new owner.  Madeline and Luke had a blast with the Moore cousins. It was so fun to see all of them playing together. 

Seven kids 6 and under!

I think Madeline wants a baby sister after being around Sadie and Lilah. Luke doesn't let her brush his hair! Haha! :)

 Some cider and donuts before hitting the road! :) 

 Lots of great memories with my Grandma and Grandpa in this house. I'll miss visiting it, but I'm so glad we'll be able to see my Grandma more often in AZ (when we eventually move back that is!)