The Holiday Season

Even though the stores have had Christmas decorations out since the day after Halloween (ugh!) the holiday season, for me, officially began on Friday....BLACK Friday!
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Wait a second...back up.
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Thanksgiving WAS wonderful, just as I predicted. We left here about noontime and drove a couple hours up to Hubby's sister's house and visited for an hour or so with them and Grammie and Bumpy. Then we made our way about 3 miles to L&R's place...which they share with R's mother and grandmother (everyone has plenty of their own space so don't freak out that the 4 of them are sharing a small little ranch or anything...they're just fine!).
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R's mom had to work until 4...which was then pushed until 6 :( so she didn't get a chance to visit before or even during dinner (boo!) but R's grandmother did a fantastic job of preparing the meal and getting all of us to the table in a timely fashion to eat all the yummy yummy food - turkey (of course), mashed potatoes, squash, peas, candied carrots, stuffing (the BEST ever! lots of mushrooms and onions - I was in stuffing heaven!), cranberry sauce and this really odd looking green jello stuff with crushed pineapple that turned out to be super good!!! Then dessert was pumpkin pie, blueberry pie and a wicked good citrus cake that R's sister whipped up for us all. By the time we were done I was well on my way to a food coma and had a heck of a time keeping my eyes open while driving the 2 hours home...good thing Hubby was there to chat with and a local gas station was open with CHEAP! HOT! GOOD! coffee of which I bought a ginormous cup of to help ward off the tryptophan that threatened to drag me into napping (so not safe while driving!).
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Anyhoo...the Holiday Season began at 4am Friday when the 3 of us dragged ourselves out of bed and headed out to get some deals. We struck out at our first stop (Wallyworld....grrrr...they got a scathing email from me about the fact that less than 5 minutes after they claimed to open people were walking out of the store with carts FULL of stuff....don't try and tell me they didn't open their doors early...there was NO WAY people could have gone in, loaded up their cart, checked out and been on their way to their car in less than 5 minutes. Did I mention GRRRRRR?!?). We DID, however, have a TON of luck at another big retailer (the one with the big red circle! LOVE it!) where I got 2 more games for the Leapster for the price of one since they were all on sale AND I had a coupon for $5 off! SWEET! Plus a couple other odds and ends. We left home about 4:30am and were back by 9am where we commenced a day full of lounging around and watching movies...I threw a pot roast in the crock pot the minute we got home so dinner was at 5 and Iz was in bed by 6....Hubby and I managed to keep our eyes open until 8 but it wasn't easy, people! :)
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Saturday I headed to a local high school for their HUGE holiday craft fair and got a cute little gift for my in-laws, some blackberry jam and some YUMMY fudge!
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Sunday we checked out SnL's new house that they had closed on this past Wednesday! So excited for them to have a house of their own! Can't wait until they get everything settled and moved in and have a PARTY! I'm a sucker for a good get-together!
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Now I'm making my list (and checking it twice). This week includes putting up the tree and decorations (tomorrow), getting Iz's Christmas pictures done (Wednesday), and figuring out what else we need to buy so we're not scrambling last-minute (it's a nice thought, at least). We have a few parties that we've been invited to so I need to pick up some Yankee Swap gifts AND find a babysitter for Saturday the 12th (anyone? anyone?). The nice thing is that we have Christmas Day all to ourselves...no one's coming here and we're not going anywhere. So, after the next few weeks of total chaos we'll be able to sit back and enjoy the holiday the way it's supposed to be!
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26 more days...EEK! I'd better make some more lists!!!
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I Am Thankful For...

...a wonderful Husband
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...an AMAZING daughter
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...wonderful "big" kids
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...a family that's always there for us
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...great friends
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...experiences that have made me the woman I am today
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...the privilege of being a SAHM
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...a safe, secure, happy house
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...a full freezer and pantry
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...lobster
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...Grey's Anatomy
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...red wine
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...DVR
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...music
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...ice cream
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What are YOU thankful for?
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Somebody Slap Me!

Tomorrow is THANKSGIVING?!?
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Really? How in the world did that happen?
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We're headed to Hubby's sister's house for a while then dinner with L&R and R's family. Should be a wonderful day!
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Happy Thanksgiving!

