Trick or Treat!

Tonight was the night for Trick or Treating around here, and despite the 100% chance of rain this evening, we lucked out and had perfect weather. 

Brave pirate Andrew {shoes added later}...

 ...And sweet monkey Kate. Complete with the joke "What kind of key does not unlock a door? A monkey!", which was a big hit. 

 We went around the neighborhood with some friends and the kids had a great time, complete with quite the haul of candy. Once we got home Andrew decided that the driveway needed raking, which turned into using a shovel. 

Hope everyone had a very HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight we carved our Halloween Pumpkins. As all things are around here...it was quite the adventure!

Plotting the designs with daddy. 

 Executing the design. 

 Ready to take the guts out. 

 Kate is always the brave one. She loves reaching in and pulling the goop out!

Andrew was not as excited about that part, and requested a big spoon to scoop them out. 

 His favorite part was "helping" daddy with the knife. Jason had a look of terror the entire time {see below}, and it was a Halloween miracle that this did not result in a trip to the ER. 

Kate was next. 

 

The end results. 

Unfortunately, the night ended in tragedy. In an attempt to move her pumpkin, Kate dropped it on the floor, resulting in broken pieces and Kate breaking down. Just as we were pulling out to buy a NEW pumpkin, Daddy came to the rescue with the stapler. Thus, "Stitches the Pumpkin" was born. 

DSM Marathon 2013

Well after months of training, today was finally the day that Jason ran his first marathon. The kids painted signs yesterday &were so excited to watch daddy run and cheer for him. Lucky for us, mile 8 was right by my parents' house, so it made it easy for the kids to get in on the action. 

Andrew's sign used to say "Go Daddy!", but someone got overzealous with the paint. 

 Inspiring the runners with some percussion. He was a hit!

 Jason on his first run by...all smiles!

 And after running a loop, he swung back by our viewing post. 

I then left the kids with Papa Jack and headed in the car to watch the rest of the race. I got to see him several time, including here around mile #20. 

 And a few miles later running around Gray's Lake...still looking strong!

 Finally on to the finish downtown. 

 Jason finished 33rd with a time of 2:53:21.
We could not be prouder! 

WAY TO GO DADDY!

Palisades

Today was our annual Cavanagh family reunion at Palisades State Park. It was a gorgeous fall day, and as always it was wonderful to see so many cousins and aunts & uncles.  

 We predictably spent lots of time down by the water with sticks, rocks and sandcastles. 

 

This year was extra-special because despite working the night before, my best friend Jenny & her three boys joined us for the day! Jenny has been coming to Palisades since she was 7 or 8 years old, so it was so much fun to have her there and see our kids keeping the tradition going!

 My kids love babies, and they spent lots of time playing with baby Luke. 

 4 out of the 5 Vogel/O'Donnell kids blowing bubbles. 

 Brady & Kate had a lot of fun together, especially on the afternoon hike when they were our trail leaders. How sweet is this photo of them playing a guessing game together?! 

 The afternoon ended with a family hike. Papa Jack & Andrew found the perfect walking stick!

 What a perfect day spent with some of my favorite people!