Happy Halloween!!!!!

I'm just a little late in posting about Halloween :-) 

But, we had a super fun night hanging out in our community. 

For years, our church put on a Harvest Festival. But the last few years we haven't had the festival. 

Instead we've encouraged people to spend time in their own neighborhoods, 

spending time getting to know those who live around them. 

These past few years have been great! 

We have a fantastic neighborhood

and this year especially wanted to make it fun for Addy to go trick-or-treating. 

She decided on being a bumble bee. 

"Bzzzzzzz," say's the little bumble bee. 

And in my attempt this year to do away with artificial colors and flavors, preservatives and items high in processed sugar, etc. I wanted to see what options we could come up with for our little 

trick-or treater's. 

I was pleasantly surprised with these candy and snack items I found at 

New Seasons Market

Josh is a big fan of these pops! 

And I thought it would be fun to offer something aside from candy, 

because I didn't want my daughter just coming home with lots of candy, so I thought other parents might appreciate these non-sugar options! 

Glow Sticks!! (These went first and next year I'll definitely get more!) The kids loved these! 

I had them lit up in the basket for them to pick them. 

Mini bubble bottles, toy cars, bouncy balls...

Pencils, little critters (some changed color in water or stretched)...

Silly Snap Hands! These were also a hit! 

Toy Airplanes...

Here's the basket that got refilled many times through the night! 

All of the non-candy/snack items I got from The Dollar Tree. 

I looked specifically for toys that came in packs, mostly 4-6 things in a pack. 

I tried to make "dinner" that night before trick-or-treating all about fun snacks. 

Chips are a treat for us, so I found a few seasonal ones. 

And the bumble bee liked the change of normal dinner...

Including popcorn (one of her favorites)

Cheese  (another favorite)

Apples (and yup another fav). 

She also enjoyed a fruit smoothie. 

"Dog Food Dip" (don't be fooled by the name)

It's simply a can of chili and a package of cream cheese, melted in a sauce pan. 

It's yummy as a chip dip! 

Apple Slices and a Pumpkin Dip (Greek Yogurt, pumpkin puree, 

honey, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice). 

Homemade Guacamole (Avocado and Sour Cream). 

The trick-or treater's have arrived! 

Addy and Josh went through the neighborhood with our friends while I passed out treats and toys! 

They had a blast!! 

Then it was home for a little sandwich before bed. 

Lastly, I present "Peek-a-boo with Addy..."

What a totally fun night!!! 

I wonder what Addy will want to be next year?! 

Stay tuned! 

An Apple Themed Week

This past week turned into an apple themed week, totally unplanned. 

Josh decided to throw together a huge pot of yummy apple cider for youth group. 

He added: 

Oranges

Apples

Tea Bags (Lipton, but a spice tea would be awesome too)

Lemons

Allspice Berries (cloves)

Nutmeg

Back on the home front, Addy and I were creating two new projects: 

A painting with stamped leaves (from a toilet paper roll)

and

An Apple made out of paper plates. 

And we worked on the letter "A" for Apple and "A" for Addy with Playdoy and 

some letter cookie cutters. 

Meanwhile Josh's cider at church was making the kitchen smell yummy! 

Addy and I painted two paper plates red. 

And then tickled her hands and painted them to make a right hand print and a left hand print

 on each "apple." 

"Mom, tickles," she giggled. 

Left hand and right hand. 

Our finished tree and falling leaves. 

To the back of the apples, I added leaves and stems from construction paper. 

"Fall, 2014. 2ys. An Apple Addy Picked with her Left Hand." 

My Fall decorations this year have been homemade for the most part. Our small box of Fall decor I'd normally put up are somewhat out of reach in our garage. 

But I love my kitchen window sill! 

Josh brought me home some cider and the next day, while I sipped on that and Addy napped, I came home from work and made an apple crisp and another batch of apple sauce from some apples from my in-law's apple tree! I was sooo thrilled to be given the apples! We love our apples! 

Needless to say, the house smelled amazing! 

And because my husband is spectacular and knows my deep love for all things Fall, he surprised me by making a yummy batch of simmer apple cider the following day, while I was at work. 

The house smelled yummy when I came home. 

There is something so homey about apples.