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*Note to my seesters.....please do not take the title seriously and actually slap me the next time I see you...even though I know you want to :)

Happy Birthday!

AUNTIE D!!!

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Yep, that's right. TODAY is Auntie D's birthday!!! She's another year older (ahem), another year wiser (ha ha) and still the BEST Auntie D a girl (and her Mommy!) could ask for!

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Wondering what big plans Auntie D has for her big day? We're doing the same thing we did for MY birthday...only no WW (Aunt J) with us, since she has to work - Boo!

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I'm sure I'll be posting more pictures like this AFTER lunch :)

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In Case You're Wondering What You Missed...

Friday 11/13: My Dad came and spent the day with us so my Mom could have a "day off" and have lunch, shop and hang out with her sister. My Dad did ok (but not great) up here with us for 5+ hours but that is another story, for another day. I DID manage to clean my house :) and then my Mom came to get my Dad and they stayed for dinner, which was nice.
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Saturday 11/14: Hubby took Iz to ballet so that I could do last minute party prep. I was pretty much ready so I watched Grey's and hung out alone instead :) I had 13 people show up for my party!!! Even though it was POURING rain which turned my backyard into a POND! It was a ton of fun! Lots of laughs, lots of food and I ended up getting $180 worth of new stuff for $30 because my guests were awesome!
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Sunday 11/15: Football. Pats lost to the Colts in the last 2 minutes because Bill is a shmuck. Nothing more to say about that.
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Monday 11/16: A day best forgotten. A SUPER bad day that carried over to Tuesday. Not getting into detail, so don't ask.
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Tuesday 11/17: A play date at Mel's! I finally got to see her newly painted kitchen/living room (which I helped with, but never saw the finished product) and she always makes me laugh which was a good thing after Monday. But...then I got sick Tuesday night and things just nosedived.
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Wednesday 11/18: Dragged my sick butt out of bed and said goodbye to Hubby who was going away overnight for work (ugh!) then forced myself to get dressed and bring Iz to the library for story time. We needed to go since we had movies due (which you can't renew AND the fine is a dollar a DAY if they're late!) and it was the Thanksgiving story hour. So, I sanitized my hands before walking in, sent Iz in to listen to the stories while I returned books/movies and picked out new ones. Then I waited FAR away from everyone else during the stories/crafts so as not to pass on my sickness to all the little children. By the time we got home I was dead on my feet and wishing I had brought Iz to Auntie D's and begged fpr her to spend the night. I spent most of the afternoon laying on the couch moaning while Iz watched movies, colored and did stickers and pretty much fended for herself. Bedtime was a relief because I could finally just pass out and not worry about whether Iz was getting into anything.
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Thursday 11/19: Not a whole lot of relief on the sickness front. Auntie D showed up around 11 and took Iz for the night (HURRAY for Auntie D!!!!) and I promptly went to bed for the rest of the day. Hubby got home around 7 and I greeted him with a groan and a request for WATER!PLEASE! I've been sleeping for hours and I'm PARCHED!!!! ACCCCKKKKKK! *hack*hack*cough*cough*sneeze*
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Friday 11/20: Finally felt better. Picked Iz up at Auntie D's and then spent the rest of the day relaxing and continuing to recover. Hubby was home so I even got to take another nap!
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Saturday 11/21: Ballet. Home. Exciting, huh?
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Sunday 11/22: We went to a 60th Anniversary Party for my Dad's Aunt & Uncle. My parents were not there because my Dad fell down the stairs Saturday and was too sore. Um, yeah. Once again a story for another day. The party was very nice. We made it home early enough to watch the Pats WIN and then Iz slept until 8:30 this morning (and so did I!).
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So that's it. You didn't miss much. I haven't used my camera in well over a week but will remedy that soon since I will be snapping pictures in hopes of taking a good one for our Christmas cards...and, of course, there's a HOLIDAY this week!!! Bring on the T.U.R.K.E.Y.
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We Now Return You...

