Halloween on South Green

Trick or treating on South Green St., in Glasgow, is an experience in itself.  We are fortunate enough to live on a side street off of South Green so we can just walk to all the action.  A church on South Green has a huge cookout and, literally, tosses free aluminum foil wrapped hot dogs to anyone who wishes to partake.  Dr. Lessenberry creates his very own haunted house for anyone to walk through, for free.  He puts his tent up days in advance just for the anticipation to grow in the days leading up to Halloween.  Trick or treating is more of a social event for some people on South Green.  Many people just walk the streets and have no kids at all.  Yes, Halloween on South Green is in experience!

Hadley was a kitty cat and Canaan was a mouse.  My first experience trying to match the kid's Halloween costumes was actually quite painless.  I lucked out and found everything at Target at one time.  Canaan is difficult to "pose" at this point.  Hadley just isn't big enough yet to hold him up so pics with them are Canaan all laid back and Hadley practically laying down herself. 

As expected, this was Hadley's most fun Halloween yet.  She fully understood what she was going to be doing and couldn't wait to get all that candy!

Our kitty cat led the way, quite literally, sitting in the front of the double stroller.  She would hop out as Justin started to slow down at a new house. 

She doesn't run yet to get candy, as many older/bigger kids do.  She still hesitantly walked up to each house, holding Daddy's hand.  I told Justin that he'd better enjoy her hand holding now because it won't be long until she won't want to do that.  Sigh.... 

One house we visited was reealllly decked out in the Halloween spirit.  Or with spirits I should say.....

We were amazed that Hadley even walked up to this house considering the super scary undertaker, coffin, and tombstones.  Love these memories with my sweet family!  I wish that I had started my blog back when Hadley was a baby, but I'm working hard on letting that Mama-guilt go.  So just to make myself feel better, here's a quick glimpse back to Hadley's first two Halloween's. 

Honeybear Halloween Party

Our Halloween was a very busy but exciting day.  The Honeybear Room (Hadley's room at daycare) had their Halloween party early that afternoon.  So I loaded up Canaan, the goodie bags, and small gifts for Hadley's teachers.  As a teacher myself, I know just how stressful "party" days are.  I picked them up a candle and iced sugar cookie from the local bakery.  I told them to unwind later that night with both of those things!

It warmed my heart to see Hadley in action with some of her faves: Shayla, Sawyer, and Brenlee.  She talks about these girls all the time and I can certainly see why.  What sweethearts they are.  Hadley was so excited to have me there, which was fun for me.  I got to sit with her during the party, which made her feel special.

I loved hearing the class pray before eating their food. You know you live in the Bible Belt when public daycares pray and I love it!

  

Now pizza was the main course of the party. For posterity's sake, I want it recorded that Hadley would have been the one and only child to yell out, "I need a na-kkin!"  And I really did look around the room to find that she was the only child who used her napkin by the end of the party.  I have seriously warped her when it comes to cleanliness.  Yikes!

Hadley was proud of her goodie bags.  She put great thought in to who got what bag, which was amazing since they were all identical and none of them had nametags.  Tested my patience for sure!  Amazing what joy dollar store finds can bring kiddos, though ;)

The Honeybear teachers get the best pinterest-inspired craft ideas. The handprint spiders were just too cute!

The Honeybears also had their jack-o-lantern on display.  We had such a fun time and got home just in time for the main event...trick or treating!!

Twas the Night Before Halloween

Twas the night before Halloween when all through the house,

Two very different creatures were stirring about.

Costumes were ready and waiting to be worn,

By a toddler-sized kitty cat and a mouse just born.

Goodie bags for school friends were stuffed and prepared,

Nutter butter ghost cookies were made for anyone who dared.

And sis in her tutu and brother in his sleeper,

Began to settle down before the 3 am feeding beeper.

When in the busy kitchen mommy made such a clatter,

Praying the kids wouldn't wake to see what was the matter.

Chili, pimento cheese, and hot chocolate are in store,

All that's left now is trick-or-treating and candy galore!

Happy Halloween to all and to all a good night!!

Just Piddlin'

Nothing says fall-family-friendly-fun like a pumpkin patch, right?  On a recent day trip to visit my family, in Auburn, Hadley and I headed over to Just Piddlin' Farm.  It is the epitome of fun for kiddos and it certainly didn't disappoint my girl. 

The corn box had Miss Haddy's attention from the get-go.  At first, she was very timid about walking in it.  It seemed like the corn was piled as much as a foot deep.  It took her a looong time to walk from one side of it to the other.  Again, it takes her quite a while to warm up to unusual situations.  But with a little encouragement from me to pick up the shovel and and scoop the corn in the bucket, she got the hang of things quickly.  And then I couldn't get her out of there!  I get a Laura Ingalls vibe from this picture ;)

It's amazing how many times kids can fill up a bucket with something, only to turn right around and dump it out. 

For me, the highlight of this trip was this hay maze.  Since the hay was inside the barn and it was a particularly dreary day anyway, it was VERY dark inside the hay maze.  I thought there was absolutely no way Hadley was going in there.  You can tell she is really trying to check things out.  Well, I thought the opening simply turned a corner a little ways back and came out on the other side where you see the "exit" to Hadley's right.  Boy was I wrong!  Again, I encouraged her to get out of her comfort zone and go inside and then we she made the turn, instead of coming towards me and walking out of the maze, she went someplace else and I completely lost sight of her.  I started to panic because I know how scared she can get and how dark it was in there.  I started calmly calling her name so that I wouldn't scare her.  After a minute or so I heard the pitter patter of her little feet running up behind me.  She had found an escape route somewhere that I wasn't even aware of! 

