Halloween Weekend

 And just like that, my favorite holiday is over. We had a weekend full of Halloween fun. On Friday night we trick or treated at my office. Just like years past, team members go all out on decorating their department and my department did Alice in Wonderland. The winning department did a Star Wars theme and they did an impressive job. 

Since this was the night after Max's first NFL game he was exhausted. He fell asleep in the car pretty much right after the trick or treating was over, so instead of going out to eat like we planned, we picked up food. 

On Saturday we carved our pumpkins. Max did a lot of the work this year. He still doesn't like to touch the pumpkin guts, but he sure likes using the saw.

This was Sammy's first Halloween and she learned that she loves pumpkin guts. I was having a hard time keeping her away from the pumpkins. We let her eat a little, but we didn't want it to be a pumpkin free-for-all. Zoe could care less about the pumpkins. She just wanted to lay next to us and watch.

On Sunday we went over to the Campbell's for dinner and our annual trick or treating in their neighborhood for the full-sized candy bars. Max picked out our family costume this year. He thought it was hilarious that he was the stay puffed marshmallow man, and Andy and I agreed. It was pretty funny. It was hilarious to watch him run down the street. 

It was a late night and it's hard when Halloween is on a Sunday. Max had a hard time getting out of bed this morning and I do feel bad for all the teachers out there that had to teach today, especially the elementary teachers. 

Cardinals vs Packers

 Andy took Max to his first NFL game last night. It was the Cardinals versus the Packers and Max had been asking to go for a while, so he was thrilled when Andy was able to get tickets last minute. I will say though that Max is both a Cardinals and a Packers fan, but he will cheer for the Cardinals when they are playing the Packers. So, he went to the game last night wearing a Cardinals jersey while Andy wore his Packers gear.

Andy picked Max up from school a little early to try and avoid some of the traffic heading out to the stadium. Andy told me that Max was walking out of school with HUGE excitement. He couldn't wait to go and of course, he told all of his classmates and his teacher where he was going.

Traffic was bad heading to the stadium, but they got there early and Max did what he does best, eat. 

It got chilly once the sun went down so Max scored himself a new Cardinals sweatshirt. Andy said a good thing it's green so he kinda blended in with the Packers fans.

Max told Andy that he was having fun and it was the best time. I am so glad these two got to do this together. They both came home with HUGE smiles and Max couldn't stop talking.

Fall and Photos

 This past weekend we got into the Halloween spirit and Fall mood by going to the farm. We did many of their activities and picked out our pumpkins. We've been going to this farm for four years now and this might be our last year. One, it was a giant cluster and two, Max seems to be outgrowing this particular farm. This farm I think is geared towards much younger kids. Either way, we had fun.

We got one pumpkin for my work decorating contest and Max and I worked on that. Since it's way too early to carve a pumpkin in AZ (it's best to do it the day before Halloween so it doesn't rot) I decided to paint the pumpkin white and melt crayons on top. It turned out pretty cool. We will see if we win the contest.

On Sunday we had our Fall family photo shoot. When I originally booked the shoot I thought this past weekend might be cooler outside. I don't know what I was thinking because it was a very warm/hot 86 degrees. So, long sleeves and jeans made for a very sweaty time. You can't tell in the photos though. The new photographer that I used did a fantastic job. Here are a few if you haven't already seen them. 

Mom and Max Weekend

 This past weekend was just Max and I because Andy was away with the boys to hunt Elk. Yes, you read that right, Andy went on a boys' hunting weekend. His first time ever hunting and really even shooting a gun. He went with two friends and camped about an hour and a half away. This is the only picture I have of Andy and Brian heading out of town with the camper to meet up with Russell at the hunting spot.

On Friday night Max and I went to Bingo night at his school. It was held outside on the basketball courts and it was a lot of fun. I mostly had fun watching Max play with his friends after he gave up on Bingo. I just kept hearing "Maxim, over here;" and "Maxim let's play." It was really cute.

On Saturday morning after breakfast, Max and I headed to the Phoenix Zoo since we have not been there in a couple years and they finally removed their mask policy, so it was time to go. We got 10,000 steps in by noon and enjoyed the beautiful weather while seeing the animals before we had lunch together at Max's favorite lunch spot.

Saturday night we picked up sushi and had plenty of snuggles on the couch while we watched a movie together.

Sunday, our neighborhood was having a pumpkin decorating contest in the park behind our house to get to know the neighbors better so we went to that. I figured it's time to get to know our neighbors a little more. I mean, we have only lived here for almost six years. It was fun and they are going to start doing more and more get-togethers so I am looking forward to that. 

Vacation Part IIII

 Another day that was a lot of fun was when we chartered a boat for the day. It was a little choppy and windy on that day and it was due to the hurricane that was out at sea. It didn't bother me because it was such a beautiful day on the water. The Captain took us to three snorkeling spots. I used my iPhone in a waterproof case to take some pictures of the fish. It definitely did not do the beauty justice. I saw many parrotfish and even a couple HUGE parrotfish. It was very beautiful. 

Max didn't want to snorkel, but instead, he stay on the boat. For the first snorkeling spot, he fell asleep on the boat while the rest of us snorkeled. Like I have said many times before, this kid can fall asleep anywhere. 




The Captain took us to a quiet part of the water to get a break from the choppy water for a bit. The kids jumped off a dock for a bit. 

While we were parked one of the Captains taught us about Conche and let us take a bite if we wanted to. I wasn't interested, but others tried it.

We went fishing for a little bit and caught fish left and right. Max caught a snapper and I have a video of him reeling it in. He was so excited. I am not sure how much fish we caught, but it was a lot. 

We went to a beautiful private beach to hang out while the Captain cleaned the fish for us. 

After our fun day on the water, the Captain took us to a local restaurant that cooked up all the fish we caught. It was so good! The best fish I have ever eaten. We then headed back to Atlantis with full bellies.