Annual Halloween Party and the Arboretum

 Check out these amazing cupcakes!  We have a new store that opened in Maple Grove and the owner was once on the t.v. show Cake Wars.  They were quite tasty and good looking!

We are missing a few kids in this picture, but we got a decent picture of a few of them at a Halloween party with several of our friends.  This was our 5th annual party and they keep getting more fun every year!

O.k., everyone look at Mommy!?

Silly Boys

Hey, where is him?  AJ showing us that his worm fell out

Liam's worms

"Working" on the house.  I am taking volunteers to help John build one of these in our backyard.  Anyone?  We could have several hours of adult conversation and relaxation if we could reproduce this little house for the boys. 

Walking on the tree

More "painting" the house with water and brushes

And more "painting" with beautiful fall colors in the background

Boys love dirt

 

 

Fall Leaves (Day 2 at Arboretum)

 

We have several Halloween parties coming up this year and recently had our first one for the year.  The boys are so excited about these parties that I have learned not to tell them until right before we go to the party so that they won't ask me 1,000 times when they can put on their costumes.  Our first party was our annual get together with several of our twin and play date friends.  Our group has gotten together for Halloween for 5 years (since Luke and Liam were 9 months old).  Each year the group has gotten more spread out (some people have moved, some can't come due to school, work, or other things) so we have gotten a bit smaller over time.  It is sad not to see some of our other friends, but this has been a good thing to have fewer people since the boys have gotten bigger, louder, and more active!  We had a smaller group at our recent party, but it was just the right amount of people and we had a great time.

 

We had a much warmer than average weekend for October in Minnesota so we took advantage of this and spent a lot of time outdoors.  A few people have recommended taking the boys to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum at various times, but I never thought it seemed like a great place to take them.  I just pictured a lot of delicate flowers, meticulous gardens, and things that we really should not pick, touch, or walk through.  Well, I was wrong about the Arboretum.  It was beautiful.  There were lots of fall colors, several pumpkin and scarecrow exhibits, an outdoor play area for kids, trails, a maze, etc...It was a fabulous place to spend lots of time running and walking outdoors on a gorgeous day. John and I much prefer being outside to spending time indoors so this was definitely something we enjoyed as well.  In fact, we all liked it so much that we went on both Saturday AND Sunday afternoons!  The bonus to going back on Sunday was that we somehow misplaced Aiden's favorite green "monster" hat so when we went back on Sunday, it was in the lost and found!  So thankful to find that hat!