Not only is October the month of dressing up, it's a month for Big Bear, pumpkin patches, pumpkin spice candles, apple cider, Hocus Pocus, Harvest Festivals and Trick or Treating. No wonder October is the best month of the year. And in case you didn't know, October is the best month of the year.
Big Bear
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Every year in October, we spend a few days in Big Bear. We always love this tradition because it's a chance for our family to spend time together in the mountains. Scott and I have a deep love for the mountains and want our boys to appreciate their beauty as well. This year we had some complications with our trip. The first being that only 10 minutes outside of Big Bear we came to an ubrupt stop and found that the road was closed for four hours. The alternative was to drive an hour back down the mountain and come back up on the other side. Just what you want to hear after being in the car for three hours. We decided to forgo the alternate route and spend the day just south in Lake Arrowhead. The town is very small but we found a pizza place for lunch and then explored some of the shops. It was a much better option than being in the car for two more hours and it was fun to see something new. We were very happy to get to Big Bear and our little cabin that we love so much. We had Bella with us this year so she did the hikes and walks with us. It was a great trip and one my boys will talk about all year long.
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| Discover Center-Foster plays while James dances. |
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| Pretending to be spiders. |
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| James walked Bella a lot of the time, well I should say that Bella walked James. |
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| Two ants on a log. |
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| Doing a little post walk yoga. |
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| We took this photo to gross out the kids, which is did. Now I post it to gross out everyone else. |
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| We love walking the Alpine Pedal Path. The boys can run wild and free. |
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| Bella felt pretty wild and free too. |
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| Big Bear Lake |
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| Watching movies at the cabin. |
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Glow and the Dark Golf at Hot Shot Mini Golf
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| Hanging out on the deck of our cabin. This was just before we went into town for some dinner at The Teddy Bear Cafe and shopped on Main Street. |
Pumpkin Patchin'
Foster and I went to his pumpkin patch field trip with preschool at the Pinery Pumpkin Patch. Say that five times fast! It felt so strange that just last year I was there with James for his field trip and Foster seemed so little then. Now he has his own field trip and is acting like one of the big boys. Well almost, I did lose him in the corn maze OF COURSE and a couple of times in the pumpkin patch. My little wild man has a zest for life and he was all about seeing every pumpkin on the lot.
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| Foster and Charlotte |
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| This was the pumpkin he chose. |
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| Charlotte, Mrs. Arnold, Foster. |
We visited the Mountain Valley Ranch pumpkin patch as a family and that was a great day too. The boys each picked giant pumpkins for carving and we did both the hayride and pony rides. This ranch has barn animals and giant rocks for climbing so it is little boy heaven. And since it has endless rows of pumpkins, it is heaven for me too.
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| Foster did his best to pull the pumpkins but he needed a little help from dad. |
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| Rock climbing! |
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| Pony riding! |
Family Halloween Party
I hosted my annual Halloween Party/ Tess and Haley Birthday Party this year. Tess has been away at Santa Cruz and she flew in for her birthday so we wanted to make it really special. Everyone came in costume and we had chili, cornbread, salad, pumpkin latte cake and chocolate cupcakes. It was relish and lots of fun. I hope my boys always remember Halloween as a special time in our household. It is a highlight for me every year.
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| We went nautical this year. From left to right: Sea Monster, Hammerhead Shark, Sailor, Shark dog, Pirate. |
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| Brett the Crab and Haley as Sandra Dee from Greece |
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| The Malfoy Family |
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| Our Beach Bums |
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| Mom and dad were cowboys. |
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| The Birthday Girls |
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| Tess went back to Santa Cruz with the blanket I crocheted for her. |
Halloween Day and Trick or Treating
Foster spent Halloween day at school as a farmer for the Harvest Festival. He milked cows, decorated pumpkin sugar cookies and made crafts. I was able to stop by his school and help with his class party.
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| Foster the Farmer! |
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| Practicing milking a cow. |
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| Foster and his buddy Cannon. |
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| Horse rides on the wagon. |
James spent the morning in costume as a Hammerhead shark for the Painted Rock Costume Parade and class party. In class we made Frankenstein crafts and decorated sugar cookies. It was a great start to the day.
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| Mrs. Gretna's Kindergarten Class |
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| Shark on parade! |
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| James and his buddy Hudson. |
This year Scott really decked out the house and it was one of the best on our street. Mi Ani joined us for Trick or Treating and when James had enough candy, he headed back to hand out candy at the house. He even saw some of his friends from school trick or treating. Foster of course kept going for more candy. It was an exhausting day of fun and lots and lots of sugar.
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| James did an amazing job in the primary program. We were very proud of him. |
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| Soccer finished up in October. James was on the "Big Foot" team. |
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| James and Hudson |
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| Foster played on the Hoppers team. |
