Halloween Parade and after a nap, a party

Today, we all went to church in the morning.  The boys are getting more and more comfortable in their new two year old room (albeit with some crying at drop off, but it is getting better).  After church, we went out for lunch but where then home early this afternoon for the annual neighborhood Halloween parade.  In this parade, we take a lap around the neighborhood starting at the park, which happens to be right across the street from our house.  We were supposed to have a fire truck be in front of the parade but it was out on a call (the rumor du jour was that it was trying to rescue a cat from a tree) so we got the president of the HOA to drive his 1965 Mustang convertible in front of the parade.  About 20-30 kids were dressed up in their costumes.  The boys of course, were in their bumblebee outfits.  They really enjoyed the parade, although saddened that they had to go take a nap and not be able to see the fire truck.  Oh well, maybe next year.

After their nap, we went out to the Prichard's house for the 1st annual Halloween Party.  We had a lot of fun.  Izzy, Alex, Scott, and Keith joined the boys (the Wood kids were all sick...bummer).  We had food and then had several games.  There was a costume parade and a costume contest.  Jack and Mark won the prize for the best Halloween costume pair.  Then we went outside for a game.  It was a Martha Stewart adaptation of bobbing for apples.  It was called bobbing for doughnuts (Krispy Kreme of course).  Using doughnuts is much more better for sanitary purposes.  Alex and Izzy enjoyed the game, but it was harder to do than it looked.  Heather and Jack tried to bite the doughnuts, but they had some challenges as well.

Here are some pictures from today's events:

The DeVaults before the parade.

The beginning of the parade with the Ford Mustang (brings back memories of Mimi's 1966 Mustang).

Daddy pulls Jack and Mark up the hill.

Amy helps Mark in decorating a pumpkin.

Daddy and Jack decorate a pumpkin.

Isabel, the pretty ballerina.

Keith, your friendly dinosaur.

Alex being Donald Duck, with his mommy, Beth.

Scott dressed up as an Abercrombie and Fitch model, with mommy Diane.

Jack and Mommy try to bite a chunk out of a doughnut.

Mommy arches her neck for a better angle for a bite.

Jack and Mark watching their friends play outside.

Saturday

Yesterday was a miserable day to do anything outside as well as for our two favorite football teams, NC State and Tennessee, who combined to score 3 points and give up 48.  So, we had a pretty relaxing day.  We went to Harris Teeter to get some groceries and the boys enjoyed riding in the big Harris Teeter car, as it sat two and had two steering wheels.  While we were there, the boys saw some cupcakes that they liked, especially Jack.  Now Jack has shown no desire to eat bread, cake, icing or anything like that.  But since he said he wanted one, we got one for both boys to see what would happen.  Worst case scenario, Mommy and Daddy would eat them.    As you can see from this, both boys really enjoyed eating cupcakes.  Jack liked the icing a lot (just like Mommy) and Mark liked the cake part more. 

After naptime, their friend Emilia (Valerie's daughter) came over for a playdate.  The three of them enjoyed playing with each other.  The kids played with the footballs, basketballs, while also eating some snacks.  A good time was had by everyone.

Here are some pictures from the day.

Jack eats his cupcake.

I really like cupcakes.  - Mark

This is what Mommy and Daddy wanted to see at my 1st birthday party.  Better late than never.  - Jack

Mark and Emilia hug as Jack smiles.

Not to be left out, Mark shows some brotherly love.

As Emilia eats a snack, Mark watches her every move.

Mark shows off how to properly hold a football.  Are you seeing this Coach O'Brien?

Fall Fest

Friday night, our church hosted its annual Fall Fest.  The boys were dressed up as bumblebees.  They were really nice and warm costumes for Jack and Mark to wear, especially since the temperature outside went from 78 on Thursday to 48 on Friday.  The boys started out in the preschool area, where we played in the ball pit.  They had a lot of fun playing with the multi-colored balls in the ball pit.  Then we went into another room and the boys went fishing, not with poles, but stork beaks.  They would open up the stork beaks and put them into water and pull out some fish.

After we finished the preschool games, we went to the gym and played a couple of the big boy games like putt-putt and bowling.  The boys had a great time and really enjoyed dressing up as bumble bees.  Good thing because they get to wear the outfits three more times.

