Happy Halloween!

I took this picture one week ago on a beautiful afternoon.  We were out enjoying the weather when I decided on a whim that it would be fun to get a good picture of the kids in their costumes.  So I quickly put their costumes together and this was our finished product.

 Later the same evening, we decided to carve one of our pumpkins.

 The kids had a great time trick-or treating this evening.  The weather even stayed relatively mild,  We went to a few neighbor places (couldn't forget Grandpa and Grandma's house!) and then headed into Kensington for a little while.  My favorite thing about Halloween evening in Kensington is the Fire Department.  The volunteers open their hall and serve hot apple cider and taco salad in a bag along with handing out candy.  It's so nice to not worry about getting the kids fed a meal before we head out.  We just sit and take a nice break and eat in the warm fire hall.  Small-town living at its best!

Daddy got to visit Dane's classroom last week.  They made "Humbug Witch" together.

Fall fragments

Fall has been beautiful and fast.  I have taken many pictures but don't have the energy to sort through them all. So here are a few of my random favorites.

A few weeks ago this beautiful lake caught my eye as I was driving home.  So I quickly pulled off to the side of the road and snapped this picture on my phone.  I wish about 360 days of the year were like this...

The view out my patio door.  I apologize for the glare off the glass, but I didn't want to disturb these guys by sliding the door open.

Our prettiest fall tree.  It got a bit prettier than this a few days later, but the wind came up that day as well.

A sliver of a moon rising through a clear sky.

All six cousins.  Dane, Zack holding Olive, and Ellie in the back row.  Nora and Morgan up front.  Morgan and Olive will have a baby brother arriving in February!

Our evening entertainment- watching the corn harvest.  Even the pets joined us!

My high school friend Kimberly and her lovely family visited last week.  We subjected the poor unsuspecting city dwellers to a hay ride over to Grandpa and Grandma's house in the horrid wind that evening.  I think they enjoyed it anyway!

I just can't get enough of this picture, so I'm posting it here.  I often find myself staring at the loves of my life captured in this beautiful moment.  And I count my blessings...