This is Halloween, this is Halloween...

This wasn't supposed to be my Halloween with the kids, but I "bought" it from Katie back in January in exchange for her having another kid free weekend, which made me so happy. 

Halloween looked a little different this year. I had surgery a week prior to this and wasn't allowed to lift Finn, so even though it was my holiday, I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle Finn by myself. My friend Corinne always hosts a Halloween party and I planned to just take Fox with me, but didn't want to miss out on seeing Finn on Halloween, so I asked Katie and Christina (her girlfriend) if they would come with me trick or treating at family houses. 

We went to my friend's Marcela's house first, since she lives right across from Katie, followed by GG and Grandpa Wes. Katie told me that she had a costume for Finn, but wasn't able to find it the day of, so he didn't have one, which kind of bummed me out, but he didn't seem to mind.

They had some special treats and little gifts for the boys and were excited to see them, since they had been on a road trip across the US for the last five months. 

Next up... Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Grandma prepared some caramel apples for the boys to decorate. They were both more interested in eating the marshmallows, but I thought it was very sweet of her to plan this for them.

Fox and I went to the Halloween party afterwards, it was only four families including us and ended up being perfect.

We didn't take the kids trick or treating, but had a candy scavenger hunt in the backyard and let them do a piñata. While the kids played, we had a chance to catch up and watch Hocus Pocus outside. Whenever I just have Fox, it's like a little vacation for me, because he's so easy, but I definitely wished that I could've taken Finn as well. 

Corinne's neighborhood is always crazy for Halloween. Everyone decorates and there are four Haunted Houses within walking distance. We took turns taking their golf cart out to look at all the decorations.

I think this picture shows that our kids weren't deprived by not going trick or treating this year. I let Fox eat as much candy as he wanted that night and when we left I asked him if he wanted to take anything home, but he didn't. This was actually his first Halloween where he was able to eat candy, when before he was allergic to most of it and would trade it for a toy instead.

We got there at 5pm and didn't leave until 12:30am, when I was about to fall asleep on the couch while watching another round of Hocus Pocus. Even Fox fell asleep in the car on the way home, which NEVER happens. The next morning I had to wake him up at 11, he was so tired!

It was a great night and I'm grateful I was able to spend it with at least one of my boys.

October iPhone Dump

My favorite post of the month...my monthly iPhone dump!

I'll never get tired of sleeping pictures.

Finn didn't want to take a nap that day, so we decided to skip it, but the minute we went in the car he fell asleep. Every time...and it ruins bedtime. But look how cute he is!

They built another fort and Finn was so happy that big brother let him in.

He tries to copy everything Fox does and thinks he is hilarious. I think so too.

My friend and I went shooting one night. I hadn't been in years and never actually been to a shooting range, my brother in law had taken me shooting in the desert a few times before. I'm pretty sure that everyone at the range was making fun of me, because every time a shot was fired my whole body flinched. I'm scared of guns and it was definitely not my favorite activity, but I wanted to get a refresher on how to use one. 

This was our first time at the playground since February (besides the time we went in Long Beach) and while it was still pretty hot, both boys enjoyed their time and didn't want to leave.

A few weeks after Fox's unfortunate haircutting incident during his class zoom call, my friend Tilly offered to come over and shave his head, because we had family pictures coming up and we tried to even it out as best as we could. He wasn't too happy about getting a buzz cut, but he has gotten so many compliments on his hair cut since, that I wonder if he will ever let us grow out his hair again.

The kids had fun playing the rest of the night and we all had dinner together.

Finn started his first sports class! They rotate between soccer, basketball and baseball, but Finn was only interested in playing basketball, even though this week started with soccer. 

He was supposed to stand on this yellow circle, but he decided to carry it around instead.

He didn't really want to participate and acted a little shy, but Fox helped him get more comfortable.

They love each other so much!

Now that the weather is getting nicer, I'm trying to have as many meals outside as possible. These boys are messy! We just have to remember not to leave the food unattended for even a second. They wanted to jump on the trampoline for a bit and when we came back, all of the waffles were gone...apparently Cosie was hungry too!

This is my favorite Halloween house, the pumpkins are synchronized to Halloween music and I believe Finn could've stayed there all night long. 

We've been driving around neighborhoods looking for Halloween decorations a few times this month and this one was amazing. You can't really tell in this picture, but they had dozens of skeletons everywhere and Finn couldn't get enough. He's been asking to go see "spooky decorations" every single night. I think Christmas is going to blow his mind...I can't wait!

Working outside while watching them have fun. 

This is what Fox's live PE zoom class looks like, Finn was getting in on the action as well and they were both giggling their little hearts out.

Lately, a lot of my nights have been looking like this...catching up on Etsy orders while the kids are with Katie.

My friends are better than yours...lol!

I had a little procedure done (I’m ok!) and for the last few days I have been spoiled like I’ve never been spoiled before. They brought me multiple dinners, breakfast, treats, kept me company, took care of me, checked in on me, drove me around, did my dishes, and helped me with Etsy orders.

I knew I had amazing friends, but I’m just blown away. I’m truly blessed to be part of such an amazing tribe!

Halloween Nails...

...and they even glow in the dark!

I took Fox on a little one on one date after school one day and asked him what he wanted to do, so our first stop was the Gelato Spot!

I was surprised that he wanted to go to the playground afterwards, but when we drove around one night to look for Halloween decorations, he had seen a new playground that he wanted to check out, so that's what we did.

That night, we went to a Haunted House in my friend's neighborhood. This was the only night they put on the event without any actors jumping out at you and Fox had told me that he was ready to try it out.

We waited in line for about ten minutes before we were able to go in. He was so scared and couldn't wait to get out. But in the end, he was proud of himself for trying it. 

Another sports class and Grandpa joined us!

They were working as a team to "fix" their car.

Sometimes appreciation and kindness come in unexpected ways. Loved finding this note.