Happy Halloween!

After a big day at school and dance class, with lots of treats mixed in, we headed out to Aunt Rose and Uncle Ferrel's house for a spooky carnival.  They had quite the set up!  There was a graveyard out front, a haunted house in the garage, and carnival stands for lemonade and candy.  There were games for the kids to play and a great time was had by all.  Finley dined on two hot dogs, popcorn, "triangle" chips and lemonade.  Then she was ready to trick or treat.  She did GREAT!  She had so much confidence, she walked straight up to the door, rang the bell and said "trick or treat" all by her self.  I was so proud of her.  And the most fun was that she didn't want to stop.  We hit a ton of houses and Finley has a pumpkin full of candy treats.  We headed back to the Halloween party to hang out with the cousin Faith, Josh and Zack with all their friends.  Finley didn't want to leave.  Our little duck was fast asleep on the drive home, after all that she had only eaten one piece of candy.

Carving a Jack-O-Lantern

Finley went to the pumpkin patch (aka St. Luke's Methodist Church) on Friday with Max.  They were both dressed up as Charlie Brown and Lucy since they had a Halloween party to attend that afternoon.  Pictures to come of that event, I want to coordinate with Courtney since she and I were very Mama-razzi that afternoon, especially at the pumpkin patch.  Finley selected a short and round pumpkin from the patch and we brought him home.  This afternoon we carved the pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern that Finley decided to name "Pumpkin."  She really needs to get more creative when it comes to naming things.  Finley was really good at scooping the seeds from the pumpkin, but if she had worked alone, we would still be scooping seeds.  She was very methodical to say the least.  Finley also helped me bake Candy Corn Cupcakes for her school party tomorrow.  Finley has a big day ahead of her, party at school, dance class and then trick-or-treating with her cousins.  Fingers crossed that she naps at school, but seeing how that hasn't happened since we got back from Nevis, I am not holding my breath.  We told her no trick-or-treating (an empty threat) if she doesn't nap tomorrow, we shall see if it works.  I wish her party was in the morning, then I would just pick her up after lunch at school so she would get a nap here at home.

Happy Birthday, Samantha!

Samantha's birthday party was at Pump It Up and Finley had a ball.  She went down the slide countless times all by herself.  It is amazing how much confidence gymnastics has given her in her climbing skills.  She had so much fun jumping all around Pump It Up.  And she had even more fun eating her birthday party favorites, pizza and cake.

Cutest Cougar!

Finley went to her first University of Houston football game this year last night to see them take on the Rice Owls.  It wasn't her first Cougar football game, but it was the most exciting.  It was certainly better than last year's game at Rice.  And unlike her first ever Cougar football game, we did get Frenchy's chicken beforehand.  The Cougars, led by Case Keenum who broke the NCAA all time touchdown passing record, remain undefeated and are certain to move up in the rankings again this week.  The stadium was sold out and there was a very exciting parachute presentation at the start of the game.  Finley loved watching the parachutes drop down into the stadium.  Sadly, we didn't get to stay for the entire game because it rained and rained and rained.  Finley wore her adorable cheerleader Cougar uniform that I got for 50% off at Target.  It is a 4T, so it is a little big, but that way she can wear it for years to come.  Go Coogs!

Arrival in Nevis

Last week we packed up our bags and headed to Nevis for 8 sun-filled days.  It was a bit of a process to get there,  Our flight departed Houston at 6 am, which meant we departed for the airport a bit before 4 am.  After a quick layover in Miami, we landed in St Kitts.  It was Finley's first time to use the stairs to exit the airplane.  After our luggage was collected, we boarded a boat for our hotel.  It took about 45 minutes to get to Nevis and it was so beautiful to approach the island by sea.  The hotel does your check-in in your room, so we were ready to hit the beach after Finley did some snacking on the welcome treats.  There were macrons, fruit and little pastry turtles to welcome Finley.  It was an impressive start to what would be an amazing vacation.

Zoo Boo

Zoo Boo is one of my most favorite Halloween activities. Finley has never missed it, so we had to go again this year. At her first ever Zoo Boo, Finley was a giraffe.  And last year we went three times (pumpkin, clown and spooky cat.)  Finley is wearing her pumpkin dress to school today, still fits her great!  Because of her school schedule and our vacation to Nevis last week, I am not sure that we will get to Zoo Boo more than once this year.  The weather has finally cooled down a touch, it is still in the 80s, but it is way better than the 100s we had this summer.  The only issue yesterday was the insanity of the mosquitoes.  They are rampant right now, so we only stayed at Zoo Boo for a couple of hours.  Even with bug spray on, Finley and I have a ton of bug bites.  Finley had so much fun collecting the candy all around the Zoo at the Trunk or Treat stations. We taught Finley to say, "Trick or treat, quack quack." Adorable.

Another Day at Disneyland

California Adventure

California Adventure isn't as fun as its neighbor across the street, Disneyland, but it is the home of the Mickey Ferris Wheel. Finley had been obsessed with riding on the Mickey Ferris Wheel ever since we planned the trip. Little did she know that her daddy would choose the swinging car. And we would be in a swinging car with two high school senior boys. We swum. A lot. Finley was not happy about that.

First Full Day at Disneyland

Our first full day at Disneyland was spent riding all of Finley's favorites. Astro Orbiter, Teacups and the race cars definitely top her list. The last picture is pure Finley joy.

Lunch with the Princesses

The character dining options at Disneyland aren't as plentiful as they are in Disneyworld, so we only had one dining experience with the characters. Finley got to meet Ariel, Sleeping Beauty (aka pink princess), Cinderella, Snow White and her favorite (for that day) Belle. Meeting the princesses is so nice because they can interact and talk with Finley, which I know made her feel very special. It was also nice to have a plated meal instead of a buffet, which is the standard for most character dining options in Disneyworld.