Happy Halloween!

Another busy October weekend has come to an end. Aron's mom came for a visit to celebrate Halloween with us (and to spoil the kids)! Russell had a friend's birthday party on Saturday and we hosted our annual neighborhood Halloween party today. I hope everyone had as much fun as Russell and Sloane did this Halloween! Let's pray for a blessed November filled with LOTS of good news!

Sloane, Anna, and Casey The gang on Altadena! Even Mac was trying to get into all the shots.
Russell, Alejandro, Zeke, and Antonio
Hot dogs and candy...what a night!
Lined up and ready for trick-or-treating excitement!
Grammy Carlson gave Russell early birthday presents! Is my baby boy really going to be 5?!?!
Russell celebrated his buddy William's birthday on Saturday.
Sloane had a Halloween party at dance class this week. Here she is with her good pal Sadie.

A Full Calendar in October!

October must be the BEST month of the year in Michigan! There is so much to do and see.

This week it was Aron's turn to chaperon a field trip. Russell's class went to Yates Cider Mill where they learned and watched how cider is made. They also had the opportunity to ride ponies and feed animals. Aron enjoyed his time with Russell, especially considering the ordeal he went through to get there...

I received a panicked call at work from Aron telling me that he locked himself out of our house. He had no way of driving his car to meet Russell. So, I quickly grabbed someone to cover my class so I could make the 40 minute commute home to rescue him. After letting him in the house, I turned around and drove 40 minutes back to work. What a day!!! Needless to say we have returned our hidden key back to its intended spot!

Today we spent a fun-filled evening at Greenfield Village for their annual Halloween nights. The weather could not have been better! 64 degrees!!! Now that the kids are older, it is harder to keep up with them. They are so excited to catch all that is going on. The hit this year was Ronald McDonald. He stood at one of the trick-or-treat stations greeting all the kids with jokes. Russell and Sloane, along with all their friends, were full of giggles as Ronald McDonald happily teased them. Another fun stop was the Headless Horseman. Russell could have stayed their all night yelling at the be-headed man riding along on his horse with a sword in hand!

We have a lot more fun in store before October is over...stay tuned!

Russell drove the apple truck at Yates Cider Mill.

Russell was a bit disappointed that his horse didn't run.
The gang of kids getting ready for a spooky walk through Greenfield Village.

"Come on Mom, do we have to pose for pictures?"

Scarecrow, Barbie Mermaid, Strawberry Shortcake, Snow White, Captain Hook, Optimus Prime, Captain Cody-Clone Trooper, Spiderman 1 & 2, and Thomas the Tank Engine

Checking out the Headless Horseman!

Whoa!

Should we call Better Made chip company? This is quite the advertisement!

Field Trips, Traditions, and...Running!

We are closing up another busy week for the Carlson family! I had the opportunity this week to chaperon Sloane's first pre-school field trip to the cider mill. It was a BLAST! Watching her interact with her friends and teachers was more adorable than words could ever possibly explain. She is a busy body and should have the nickname Miss Social!

On Saturday, Aron's Dad and wife Beverly came for a visit to help us with the family tradition of carving pumpkins! We had a great time designing, cutting, and taking pictures of our fun pumpkin creations. A huge thank you to Carl and Bev for all their help and treats!!!

Today, I ran to Canada and back...literally!!! I joined THOUSANDS of runners for the annual Detroit marathon & half-marathon. I chose the half-marathon and enjoyed every minute of my run, especially going over the Ambassador bridge into Canada. The sun was just rising as I was crossing over and I had the most beautiful view of autumn colors on the trees! I finished in 2 hours flat, hurried to my hotel for a quick shower, then headed back to the finish line to watch my running partner, Leigh, finish her first full marathon! It was awesome to be a spectator cheering her on as she finished successfully, qualifying herself for the Boston Marathon! Way to go Leigh!!!

Hayride fun on Sloane's first field trip!

My little animal lover enjoyed feeding the sheep.

Sadie and Sloane - Dancing buddies!

Pumpkin carving!

Digging out all the guts and seeds...Russell got into this part!

Sloane insisted on having a Strawberry Shortcake pumpkin???

Awwww...

Precious family memories with Papa and Bevie.

6:30 a.m., pre-race, NO make-up, and little sleep! But Leigh and I were ready to RUN!

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pick Your Pumpkin!

We just returned from our annual trip to Westview Orchards with our neighborhood gang! What a BEAUTIFUL day!!! It is amazing to watch these kids run around having fun while thinking back to our first trip when Russell was only 11 months old. Today the moms were reminiscing about that trip when we were all trying to prop the kids up against pumpkins in order to get the "perfect" picture. Now we just stand back and watch while they run from pumpkin to pumpkin trying to find their "perfect" pumpkin! I say this often, but WOW time goes by way too fast!!!

Freshly baked DONUTS...mmmmmm!

Longtime buddies, Antonio and Russell.
The "girls of Altadena," Sloane and Casey.

Every child insisted on pulling their own wagon.

Finding the perfect pumpkin, but "how do I get it to my wagon?"

Most of the gang.
Time to head home.

What? It's October??? Already?

The start of a new school year is always busy, but WOW this September was a whirlwind! I can not believe it is already October. The kids have been busy enjoying their days at school. Sloane continues to love her Wednesday evening dance class. She skips in and out of class with pure joy written across her face. I had the opportunity to watch 15 minutes of her class this week and it was just precious. She tiptoed across the dance floor while doing spins and kicks. Russell also enjoys his Saturday morning karate class. His class is full of excitement and the instructor definitely earns his pay working with this group of 4-year-olds! The parents laugh quietly in amusement as he so seriously tries to explain the ins and outs of martial arts. Along with daily schedules that keep myself and Aron going full throttle from morning to night, we have also been busy with some home improvement projects. We had 4 rooms painted which left us a little cramped while those rooms were unavailable. We became very fond of our basement for a few days! Last weekend we enjoyed a visit from Aron's mom. She watched the kids for us so that we could enjoy a wedding of one of our friends. It is always nice to have an evening out just the two of us. This weekend, Aron went up north for a "guys golf trip" so I took the kids up to my parents for a night. It was great to spend time with them! Russell always has fun exploring with Papa while Sloane likes cuddle time with Grammy. Another exciting happening in our family is that my brother and Kelly recently became ENGAGED!!! He popped the question while visiting Mackinac Island (my favorite place)! We are thrilled and especially geeked about having Kelly as part of our family! Here are a few pictures to share from the last couple weeks!

One of our newly painted rooms!

Karate!

Making cupcakes at Grammy and Papa's!

Russell had a homework project to find 5 fall leaves so the kids went exploring with Papa in search of the leaves. They found much more than just leaves...

Acorns, sticks, and rocks!