Riding Horses

We went to ride horses at some friends' this weekend.  It was such a wonderful relaxing time as a family.  It was overcast and very windy on Sunday, but it was still a great day to be outside.

The kids got the biggest kick out of this dog.  He helped to round up the horses and to pick up the horses' bowls. This is their barn.  Isn't it beautiful? Mamie is our animal-lover.  This smile never left her face the entire afternoon. Griffin, however, was a little apprehensive about riding. He decided to hang out with the dogs for a while instead. The girls loved brushing the horses. Mamie even braided this horse's mane, and Griffin slowly warmed up to the idea of getting close to the horses. Margaret rode with me, but posed for a picture on our horse by herself. This is a nervous boy.  He did shed some tears, but eventually ended up liking it.  He rode Buck, and he liked it so much he even wrote about Buck on Monday in his journal at school.

Thankful Tree & Our Hero

I thought I would share how I made our thankful tree this year.  In the past we have used real branches and tied paper leaves to them.  This year I decided to make it simpler to encourage the kids to add leaves on their own.  After cutting out the tree, I just taped it to the fridge and set out a bowl of leaves that I cut out on the counter. The kids can just write things on the leaves and add them whenever they think about it. Not as cute but super easy, and it's a great way to remember all the things we have to be thankful for!

So far, we are thankful for...

Also, when I was cleaning out some things today I found this page in the back of Griffin's workbook from the summer, and I thought it was so sweet.  His question for his hero is, "What do you do in heaven?" 

Mamie's School Program

Mamie had a music program at school last week.  She had a special part as a country line dancer.  She was so excited (and nervous) about her part.  She practiced a lot at home, and she did great.  We were so proud of her!

Fall Picnic

This weekend we went on a fall picnic.  Fall is my favorite time of year, and the weather was perfect on Saturday.  So we packed a picnic lunch and headed to a park in Germantown.


For our picnic lunch we had assorted crackers and cheeses, apples and caramel dip, peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, and apple cider.


I also made some candy corn mixes that I found the recipes for here and here (I used rice chex instead).  Richie thought they were a little too sweet, but the kids loved them.


I tried to take a picture for our Christmas card, but I don't think any will make the cut.  The kids just wanted to play, and I can't blame them.  I didn't include those pictures in case I get desperate and have to use one of them!

Mamie and Griffin taught Margaret how to slide down the pole.

It was a fun family day together, and what made the weekend even better was "Fall Back!"

Trick or Treat

The kids had so much fun trick-or-treating in our neighborhood this year.  Mamie was dressed as a 50's sock hop girl, Griffin was an astronaut and Margaret was a kitty cat.  (My pictures aren't great.  I intended to get outside a little bit earlier, so I missed the good light and they were very antsy to get some candy!)

I made Mamie's poodle skirt using a circle skirt tutorial I found online. Unfortunately the link doesn't work anymore. (I still have the instructions if anyone is interested.) I just added an elastic waistband, and I didn't even hem it. I also hot glued the poodle applique and the sequin leash. I had great plans to make everyone's costume, but I didn't get to them in time. Oh well, maybe next year! 

They held hands while walking to the first house, and then Margaret sprinted to every single house from then on.

Checking out all of their candy.