Here are a couple of pictures from Fall Fest.

Mommy and Daddy show Jack and Mark how to catch some fish.

Jack, do you need help getting out of the ball pit?  Take my hand.  - Mark

Uhh, guys...need a little help here.  - Jack

Jack's hair showcases the scientific principle of static electricity.

Bumblebee Fire Engine Mechanic Shop.  Jack works on the rear of the truck while Mark address the front end cab. 

I am one happy bumblebee.  - Mark

Pete Weber doesn't have anything on my bowling form.  - Jack

Jack, you are throwing from too far back.  Throw from right here.  - Mark

For my next trick, I will showcase the red ball levitating from my hand. - Mark

Golf is too easy.  I add degree of difficulty by making it a bank shot.  - Jack

I don't like how Daddy taught me how to slice it.  I need a lesson from Andy.  - Mark

Trip to Hill Ridge Farm

On Sunday, after church and lunch, we headed to Youngsville, NC for our first ever visit to Hill Ridge Farm. We have heard do much about it for years and now we know why. We had a blast. We will definitely go back. This will most likely become a fall tradition for our family. All four of us had so much FUN! And, we only did a portion of what they have to offer.

First of all, we checked out the animals - goats, ducks and roosters! Then, we were off to see what the train ride was like. We were near the beginning of the line, so we pretty much had our pick for which train car we wanted to ride in. The boys chose the caboose - surprise, surprise! The train ride was a lot of fun!

Then, we played in the hay for awhile. Jack and Mark loved running in the hay and throwing it up in the air! Then, we went to the corn pit. Who knew it was so much fun to play in a bunch of corn kernels...and I mean a BUNCH! We had so much fun with all four of us in the corn! We had corn kernels everywhere when we got out of there...and I mean everywhere! It was pretty funny!

Then, it was time for the long awaited hayride which took us out to the field of pumpkins to pick out our pumpkins. As the hayride took us through the woods, Mark thought it was so funny when the ride got bumpy! Jack and Mark both laughed when they first saw the big field of pumpkins. They loved running around in the pumpkins and trying to pick them up and sit on them. It was so much fun to see them so excited and having so much fun running around! We only got 3 pumpkins instead of 4, because we didn't think we could handle carrying 4 pumpkins and helping 2 children on and off the trailer of hay!

What a fun day of fall festivities! We will definitely be back to Hill Ridge Farm! Enjoy some of our pictures from the day!

Checking out the pony.  Mark was a little hesitant when the pony started to move!

Just hanging out in the caboose wating to leave the train station!

The DeVaults in the caboose!

Fun times, playing in the hay with Daddy!

Playing in the hay with Mommy!

Our Jack-a-roo!

Our Marky, Mark!

Throwing hay with your brother is tons of fun!

Who knew it was so much fun to play in corn kernels! This is super cool!

Mark is driving Daddy and Jack to school on the "Cool Bus"!

Daddy and Mark on the hayride!

Jack and Mommy on the hayride!

Our little pumpkins sittin' on pumpkins!

HAPPY FALL!!!

Fun times

This time of year, we have been making the most of the weather and playing outside all we can. We know that cold days are right around the corner, so we are enjoying the nice Fall weather while we can!  Here are a few shots we captured recently while playing outside:

Mark loves to get started in this car, hold his legs up and go as fast as he can down our driveway! He is our daredevil for sure!

Mom wanted to get a picture of us in front of her begonias before they get pulled up so she can plant some pansies!

Excuse the blury picture, but Jack doesn't slow down or stop when he's mowing. And, he mows with a smile....how cute!

Lately, the boys have played with a new peg puzzle almost every night. They absolutely love everything about this puzzle. They think it is so fun to put the pegs in the color coded holes to form a picture and then to take them out and put them back in the ziploc bags. Jack is always yellow and Mark is always green. Mommy and Daddy always take red and blue!

Best buddies working together on the fun puzzle!

Jack showing off the final product!

And, speaking of fun things to do....it's never too early to start looking at the Toys R Us catalog for Christmas ideas.....

"Hey Jack, do you think we should ask for this for Christmas?" - Mark