I invited some of HG's friends over last week to paint pumpkins together. The idea of carving pumpkins with a bunch of 2 and 3 year olds sounded scary, so painting was the best option.
We started the party playing with colored spaghetti noodles. I followed this tutorial here. HG and the other children loved exploring the coloring and textures of the noodles. If you do this at home, make it the day before so the dye does not stain their hands.
On to the painting fun!
While the pumpkins dried we played inside with toys.
I never got a picture of the snack table, but I made some fun Halloween themed treats. I took this idea, and instead of peeling the bananas and clementines, I just drew faces on the peels.
I also made pumpkin baked oatmeal cups. The recipe was found here. They were a healthy snack, and are yummy in the morning warmed with milk.
I sent each child home with a jack-'o-lantern busy bag. Hatley-Grace loves to make silly faces on her pumpkin.
Our little ballerina all ready for trunk or treat at church!
An American girl doll trunk, very creative.
Sweet friend Ella who is just a few weeks younger than HG.
Hatley-Grace has talked about getting a sucker while trick or treating for at least a week now. She is one patient little girl.
This dum dum pop lasted all night!
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a pop?
I promise, she loved the mermaid.
Singing and playing in the yard.
Saturday, we went to Dunellon, to visit the Pickin' Patch with some friends and their little ones.
This is the second year we have taken Hatley-Grace, and it is always a fun (and very warm) morning out as a family.
Hatley-Grace helped Marty clip a white pumpkin in the field.
We also chose a cinderella pumpkin in honor of Hatley-Grace's favorite princess!
They also have a pretty field of sunflowers, corn maze, slides, and a hayride around the patch.
It is a Christian family that owns the patch, and each year they create a sign with a Bible verse to mark the year. They have the signs placed around in the tent for family picture spots. I love seeing God's word out on display for the huge crowds that come from Citrus County who may have never heard of God's love for them.
Here is our family picture from last year!
I am thankful for this fun little piece of Fall here in Florida.
Friday we ventured into the "big city" as HG called it. Charleston is where Marty and I honeymooned in May of 2007, and it is one of our favorite cities. It was a joy to walk around this beautiful town with our little girl!
After exploring we had a fancy lunch at Magnolias. This is HG's first experience with cloth napkins and white tablecloths.
We spent the afternoon at the beach, and ended the day with a nice walk on the beach. HG loving her Paw Paw and Pops below on the sand.