We carved our pumpkins the day before Halloween, cutting it close! One perk of having a husband who works from home and homeschooling is that we carved our pumpkins after lunch. And we carved our pumpkins at that time of the day because the evenings weren't working. To say we are hustling feels like an understatement and I really, really need to figure out a better, more peace/less stress way of doing things which may mean simply finding more acceptance.

Anyways... pumpkin carving. Holly went traditional and Greta went with a princess. They turned out cute!

On Halloween, we invited some homeschool friends over for crafts and snacks and Maeve was so cute in the bat headband I made her! I didn't even attempt to dress her in her costume on Halloween, but every now and then she pulls her leaf skirt on and wears it around the house.

Halloween evening was lots of fun. We invited a bunch of families over for chili and trick or treating. In our neighborhood, there was a Harry Potter house. That was exciting. I really love Halloween in Spokane. It's magical. 

Happy Halloween! I love dressing my kids up for Halloween. It's a lot of fun! Greta is a nutcracker, but perhaps looks more like a circus ringmaster. And Holly is a native American. For photos, Maeve was first a butterfly because she has flat out refused the necklace and hat for her costume. But, she was so pliable with a sucker in her mouth that I decided to try it and she allowed me to dress her! Very exciting! I made Holly's dress, embellished Greta's and I made everything for Maeve besides the green jammies. 

Conor had just gotten home earlier in the day (he spent a week in Chicago!) that I took photos and all Maeve wanted was him! So cute. Love how everyone looks and we are already dreaming up costumes for next year, as we do!

For our church's trunk or treat, Conor was an off-duty cop (that mustache!) and I was a lumber Jill.

For Father's Day, we rode our bikes to church. And that rolled into a whole summer of riding bikes to church just about every Sunday. It's been quite the adventure with it's ups and downs. The first Sunday we made it to church without anyone yelling, crying, complaining, whining, etc felt like a huge accomplishment. Riding bikes to church has given our kids a fun identity. Plus it's just plain wholesome. It's not convenient. I change my shoes and put on a skirt when we get to church, it takes more time to get to church and home again. But overall it's been worth it. The weather is starting to change and maybe we only had a handful of Sundays left before we drive to church in a car. 

This morning, I stayed home from church (still nursing that flu) with Holly (who threw up twice yesterday). Greta convinced Conor to pull her on the tag-along bike and of course, Maeve rides in style on the handlebars. I loved this little image of 3 of my people. Conor's pretty dedicated!

I did not see enough of my parents this summer. Fortunately they were able to swing down for a quick 22 hour visit this past weekend. It was so much fun and felt so happy! I loved having them here and only wish for more time. I'm so grateful they were able to sneak down for a visit. 

Maeve loves dogs so it was extra fun for her to have my parent's dog in the house for a day. I feel like I just basked in my parents love the entire time they were here. It was lovely. 

One thing we never got to this summer was riding the Hiawatha Trail. We snuck it in this last Friday on the last weekend it's open. It was really fun, however, I definitely recommend finding the cushiest ride possible because it's bumpy. My bike has no shocks and pretty narrow tires. By the end of it, my head and neck felt like I had spent the day at an amusement park. So now I know... Otherwise, the views were incredible and the weather was perfection. It was a fun trip! Greta struggled a little towards the end. Maeve did great the whole time in her seat. She loves the bike!