P U M P K I N!  If you know me at all, you know I love all things pumpkin!  One afternoon Kevin went shopping at our favorite place, Aldi, and came home with all kinds of yummy pumpkin goods. Thankfully, Finn shares my love of pumpkin – and of baking!  We’ve got plenty of things to make around here and Finn wanted to start by making a tower of all our goods.

This week Finn was able to test out his halloween costume at Dublin’s Spooktacular event.  It was a nice and warm fall evening and the crowds were crazy. So much so that when we arrived we headed right to get our “ticket” so we could “trick or treat” through the candy portion of the night and they were all out of tickets!  We got pretty lucky though, as we ran into one of our friends who had extra tickets so we were able to go through the candy line.  We also rode a hay ride, decorated a trick or treat bag, ran into several of our friends, met Minnie and Mickey Mouse, and played a couple of games of Pumpkin Bowling! Friday was the annual Fall Play Date at Lehner’s Farm in Radnor. It’s a really fun and enjoyable place to visit. There are animals and many activities for the kids. This year we met a few new friends and Finn just loved all of the different things to do including the wagon ride out to the fields where Finn picked his own pumpkin. This time of year I really miss having the farm I grew up on. Even though I work at a plant nursery full of tractors, I long to have a big piece of land with a barn! Finn and I woke up on Sweetest Day and baked Kevin his favorite, chocolate chip cookies. We had them in the oven and baked before we left for swim lessons! Of course, he loves to lick the beater. Later that evening we headed to the New City Oktoberfest for a bit of food and fun. It’s really neat to see how Finn watches other kids and then begins to play with them. He’s so polite, yet soft spoken, he will regularly ask “please, may I play with you” or “please, may I play with that” in the quietest voice. At the Oktoberfest he had fun playing alongside other friends using a real hammer and nails to pound into a wooden stump. I cautioned him in the beginning that these were REAL tools – as he loves to go a bit nuts sometimes with his play workbench at home! He did great and was really good at hammering away. He also created some artwork at one of the kids tables. He’s growing up and we’re real proud. While he doesn’t look super happy here – trust me, he is! Oftentimes when I walk in to get Finn in the mornings the first thing he will say is “can we go make toffee?”. He is the best helper. I sit him on the counter and he then adds sugar to my mug, puts the mug on the platform, empties the old k-cup and drops it into the trash, puts the new k-cup in, and pushes the start button. He loves to help and we have a good system 🙂