...to your regularly scheduled blogging...
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Sorry everyone. I know I disappeared for a week or so. Last week was just a bad week. Monday was terrible, Tuesday wasn't much better, then I got sick Tuesday night and it just went downhill from there.
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Now I'm back, though :) I'll do my best not to disappear again...
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Can't Post . . . Cleaning

Ha! Ha! Ha!

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Yeah, right.
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The extent of my cleaning/de-cluttering today consisted of putting the empty egg cartons & plastic tubs in the recycling and, um, that's about it...oh, I did a load of laundry too :)
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The rest of the day was spent going for a nice, long walk with Iz, watching Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs TWICE, playing Lincoln Logs/Blocks for a solid two hours, making pizza dough and raking a tiny bit of the back yard.
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Um, yeah...tomorrow's going to be B-U-S-Y!
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Down To Crunch Time

or "How About a Little Self-Induced Public Humiliation?"

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So, I'm having a party on Saturday afternoon. You know, one of those little "home parties" where a consultant comes with a bunch of their stuff and displays it and maybe does some demos and then you beg all your friends to buy a bunch of it so you can get "free" stuff of your own (but, taking into consideration that I always go WAY overboard with snacks and party prep, I usually end up spending more than what I earn in "free" stuff - what fun!)
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Um, yeah - so, where was I? Oh, right...public humiliation :)
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I've need to do some tidying up around the house before the party - you know, make the place presentable for all the folks stopping by. But, awhile back, I thought about the fact that a lot of the people coming have NEVER been here ... and you know what that means ... they're probably going to want a tour (A 3-HOUR-TOUR ... a 3 hour tour ... )
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EGADS! Do you think I did anything about that "awhile back" when I thought of it? Nah! Now I'm down to the wire and, although my house isn't a total pigsty or anything, it also isn't immaculate (nor will it ever be). Looking around though, I've noticed all these places that have become overrun with clutter (not sure where all this stuff comes from - do little clutter fairies come in the middle of the night and just scatter a bunch of random stuff around? That's probably it. Or, it could be my almost weekly trips to places like Ocean State, Reny's - went there today! - , Marden's, etc. etc. etc. Anyhooooo...totally off track AGAIN) and I now feel the need to de-clutter before, um, Saturday. Yeah - what a GREAT idea!
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So why am I posting pictures of the crap scattered through my house you ask? Because nothing holds a person more accountable than the INTERNET - Hello out there! - and I'm hoping that if I post these very embarrassing pictures that the thought of people seeing my crap will spur my lazy butt into gear, and OFF Facebook for once, geez!, and get me moving tomorrow :)
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It could happen...maybe...
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Soooo, this is one section of my Kitchen counter - Happy Halloween 2 weeks later! Throw in an empty egg carton and an empty saran wrap roll and Voila! Instant Clutter! Yes, folks - it's just THAT easy!
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To further prove how easy it is - on the other kitchen counter - ANOTHER empty egg carton (they breed, I swear!) plus a couple of empty plastic tubs because, God forbid, those tubs get put under the sink in the RECYCLING container ... jeez! I'm so unreasonable sometimes!!!
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The bane of my existence - the bookshelf and (unused) desk in the living room. I really need to clear this off and get Hubby's work laptop set up on it (and OFF the island in the kitchen!!!) but where on earth am I going to put all the junk piled all over it? Trash bag maybe? Hmmmm, that's a thought.
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This is the nook in the bedroom that becomes a catch all for everything without a home...except my exercise ball which, OBVIOUSLY, gets used EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. It's right where it belongs :)
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And finally, the piece de resistance....
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3 trash bags full of clothes to be dropped off at Goodwill that have been sitting in the dining area for no less than one month. How attractive!
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So tomorrow I am staying home and *gulp* staying off Facebook (the horror!) and the blogs (I'll miss you Cake Wrecks, Amalah, CAP...) and I'm going to tackle the clutter. UGH! I'd rather be FBing...or knitting...or reading...or shopping...or poking my eyes out with hot pokers... ANYTHING except cleaning.
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It would be a whole lot easier if the De-Clutter Fairies showed up once in a while...seriously.
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The BEST Part of the Weekend

