Seriously, why do I even try? I have comfy, cozy pillows on my couch in hopes of recreating that Pottery Barn look where there’s no actual room to sit amongst the pillows. Every time one of my kids sits on the couch, they throw the pillows onto the floor. I walk by, pick them up, and put them back on couch. Walk by 5 minutes later….on the floor again. I give up.
You know who loves all of my couch pillows? The 3 Musketeers. Look at them. When the children aren’t home messing things up, these three and I sit on the couch with the pillows.
To start off the MOST important month of the year (because birthday season!), John and I took off for a little overnight vacation….to BOULDER!! I know there are people who read this that would have put money on John ever setting foot in the city of Boulder, let alone into Folsom Stadium. I am here to tell you it happened and I have photographic proof!! See? He’s even wearing Buffs gear…
We stayed in Boulder overnight, and I behaved exactly like I did in college, which is to say badly….except this time I drank too many cocktails at a nice hotel rather than at Tulagi’s on The Hill. #i’vegrownup
And the next morning when we returned home, this was the scene from our house….
Talk about the Grandparents being ready to go….the car was in the driveway and pointed for a quick getaway….it’s almost in the street. The kids must have worn them out. That, or bottomless mimosas were ending soon at their favorite spot:)
And, speaking of old people, check out this fantastic piece of nostalgia, courtesy of Grandma Jane. I’ve been saving it in my Halloween boxes, just waiting for the right time to put it on and wear to Jackson’s middle school for carpool. Embarrassing my children is going to be my favorite part of their tween and teenage years.
Another reason to love October is that my kids get lengthy fall breaks…2 weeks for the girls and a full week for Jackson. If you’ll remember, we start back to school in early August, when it’s hotter than the surface of the sun. They were back at it a full two weeks before their Fort Collins friends, so they deserved a break. We embraced the sleeping in, the lazy days doing nothing, and even managed a short trip to see our favorite Iowans.
On the first day of our trip, Aly and I loaded up our gaggle of kids and Aunt Peg to head to the greatest pumpkin patch and apple orchard I’ve ever seen. I thought we had some good ones here in Colorado, but this one makes ours look like a side of the road stand. It should be noted though that Malory was a little apprehensive about Aly’s driving skills, and thought it best to don some protective headwear.
Look at all of the fun we had!!
And the very best part of the day was this beauty….which Aly and I shared in the car on the way home.
We had such a great time on our mini-vacay, but had important business to attend to once we returned home. Halloween was fast approaching, AND we had a very important birthday to celebrate. Cooper was very helpful with the planning and preparing. Seriously, this is my view most days when I sit at my desk and try to get something accomplished. While I appreciate that he wants to look out the window and see what’s happening in the yard, there are sliding patio doors RIGHT OUTSIDE OF MY OFFICE.
Back to that important business…..
Birthday breakfasts have become a thing in our house, which is pretty cool. Because the world is cruel and you have to go to work/school on your birthday, what better way to celebrate than with a donut cake? Other than the breakfast, the day progressed like any other in middle school. But, John and I did allow the young man to join the 21st century and get his very own cell phone. He was the happiest kid alive that day. And, we topped off the day with a family dinner at Hacienda Colorado. Donuts AND tacos? A perfect day, I’d say.
Twelve is apparently the age when you move away from birthday parties at home and instead choose a select few friends to “hang” with. On this particular occasion, we chose two of our Fort Collins buddies and treated them to a weekend of fun. Laser Tag, bowling, arcade games and roller skating. Oh yeah, and an all night Fortnite fest in a local hotel room. I want it noted for the record that I did all of this sober….not a glass of wine was had. It’s probably the only time in my life that I was up at 2:30 am in a hotel room when there hadn’t been cocktails.
This is a terrible picture of the roller skating, and I know I promised better pics with the new phone, but in my defense they were going really fast!!
And as if that weren’t enough activity for the month, Halloween was upon us. We have settled into our Denver neighborhood enough now that we have friends to trick-or-treat with, and so I loaded up Tex the Cowboy, my Zombie Cheerleader, and the cutest Poison Pixie you ever did see (plus a cooler) and hit the town.
Even sweet Charlie Brown got into the spirit of the holiday. Truth be told, Walter was too fat for the costume and I couldn’t catch Cooper, so Charlie was the default dog.
