NaBloPoMo

NaBloPoMo....what??!!
It's that time of year again for National Blog Posting Month. I am going to try and post evey day this month. I already missed the first but I posted several on the second (so maybe that makes up for it). Also, it appears that I missed yesterday but what mistakenly happened was I picked a post that I never finished and completed it but forgot that once it's been saved, Blogger posts it on the day you saved it, not the day you published it. ARGGGH!! One of my many complaints about Blogger BUT it's free so I will keep other comments to myself. :) So here is yesterday's...dessert place setting.

Would love for you to join me in this challenge this month. So, let me know in the comments and post a link to your blog. THANKS!

Here are a few of my friends who will be joining me...
Danielle
Anne
Malia
Sara

(The picture of Asher has nothing to do with this post but wanted something to make the post more eye appealing and doesn't that face just make you crack up! :))

plan city at discovery center

This picture captures two things that our boys love these days. The first being Plan City toys!! We love them and plan to continue to add to our collection for birthday and Christmas presents. Plan toys are socially and environmentally responsible and safe (no toxic chemicals!!). So if you are needing some creative ideas for Christmas presents, check these toys out. They are available through Amazon and locally, you can find them at Phillips Toy Mart (another one of our favs).

The second great thing about this picture is where it was taken---The Discovery Center in Murfreesboro. It's a bit of a jaunt for us to travel there but worth the extra effort for all the amazing activities they have for these children. We also love the old time firetruck that you can climb on and the donated firemen's hats, boots, coats and pants! Other favorites things include the mini excavator, trains, car garage station and Tiny Tot Town. If you live anywhere near Murfreesboro, you need to check it out (and invite us to come along!!).

trunk-or-treat

For Halloween, we went to our church's trunk-or-treat. This is the way to do it if you want to maximize your candy volume while minimizing your distance traveled. It is even better when you have two little ones who are still a bit shy and who don't have the patience to go very far.


Our nephew and neices...

"Calling all units, calling all units..." Fire Chief Jonas


Costumes down to a minimum`````

The boys enjoying their candy on the way home.

Now we can put the costumes away and get ready for Turkey Day!!

trick-or-treating at david's work

One of our favorite Halloween traditions is trick-or-treating at David's work. All of the secretaries set out candy for the kids to trick-or-treat. It's a very calm environment as you can imagine. Do any of you have fun traditions for Halloween?

halloween in hope gardens

We had our neighborhood Halloween party on the same day as our music class dress up day. Since I had learned earlier that day that Jonas' monkey costume was not going to work, we pulled a quick wardrobe change and pulled the fireman costume from our dress up clothes. He was much happier (at least long enough to get pictures and enjoy a few minutes of the party).
Thanks to my friend Rebecca for the chef's hat, I was able to pull my baker costume together in five minutes! (David showed up late to the party as a "business man." ha!)

The party host family...Rebecca (the Cracker Barrel worker), Alex (the mechanic), Gavin (the firefighter WITH his fire engine) and sweet Zack (the race car driver)

And of course, "the baker" had to show up with some yummy treats! I made vegan chocolate cakes so that my vegan friends could enjoy them as well.

And what's a Halloween party without bobbing for apples?!

Sweet London who was quickly calmed by the sweet witch! :)

Our friend Jessi brought three very delicious butters that I could not stop eating! (Thank goodness I am not vegan. :))

Another fun time in the Hope Gardens neighborhood!!

music class dress up

I signed up the boys for a music class this year with Music with Mommie. They have enjoyed it so far and have made some new friends. For our class this past week, the kids all dressed up. This was our first time to try out our Halloween costumes. Asher was excited about being a football player. Jonas liked the idea of being a monkey UNTIL he had to put on the costume. I couldn't even get him to put to hood on for one picture.

All the kids enjoying the music (although you can't hear it in this picture :)) and bubbles...minus one kid.

Here is the child missing from the above picture. Still quite unhappy with the monkey situaiton.

One of Asher's favorite things to do is to play the "big drum." It can get quite loud when all of them play.

Asher enjoying dancing with the scarves (not stars..ha!) and yes, that is the hidden Jonas, crouching monkey!

Well, at least one out of two enjoyed the dress up time.

gentry's farm

I took the boys to Gentry's farm with some friends to enjoy a pumpkin patch day. It was our first time to Gentry's and I was amazed at all the fun things we could do and we ran out of time to do them all. Our morning began in the corn maze.

Luckily, the kids were able to find our was out!













We are already looking forward to going back next year!!