Before the party started on Saturday Iz was lucky enough that her cousin (henceforth referred to as "VG" - which stands for Valentine Girl....I'm DONE using just initials...EVERYONE is getting a nickname now!) was willing to rake a bunch of leaves into a pile for her to play in :)
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However, that wasn't the BEST part of the weekend...that came AFTER the party when Iz asked Auntie D if she could spend the night...
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...and Auntie D said ... Y-E-S!
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WAHOO!
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And what FUN things did Iz do at Auntie D's house?
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Hmmmm...
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Yep! They stacked plastic cups left over from the party :)
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Iz owns hundreds of toys worth thousands of dollars....and she is just as happy playing with a bunch of plastic cups (or a cardboard box...or a paper towel tube...or the laundry basket - you get the idea)
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It's a good thing she's so cute!
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*Thanks Auntie D for taking her overnight! AND for emailing me the cup tower pics!
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A Party for Ellie :)

Auntie D wanted to throw a little get together in honor of Ellie's arrival so that some of her in-laws could come up from Mass. and meet her ... Saturday was the day and the party was a success!
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Ellie was all dressed up for the occasion and was awake the whole time
(except for a quick power nap during present opening!)
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...and, boy oh boy, were there a lot of presents to open!
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Even Iz got a present...homemade by her Great Auntie M :)

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Great Great Auntie M made Ellie something too...a BEAUTIFUL quilt

(so wish I had a picture of it opened up...but I wasn't the photographer)
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Having the relatives up gave us the opportunity to snap a picture of something you DEFINITELY don't see every day...

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~FIVE GENERATIONS~

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The poor guys, suffering through a baby shower...and Elie taking a power nap :)
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L had a lot of help opening gifts...some she didn't even get to see, I think! I kept having to remind Iz to show things to SnL before everyone else since the presents were for THEIR baby!
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Nannie made Ellie a blanket too!!!You can never have too many, that's for sure!
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I think Iz liked the wrapping paper better than most of the gifts...and opening them was a lot more fun than what was actually inside!
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The guest of honor...what a doll
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Wondering what she's staring so intently at?
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The ceiling fan - it's her favorite thing at her Nana's house...besides her Nana, of course! :)
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Our Little Artist

A while back Iz was fascinated with this movie

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and one day she decided to paint this picture...

FROM MEMORY...

no cheating by looking at the movie case or anything :)

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I totally see it...looks just like Boo, Mike & Sully

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Not too shabby for a 3-year-old.
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Two Days!

I started and finished a knitting project in 2 days!
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And I'm not talking about knitting a coaster or a bookmark or something...this is a fairly major project...an article of clothing...something I decided I wanted to knit FOUR DAYS before I needed it to be done!
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It's a gift so I'm not giving out anymore details. Pictures will have to wait a few more days :)

Inconceivable!

It's November 3rd already??? Where on earth did the time go?
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Thanksgiving is only 23 days away...
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Christmas? 52 days!
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Iz's 4th Birthday...68 days
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Seriously? Seriously. If someone could tell me how on earth this happens that would be GREAT!
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Happy Halloween!

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I love Halloween....it's one of my favorite days. I think any day that involves pumpkins, cute kids in cute costumes and, of course, CANDY is a pretty perfect day in my book :) We always do Halloween at Auntie Ds since she lives in a neighborhood with a TON of houses within walking distance - thanks Auntie D for letting us converge at your place!
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Here's all our pumpkins...really wish I could have gotten a good shot of them all lit up in the dark but we had terrible candles (note to self for next year...better...BIGGER candles!)
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"Sleeping Beauty" taking a quick zip on the tire swing...
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...and then it was time to go get some candy candy candy candy candy!
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I did get a good shot of MY pumpkin all lit up :)
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Guess who else showed up? ELLIE! Talk about a "treat" :)
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Not too thrilled to be hanging with her Uncle T...

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...but much more content once she got her own candy :)
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We had a great night...the weather was gorgeous...high 60s!!! WOW! Of course, then it poured on the way home - but we Trick or Treated in nice warn weather so no complaints.

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Happy Halloween!

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P.S. I'm pretty sure I have eaten MORE than my fair share of Halloween candy...I have GOT to get it out of this house SOON before I go into a chocolate coma :)

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