halloween 2013.

The need for umbrellas made for a trickier trick-or-treating experience this year, but we made it through and even enjoyed a few minutes umbrella-free as the rain eased up as the evening progressed. At least we didn't need winter coats!

This year, 4-year-old Cassidy chose to dress up as Disney Jr. character, Doc McStuffins. Doc is a fixer of broken toys. Adorable.

7-year-old Lincoln dressed up as one of his favorite video game characters, Super Mario. 

Here is Cassidy at her preschool party. 

Showing off her 3D pumpkin glasses.
She needs these to do one of the Halloween activity books that she received. 

Though it took Cassidy a little while to warm up to the idea of walking up to houses and asking for candy without mom or dad by her side, she got the hang of it and kept pace with her brother by the end!

Super Mario hugging his haul of candy. 

Cassie McStuffins happy with her loot.

After dumping their candy, the kids quickly began their tradition of sorting it into piles and then choosing a few pieces to eat.

Lincoln's favorites this year: Milky Way and Kit Kat,
though I'm not sure that he's met a piece of candy he doesn't like. 

Cassidy's favorites this year: Airheads and Laffy Taffy. 

Beer Man made an appearance again this year, but I have no photographic evidence! It was so wet out there that my picture taking abilities were limited. Maybe Grandma got a few pictures?

We ended Halloween night by watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Poor Chuck...always getting rocks in his trick-or-treat bag.

Hope you all had a spook-tastic Halloween!

jack-o-lanterns 2013.

We spent the day before Halloween turning our pumpkins into jack-o-lantern's. The kids and I worked on cleaning the pumpkins out, and then Matt went to work with the carving.

Ewwww...

Cool...

Digging in.

Up to the elbow in goop.

Scooping it out.

Insert barfing sound here.

"I love my pumpkin."

Matt started carving with a kitchen knife, but with some of the intricate details of this year's pumpkins, he decided that a trip to Walgreens was in order to see about those pumpkin carving kits. 

The tiny pumpkin carving tools proved useful. 

Super Mario for Lincoln.
Hello Kitty for Cassidy. 

Thanks, dad, for your hard work on these cool jack-o-lanterns! You rock, Beer Man.

pumpkinfest.

The kids and I joined our neighbors and headed to the Grayslake Pumpkinfest on a cold October evening. The fest had a character-lined trick-or-treat path, games, and inflatables.

Lincoln in front of a spooky spider web. 

Lincoln and Blue from Blues Clues.

Lincoln and a Minion.

 Are you noticing a trend? No pics of Cassidy? She warmed up to the characters after a while.

Here are both kids with Clifford the Big Red Dog.

The kids with Pooh bear.
They'll be meeting the "real" Winnie-the-Pooh when we go to Disney World in early November. 

Little sister and big brother sitting by a fire, listening to Halloween stories.
They enjoyed popcorn and hot chocolate (and they have red, salty lips to show for it). 

are you ready for some (flag) football?

Lincoln recently finished up his third season of flag football and he enjoyed showing off his experience as one of the older players on the team. Next year, he'll be one of the youngest as he'll move up to the next league.

Check him out below running in for a touchdown (#3).

Little sister cheering Lincoln on early in the season on a warmer day.

Cassie and Matt at the last game on a much cooler day. Brrr...

This is what the boys do on the sidelines when they're out of the game.
What is it with boys and wrestling? 

Lincoln on the move.

Happy little football player.

The post-game discussion between father and son.

Participant trophy.

For Jeff - I haven't broken any of Lincoln's trophy's yet. It's a miracle! 

autumn 2013.

One of the best things about Fall -- playing in the leaves! 

Lincoln getting ready to dump a pile over his head.

It's raining leaves on Lincoln and Mason.

Ta da!

Cassidy before we buried the rest of her body! 

father and daughter.

Here is a peek into a relaxing evening in the Gough house. Dad is snoozing before it's time to head upstairs and read books. Cass is fresh from the shower, nice and warm in her Hello Kitty robe, and cuddling with Little Blankie.

Awwww...

i tried.

Cassidy took her first sports class through our park district at the end of the summer/early fall. It was a fun, game-filled introduction to soccer. Unfortunately it was full of rambunctious boys and had a male instructor. Cass wasn't thrilled. We stuck it out through the 6 weeks. I played along with her during each class, but it was simply a struggle and didn't suit her personality.

On the last day of the class, Lincoln had a 1/2 day of school so he was able to attend soccer class with Cass. It was a blessing. While they often treat each other with utter disrespect (like siblings do), there are times when Linc and Cass show their love for each other. On this day, Lincoln completely fulfilled the role of loving big brother and helped Cassie enjoy the class. It was a mom's dream come true...to finally sit and watch from the sidelines like the other parents had done all along.

Cassidy, Coach Billy, Lincoln

We'll encourage Cassie to try other sports in the future. We just need to look out for something that'll better suit her personality (something that requires less aggression, perhaps, and something with fewer boys!).

For now, she has moved on to tap/ballet and is thoroughly enjoying it.