"There's So Much To Be Thankful For"

I love living in Florida October-January.  Those four months are typically bliss.  I think I could live anywhere in October just because pumpkin, harvest & the red/orange/gold combo makes me happy.  In Central Florida, October is the month we all crave and we are so relieved when it finally arrives.  Some years it brings the cooler, 80-degree weather; and sadly some years it stays in the 90s.  This was a year was a little of both.

There are a million happenings around here once the holiday season kicks in (which of course is September 15th...) so it adds spice to the everyday.  Here are some ways we celebrated Fall in the month of October:

Garden Grill Character Dining
GG in EPCOT is on our top 10 list. It's Harvest themed so the best time to go is Oct/Nov.  Brian came home one evening and surprised us with reservations.  We got dressed up in our fall gear (permission to laugh that I'm wearing a tank top with boots) and had a wonderful dinner out as a family!

Harvest Bible Chapel Fall Festival
Carly still remembers this from last year...all the cars lined up so we could trick-or-treat past them. They DO put on a big hoopla! I love that Harvest is willing to take such care in making sure these events are well organized, safe & fun. It's so easy to invite friends to join.

Carly's best friend, Kate.

Kate has a little brother, Blake, who is just a few months older than Luke

You'll notice Bert ditched his hat immediately

Carly cherishes Dani! She's like a big sister to her. :)

These girls are near & dear to Carly's heart as her Puggles classmates from last year.  Not a week went by that she didn't include these gals in her stories.  Love their mamas, too!

Pumpkin Painting
Carly is into "little tiny" things so of course she chose the smallest pumpkin she could find for her pumpkin this year.  Naturally, the boy who copies all of her moves, went with one the exact same size.  I always go for the one most round...and Daddy usually admires our pumpkins rather than choosing his own. ;)

Halloween
Bert & Mary Poppins!! I am so happy Carly chose to be Mary Poppins!! What fun we've had learning music from the great Julie Andrews this year!  Trick-or-treat is such a kiddo favorite...and our two little sugar-crazed miniatures think it's the best day of the year.  Daddy is the candy-passer-outer at our house and I am the trick-or-treat escort.  We have a good system down. ;)

I didn't realize a little make up would make her look like a pageant girl :/

Autumn Decor
I love decorating...but doing it on a budget can be frustrating.  I have a rule that I only purchase one new seasonal decor item per holiday per year.  This banner was my purchase for this year & broke the bank at $4.

I excitedly bumped into this frame for $8 at a garage sale and decided to turn it into something that housed a kiddo art project for each season.  I think these painted leaves are a nice addition to the little tip-of-the-hat to autumn we have around the house.

Tastes of the Season
Pumpkin bread (thanks, Mom for making it gfree!), Butternut squash soup, Taco Dip, Baked Apples, Puppy Chow, Apple Cider & Pumpkin seeds are among our favorite eats during fall.  Actually...I am willing to try ANYTHING made with pumpkin...it may be my favorite food.

The kids really enjoyed helping me make pumpkin cupcakes for their Puggles teachers.  And we had fun eating them, too!

The Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue
Brian's 28th birthday was celebrated with his Uncle Dick & Aunt Crystal at Hoop-Dee-Doo!  We avoid taking our kiddos out to eat at all costs but we figured with a show going on it would be better. We were mistaken.  Fortunately, Crystal saved the day & entertained Luke on her lap through the entire show.

Happy end to fall!! Let the "Holiday Season" begin!!!