A family of Supers.

Beer Man made his debut in 2010. Superwoman has finally followed with her 2012 debut. We were officially a family of Supers this year.

Superwoman, Beer Man, Superman, and Supergirl. 

Lincoln is pretty big on Superheros this year thanks to his Wii Batman game. He's gotten to know the characters well and when it came time to choose a Halloween costume, Superman was it for him. He tried the costume on in the store and when the cape was attached, he had the biggest smile on his face and he wondered if he could really fly. So cute. 

On the trick-or-treat path.

When we first started talking about Halloween this year, Cassidy insisted on being Elmo, which I think she's a bit old for. She had recently seen an adult dressed like Elmo at our local Farmers Market and the costume apparently made an impression on her!  Then she toyed around with the idea of being a Lego guy. Ultimately  she decided on the Supergirl costume, especially when she learned that she and I would be dressed like twins. 

Supergirl to the rescue!

Mine...all mine!

Mmmm...candy.

Hope you had a Super Halloween!

jack-o'-lanterns.

Matt tends to be the most creative member of our family when it comes to planning our annual jack-o'-lanterns. Below, you can see him explaining his vision to Grandma, Cassie, and Lincoln.

Always curious to see what's inside.
And then when the see, they don't want to touch! 

  

Grandma and Lincoln worked to separate the seeds for roasting.

Cassie giving her pumpkin a hug before we carved it up! 

The kids prepped one of the pumpkins by painting it blue. You'll see why in the next pic. 

Cookie Monster! 

Scary cannibal jack-o'-lantern complete with bloody fangs.

autumn 2012.

We have a large tree in our front yard which yields a plethora of leaves for the kids to jump in. We like to rake them into a giant pile under our tree swing so the kids can swing right through them. Fun times.

Cassidy chillin in a bed of leaves. 

Cassidy.

Lincoln.

I'd expect this face if it were snowing outside with the hope of a caught snowflake on the tongue.
I'm not sure what Cassie was going for here, though. 

Lincoln loving the leaves. 

Little sis and big bro.

flag football 2012.

Lincoln wrapped up his second year of fall flag football a couple of weeks ago. He had a great season and is learning more and more about the game. He really hustled to get flags this year on defense, he worked on his blocking, and he did a great job on offense with touchdowns nearly every game. Go Lincoln!

Here are some pics from the season...

The boys named their team the Orange Fireballs this year.
Lincoln is wearing the blue Detroit Tigers hat in this pic.

Ready....Set...Hike!

Lincoln is the one whose hair matches his shirt. Perfect coordination! 

Lincoln = number 3.

Lincoln playing center (is that right? I know nothing about football).

Brr...can you feel the cold? 

Mom, Sister, and Dad watching on a chilly, chilly day.

Papou trying to stay warm as he cheered Lincoln on.

Sister looking gorgeous in her new winter hat. 

Grampa, Granny, and Dad bundled up to cheer Lincoln on. 

 

Pumpkinfest.

We finally headed out to get our Halloween pumpkins this weekend. We've been in the habit of taking a hayride out to a pumpkin patch and doing the whole u-pick thing, but that just wasn't happening this year. Our weekends have been busy, or rainy, or too cold.

We opted, instead, to try a new place (as we do a lot of here in IL since most things still feel somewhat new). The kids were able to walk among rows of pumpkins and pick what they wanted and I got the cider and donuts that I covet at this time of year. Win-win.

Lincoln and Cassidy.

Uh, mom, this is kind of heavy, but I think I can get it. 

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We told the kids they could choose one ride/activity. Cassidy chose to ride the fire engine. Lincoln chose to bounce around in the pumpkin bouncy house (no pic of that because he was simply bouncing too much!).

front tooth...finally.

This tooth had been hanging by a thread for days. Lincoln could twist and turn it 360 degrees and it wouldn't budge. He wouldn't let us yank it out either. It's been quite the ordeal this week. 

When Lincoln woke up this morning, he ran to our bedroom with excitement in his eyes..."my tooth fell out!". My response: "finally!" 

The tooth was waiting for him in his bed so we were relieved that he didn't swallow it like he did with the very first tooth that he lost.  Baby tooth #4 = gone.

Here he is sans front tooth.  Note that today is "crazy hair day" at school so, while a number of kids wear their hair like this on normal days, Lincoln doesn't. He prefers the sophisticated side part just like his dad. His mom thinks he looks totally cool with his hair like this.

Country Bumpkin

Cassidy had her first school field trip at the Country Bumpkin. Parents were able to tag along, and because I was interested in seeing Cassie interact with her new classmates I couldn't pass up the opportunity to join in the fun.

The kids started off with a lesson on pumpkins, gourds, winter squash, and Indian corn. They then got to go on a barrel train ride as well as visit the petting zoo to feed the goats and search for gold in the gold rush. The kids also enjoyed some time in the bouncy houses and finding their way through the straw maze (this was Cassie's favorite activity).

The trip wrapped up with a snack of cider and goldfish and a walk out to choose a pumpkin to take home!

Barrel train ride.

We each got a cup of food to feed the goats.
Cassie opted to watch as the goat licked the feed from my hand rather than do the feeding herself. 

Mining for gold.

Sack full of gold!

Making her way through the straw maze. 

Sitting down for a snack.

Her very own pumpkin!