October Photo Roundup

After a very low-key spring and summer, October finally brought a little excitement into our lives with a visit from Grandpa Steve, Eddie learning to ride his bike, our first Pandemic-era family getaway, and of course--Halloween! And naturally, we filled all the time in between with plenty of our usual fun and shenanigans.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa! Avalon continued her 2020 birthday cake-baking kick with this belated birthday cake for Grandpa (whose birthday is actually in September).

Bedtime story time with Grandpa

Eddie wore a mask for the first time to go get donuts with Grandpa in the morning. (He wore it correctly in the shop, of course, but I think I like this method even better.)

Daytime story time... the kids illustrating a story as Grandpa told it to them

The holidays arrived early as Grandpa brought a prime rib roast to share and Shaun roasted it to perfection

Time to feast!

I think Eloise was trying to tell us something here...

Oh how I love catching a kid reading :) (...without being forced by me to do so, which--sadly--has been the case in our house as of late)

The girls rocking their first pair of post-piercing stud earrings (gifts from Gretta!)

Awww...sibling love <3 

Eddie proudly posing in the vest he made for Kindergarten class (with a little help with the glue gun from big sis Avalon). Each kid was assigned a letter of the alphabet and then asked to decorate their vest with words/items beginning with that letter.

LOL

The kids playing "Library" in the living room one morning with a stack of books gifted to us by one of our sweet neighbors

I snuck in Eddie's room after bedtime to snap this pic. This sweet boy fell asleep reading, with his book still propped up in front of him. <3

October 12, 2020...the day Eddie officially became a bike rider!

Dad got a good workout that day, too

Of course, the milestone did not come without a ((microscopic)) injury

Avalon took "Pink Day" seriously during Homecoming Spirit Week

...right down to pink blush and lipstick! :) All the more important when your class really only sees you from the neck up!

Ellie rocked this groovy look for "Throwback Thursday"

Avi went with this radical ensemble 

Eddie learned the Pledge of Allegiance in class and decided to write it down from memory.<3 

The girls took on the BMX park one sunny afternoon

Taking a little break

Look at Avi go!

Back at home, turning a plain terra cotta pot into a work of art (now home to an aloe plant in Avalon's bedroom)

Weirdness

More weirdness

Making homemade pizza with crust from scratch!

All ready to bake! (Pay no attention to that open cabinet in the background...heh)

Eddie left this sweet note for me on the fridge <3

I just love this pic of my firstborn

Goofin' around in the backyard

So excited to check into our hotel room in RENO!! So thankful for the opportunity to take a little "land cruise" after over 8 months stuck at home.

Eddie digging into his corn dog (the longest one I have ever seen) at Ruby River Steakhouse in Reno

Where to begin with this photo? So, I stuck this vintage Michael Knight (from "Knight Rider") action figure in my purse early in the year during the moving process. Shaun was purging a box of old (mostly broken) toys of his, and I rescued this guy with the full intention of handing it off to a David Hasselhoff-loving friend of mine. Long story short, he has become known as my "purse boyfriend," and on our trip to Reno the kids decided he needs his own Instagram account to document his adventures. Avalon took this first official Instagram pic (though I have yet to actually set up the account...). 

We went to Reno during the week, which meant we brought school along. Each kid found a cozy spot in the hotel room for 3 hours of distance learning each morning.

We stayed at the Grand Sierra, which meant BOWLING was a critical element of our little getaway

A very "2020" shot. The resort only required masks for kids over 10 years old, but we came prepared anyways.

Another one for the 'gram

Another critical element of a Reno trip... swimming! We got to enjoy the adults-only infinity pool for the first time, since the main pool was closed for repairs.

Look at all those empty loungers behind us. We've been here in October in years past, and the pool was always packed. Kinda sad, but I'm not one to complain about a lack of crowds...

Me and my water babies

Wishing he'd brought his suit...

Rinsing off back in the room. This "shower party" ended up lasting like a half hour!

Dad even joined in the fun

Next necessary component of a Reno trip... arcade time!

Family "roller coaster" ride

Bumper cars

Nana and Papa completely surprised us on day 3 of our trip by showing up at our hotel room door after we returned from the arcade! This called for another trip to the bowling alley!

The fun didn't stop when we left Reno... as soon as we returned from our trip we got to work carving jack-o-lanterns. 

Showing off their creations.... Avi carved her Harry Potter-inspired pumpkin all by herself

Ellie went for a more classic jack-o-lantern (with fangs), and also carved it almost entirely on her own

Eddie had quite a bit of help with his carving, and then insisted on stabbing it with dozens of toothpicks to make it more "scary". (He also refused to smile normally for any of these pics)

It didn't really come out right, but I had intended my jack-o-lantern to resemble a yawning mom (something I know a thing or two about)

Officially ready for Halloween! (Dad was too busy helping the kids to get around to doing his own carving this year.)

Not too shabby!

On the Friday before Halloween, Eddie wore his costume for distance learning and made an edible version of "Spookley, the Square Pumpkin" during class.

Avalon got Halloween started off right on Saturday morning by making pumpkin pancakes from scratch!

Halloween breakfast feast

At-home Halloween festivities continued with Avalon reading her siblings spooky stories by candlelight. (I should mention that none of these activities were forced or even suggested by me. I'm always impressed by my creative kiddos!)

Avalon then dressed up her baby dolls to take them trick-or-treating in the front yard (Eddie was happy to participate in this game by handing out candy.)

Ready to scare up some treats!!

This year Ellie decided to dress as a classic vampire...

Avalon transformed into Hermione Granger (from Harry Potter)...

...and Eddie went as this lesser-known (outside the Kindergarten crowd) superhero, "Gekko" from the show "PJ Masks"

Shaun took charge of the photoshoot while I dashed around the house setting up a surprise scavenger hunt for the kids to do when we returned from trick-or-treating. Being new to the neighborhood, and especially considering the circumstances, we didn't know if many houses would be handing out candy. (There were some "drive through" events happening in town, but...well, I'll just say we all agreed that was a pretty lame idea.) In case trick-or-treating turned out to be a dud, I wanted to make sure the kids were still able to get plenty of treats!

Eddie studying the list of items to spot on our neighborhood scavenger hunt. I was so determined to make the holiday fun in spite of the weirdness of the year that I actually planned two scavenger hunts. Pandemic aside, I'm not comfortable with the idea of having kids knocking on random doors in such a big city in this day and age... I figured that anyone participating in Halloween, especially this year, would make it really obvious, perhaps by handing out candy in their front yards... but if I was wrong, I wanted to make the walk worth it. I carried my own bucket full of candy to give the kids a piece every time they found something on the list (which turned out not to be necessary, as there were dozens of houses in the neighborhood handing out treats and full-on goody bags!)

Last pic before setting out to trick-or-treat! Shaun's throwback "Wilson" costume was a big hit, thanks to Avalon, who crafted the fence for him from a pizza box earlier that day!

Post-trick-or-treat photo with Mom

After the neighborhood scavenger hunt and trick-or-treating, followed by ANOTHER candy scavenger hunt upon returning home... the kids ended up with probably the most candy they EVER have on Halloween! They wasted no time sorting their treats and doing their customary candy trade.

Halloween dinner consisted of creamed brains (mac and cheese dyed red), fried hearts (chicken nuggets), and to drink--toxic waste (milk dyed green), which we enjoyed to a showing of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." A fun way to end a fun day and month!