We've got a little three-fer for you today. This blog is about our weekend in Iowa to watch the Pretties get married, Halloween, and a lovely fall! We flew to Chicago a mere two days after they got hit with the worst storm in 4 decades or something like that, then rented a car and drove a couple hours to Clinton, Iowa; hometown to Jill Patterson, nee Elsasser. That was the setting for their wedding. We call them the Pretties because they are just that, really ridiculously good looking. We met Jill and Brandon in Vegas and became very close. They moved away shortly after Cooper was born and we were so sad to see them go. They are amazing people and a great couple. Jill planned almost the whole wedding and it was beautiful. We got to join them on the 'party bus' (I think this is a midwest tradition that should make its way into cities nationwide) which went to a few locations for pictures after the ceremony but before the reception. Her dress was gorgeous and everyone kept saying she should be on the cover of a bridal magazine!
We had tons of fun on our first weekend away from the kids. While we were there, Auntie and Uncs came up to stay with Cooper and Olivia. They got Cooper well prepared for Halloween by making cookies and teaching him to say things like 'trick or treat' and 'Happy Halloween'!
We got home Sunday afternoon, just in time to carve pumpkins and get the kids ready for trick or treating. Olivia sat this year out, she stayed home with Uncs to hand out candy while we went to a few houses on the block. Cooper did awesome, saying 'trick or treat' at each house and then 'thank you' or 'Happy Halloween' after getting his candy. We weren't sure what to expect for trick or treaters because our neighborhood down in Vegas didn't get too many kids (we were all the way at the end of a cul-de-sac full of houses that kept their lights off!). I bought a 3 1/2 pound bag of candy assuming I'd take half of it to work the next day but we were ALL out by 8 o'clock! We weren't even handing out that much to each kid! By about 7, we were handing out no more than two pieces each. Cooper was a lion for Halloween and Olivia was a monkey. Cooper was a monkey for his first Halloween and seeing as how it was only worn for a few minutes, I thought it would be okay. I won't always make Olivia wear what Cooper used to wear, I promise! Although, the lion outfit was worn by Brody a couple years ago, so I'm sure I could get one more use out of it next year! Truth be told we were originally going to have Cooper be a ghost, but he ended up not wanting to have a sheet over his head (shocker), so luckily I had the lion on standby.
Fall is in the air here in Portland, tons of leaves have changed color and the sun is making less of an appearance (though it does still come out at least once a day). We have already made a few batches of pumpkin bread and cuddled up to more than one cozy fire. Before we know it, another holiday season will have come and gone! It has gotten crispy outside and colder, of course. We spent the weekend enjoying the weather, checking out a new park, and changing our clocks back (Oh Arizona, you are so smart for not getting involved in that pesky daylight savings shenanigans... I envy you). We took some pictures of the leaves and by we, I mean Ryan. He takes some awesome pictures!
~Ahna
