Pumpkin Carving

Happy Halloween!!! I'll post about our trick-or-treating later this week but today I'm sharing the other fun and festive activities we did this past weekend.

On Sunday, the church allowed the kids to dress-up for Sunday School. Both Kip and Ivy had a hard time deciding on which dress-up outfit to wear (I didn't want them to wear their actual Halloween costumes). Ultimately, Ivy stripped hers off when she got into the class along with a big tantrum because she was worried someone would take her accessories. At least her comfort-item pink coat looked like a bear. Kip wore his Great Wolf Lodge wizard ears and carried his wand. Everyone got to leave with a small bag of candy and a pick a pumpkin from their mini patch.

The decorating kits in the goodie bags kept the kids occupied after church.

In the afternoon we hosted pumpkin carving with a couple of Kip's classmates and their little sisters. It was cold and rainy (such a shift from the 80 degree sunshine of the day before) so we did it all in the garage. 

Who knew Mimi was so good at carving pumpkins???

Here they are,  all lit-up. Kip designed his own (left) and Ivy's is a unicorn if you can't tell. The stem is the horn.

And all decked out on the front porch!

Hope your evening is filled with treats!!!

Halloween at Storybook Land

After two months of rain-filled weekends, we finally had a truly gorgeous Saturday! The fantastic weather aligned with the last weekend of the fall season at Storybook Land so we made the trip and had a wonderful and festive day. 

We got there before opening and enjoyed the park nearly empty for the first 30 minutes before the rest of southern New Jersey arrived and filled the park to capacity. It was trick-or-treat weekend so each kid got a bag to stop at various rides and pick-up some treats. There were lots of families in costumes and the 80 degree weather and beautiful fall leaves made for a really wonderful environment. 

We did our favorite rides, filled our candy bags, and ran through the hay maze which Kip really go into this year.

It was crowded and we had to wait in a few lines, but overall we were as happy as could be at this special little place we all love. 

Ivy has been talking all summer about the Alice in Wonderland tunnel which was closed the last time we visited. She had some sort of stuck memory about it and was eager to see it again. They had repainted it and filled it with new backlights so it looked even more trippy than before. 

Sometimes you just have one of those golden days where things just work out (traffic, weather, finances) and everyone is in a good mood. It happens so rarely that when you realize your in one, it's such a blessing. Our first visit to Storybook Land back in 2019 was a golden day and we've been chasing that memory here ever since. So grateful for this little place so close to home and a perfect day to make the trip. 

The kids are already talking about returning to see Santa here soon.