Whew!  She was beside herself with excitement.  Turns out, there were several "corridors" throughout the hay maze and Hadley found each and every one of them.  So much fun!

When we finally made our way out of the barn, Hadley found the slide first thing.  She did have to have help climbing up the super-stacked hay bales.  So since I was already up there helping her, I thought I might as well slide down, too ;)

Hadley was very concerned for the animals when I mentioned that rain was looming.  "The animals might get rained on, Mommy?!"  I reminded her that they did have their own shelter.  But I do love her compassionate heart.  She tried to talk to the chickens by saying, "Hey, chicky chickies!" 

I priced my own pumpkin before we left.  We had a great day just piddlin'!

Gatlinburg

Ever since I was a very little girl, my family has taken a weekend trip to Gatlinburg each October.  The smell of caramel apples, fudge, and funnel cakes permeate the air. The activities I have enjoyed in Gatlinburg have changed drastically throughout the years.  As a small child, I couldn't wait to ride the Sky-Lift and play miniature golf.  As a teenager, I wanted to go through Haunted Houses, play Laser Tag, and ice skate on Ober Gatlinburg.  Now, as an adult, I like to visit shops along the main strip, eat my favorite sweets, and shop at the Outlet Mall in Sevierville.  I love that my ever-expanding extended family is right there with us, along for the fun.  I know that as our children get older, I will most likely watch the same activities begin to lure them back to Gatlinburg.  Ah, family traditions, what more is there to say?

Friday night, after a long day of traveling for everyone, our whole crew grabbed a quick supper at Five Guys and then took in some great live Bluegrass Music.  There was even a sweet, elderly couple there clogging in their finest outfits.  I hope to be that active when I'm their age!  This area was a great spot for photo ops, too.  So we took full advantage.

Great-Grandaddy Hughes strolled Hadley around the streets.  Grandaddy and Nana went with my family on ALL of our Gatlinburg trips when I was growing up.  The past few years, he and Nana have been on some exotic trip somewhere so we were so excited when they decided to stay home and go to Gatlinburg with us again.  He and I have taken many trips up and down the Sky-Lift over the years.

Hadley has been talking about Gatlinburg for quite some time now.  She knew that her cousin, Addison, would be there.  Hadley has three first cousins who are girls; all within 18 months of her.  I say she already has built-in bridesmaids.  Needless to say, they bring her great joy and I love it!

Canaan was only three weeks old for his first Gatlinburg trip.  We debated, greatly, as to whether we would still go, having a newborn with us.  But with ALL the family we had going, we knew there would be plenty of people staying behind in the hotel rooms to watch him from time to time.  In fact, this night was the only night he actually left the room.  He did fantastic on his first trip!  Nana and Grandaddy are so enjoying their great-grandchildren.  We are so thankful for them!

Sweet cousins having too much fun together!  Both nights of our trip, Hadley and Addison even "camped out" in a tent on the floor of Nana and Poppy's hotel room.  Ava just isn't quite ready for their rowdiness at this point.  Love these memories! 

Hadley enjoying her very first candy apple. Now I am strictly a caramel apple gal, myself.  But I think the bright red color is very appealing to small kiddos, especially.  I try not to stress out over messy foods, but I'm not always successful.  Lucky for me, I have trained (or rather traumatized) Hadley in to asking for wet wipes or napkins at the slightest sign of dirt or stickiness.  Bless her heart! 

My Uncle Mark's family joined us this year, too, which was so fun.  He turns 50 this year, so we had a special "Senior" hat for him to wear at dinner one night.  As you can see, it's not so much about the dozens of wedding chapels, mechanical bulls, or airbrushed t-shirts for us.  It's simply a place we have visited every year for 25+ years.  Family...getting together...enough said.  Fun times!!

Pumpkin Carving 2012

Two things that bring me great enjoyment in life are children's books & classic cartoons that are Holiday- themed.  Before Justin and I ever thought about having children, I would designate a night in October, November, and December to watch each of the Charlie Brown holiday cartoons.  I love that they are still shown on network television one evening right around each holiday.  You just can't recreate the classic cartoons.  I also love traditions with my family; old and new.  On this night, we carved our own "Great Pumpkin," as well as made pumpkin cookies and watched the Charlie Brown classic, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."  Oh, how I love fun family nights like these!

Hadley was so excited about our first pumpkin carving endeavor.  She really didn't have a clue what we were going to do until we started working on it.  The word "carve" just wasn't in her vocabulary ;)

We picked out the perfect pumpkin for the occasion. 

Of course, we had to let sweet baby Canaan in on all the excitement.  You can tell just how involved he is.  I truly forgot how much newborns sleep.  It's such a tough job, you know.

Hadley held on to Justin's arm while HE did the carving.  We let her scoop out the seeds and "guts" of the pumpkin, though, which she thoroughly enjoyed. 

I love how big Hadley feels when she does the simplest of tasks, such as placing the cookies on the stoneware.  Of course, I had to rearrange them just a tad for the most optimal baking situation.  

 We enjoyed our delicious cookies while we watched our cartoon.  Justin and I enjoyed the next batch after Hadley went to sleep ;)

  

 Drum roll please....here he is....The Great STINSON Pumpkin 2012!  Oh, how I love this time of year!!