End of October

We had a lovely month of October! Even though it rained a ton this year for October, I thankfully didn't really notice as it was happening. I felt like we were able to get outdoors a reasonable amount, and I was kind of ready to enjoy some quiet indoor time, cozied up with candles and blankets.

One quiet school day I was distracted by the amount of leaves flying by the windows. I couldn't help myself and had to capture it. It was lovely!

I was sooooo laid back about Halloween this year. We usually put together fun costumes and then photoshop the kids into a scene that matches, but we were out of town the weekend before and I just didn't really care this year, haha! ;) So we stopped by my Grandma's costume shop the night before and the boys picked out pirate costumes and Selah picked out cat accessories. 

They had a lot of fun trying on different hats and masks and things.

After school and Jude's speech therapy on Halloween, I called up my mom and asked her if she'd like to go downtown with me and the kids and trick-or-treat around the stores. We'd never been and thought it would be fun to do. We all ended up loving it! 

Then that evening Matt, Gina and Nora came over and we drove up the road and trick-or-treated around a quiet little neighborhood. 

Gina took a picture of me, taking a picture of Josh, who was taking a video of the kids. ;) Haha!

And in keeping with our tradition we stopped at our neighbor John's house and enjoyed candy and conversation. He's a gem.

Then we adults enjoyed tea and conversation at home. It was a great day.

The weekend before we went up to Lake Oswego to spend two days with our friends! We had a great time enjoying their company, games, and a movie! It's always a treat to be together, even if we have to squeeze it into a short window of time. :)

Ben and Jude started wrestling a couple weeks ago and they are loving it!

Our friend Anne Marie came to visit and we soaked up an afternoon of her sweet company. Time goes by so quickly when she visits. Ben invited her to play a game of chess. She's always so great with the kids! (She was in our youth group many, many years ago. Now she's married and living in Mississippi, but it's fun that we still get to see her about once a year!)

Chess is all the rage around here. The kids love it so much. This is breakfast chess. ;)

One night I got to play chess with Han Solo. ;)

Our school runs in 6 week cycles, so we got a week off last week and it was really nice. But it was also nice to see everyone's familiar faces as we got back into the swing of things this week. The kids will be learning to play the tin whistle for the next six weeks. Hopefully they'll be able to play a Christmas song by the end. :) 

Selah giving a presentation in her class today.

Ben's class learning about each planet's distance from the sun. Ben was the earth. :)

Snowman art at school!

Selah working on a science project... she grew sugar crystals.

The kids give a presentation for school each week and they also trace maps of the world as they are learning their geography. Here's their stuff all lined up by the door the night before co-op school day. I just love "the little things", like this. It's a sweet season of life. And I'm proud of the kids.

Speaking of school, some friends of mine hosted a moms night here for the moms in our school. We had such a wonderful time playing a game, eating desserts and getting to know each other even more. I love this community of moms and the support and encouragement we give one another!! It's such a blessing. They inspire me regularly. And it's nice to be in this school thing together. :)

Sheri and her boys came to visit a couple weeks ago and we soaked up our time with them! We don't get to see each other as often during the school year.

We recently got to enjoy a walk on a sunny day with Grandma Chris and Abby the puppy. The kids love being around Abby. She's a sweet dog.

Ah, fall. It's so lovely. Each season is!

I hope you had a lovely October, too!