Halloween has come and gone which makes me a little sad. Mostly because that means fall is almost over and we're about to start the long, dark, wet winter. Although I do miss the great colors of Michigan, fall has been pretty spectacular out here. The sunrises can't be beat. When Matthew was a baby and we would all get up at 6am and go down to the harbor and watch the sun rise. Then we would go and have green eggs and ham at Kelly's Restaurant. It seems like so long ago, but it is amazing how fast Matthew has grown.
Things are a little different now (most notably, we get more sleep) and I love the fall with a crazy preschool boy around.
We started out the month with a trip to Schilter's pumpkin patch with our friends The Guys. They have a lot for the kids to do at Halloween and we also get our Christmas tree from them. The boys (big and small) loved shooting the corn and pumpkin guns. Ok, and maybe I got in on the action too : ) They also had a petting farm, hay jump, tractor rides and all kinds of games and activities for the kids. What a great way to get into the Halloween spirit.
This fall we decided to do a few home improvements. The biggest project has been the yard. We figured that it was about time to do something about the lawn since we really didn't have much of one. So we had a week of all kinds of dump trucks, cement trucks, tractors and other equipment in the yard. It was like Christmas in October for Matthew. He never knew what was going to show up that day. He also got to make his mark on the new concrete next to the driveway. I joked with one of my friends that I should have thought to have all of Matthew's buddies over for a "construction party" so they could all watch the fun.
Last weekend we took a little trip to the San Juan Islands to visit our previous pastor, Fr. Hung. He currently covers three parishes between Friday Harbor, Shaw Island and Orcas Island. He's pretty busy during the weekends "island hopping" to say Mass. It was a great little get-away. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures until our last day on Orcas Island.
We started out Halloween weekend with a sleepover with Matthew's friend, Jonas. The boys loved hanging out and playing Legos and cars and going for a hike in the woods. However, bedtime was a little challenging with two chatty boys. The next day, despite staying up late, they made their own potato head pumpkins and we made treats to take to a party later in the evening.
Halloween was a little less crazy this year because we decided to go Trick or Treating at Uptown rather than joining all of Gig Harbor downtown. It was a little less of a score for candy for Matthew, but I think he's still too young to figure that out yet : ) He decided very early this past September that he wanted to be a dinosaur for Halloween so he was thrilled to finally wear his costume after having it for so long. We also had several (like 20) applications of green face paint leftover from his frog costume last year, so he wanted a green-faced T Rex this year. We found it very funny when we asked him what a T Rex ate, Matthew responded, of course, with "candy". 
Let the sugar buzz begin....
Now that it's gotten a little colder here, Matthew is really enjoying his "footie jammies" again. Here's a shot of him playing in them the other morning. I had to chuckle because he kind of reminds me of one of the Lost Boys in Peter Pan. He thinks he's a pirate : )
