Happy Halloween

Oh Halloween....How I have missed you! 

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE HALLOWEEN! It is my favorite holiday of the year. The creativity to come up with an awesome costume, the execution to carry it out, Trick-or-Treating, staying up past bedtime, hayrides, and of course candy!! Everything about Halloween screams fun!!! 

Braxton's Halloween costume had to be homemade! It also needed to be something that was meaningful and important to him! Luke and I both knew that this meant either Mickey or a snort and since a snort is much less mainstream, it won!! I found plans on pinterest and Luke executed my plan perfectly!! I think it turned out great! I love my handsome little "heavy machinery operator!"

Since Braxton was born we have started some Halloween traditions in the Hill Household. We start the day with Trick-or-Treating on the Square in Fayetteville. This year it was sunny but it was COLD. Braxton's snort costume was a huge hit but sadly the wind ripping through the Fayetteville square did a number on our poor snort:(
Luckily daddy is pretty handy and he was able to rig snort back together several times so Braxton could continue to ride!!

Braxton and his bestie....Ansley

Love when I catch a "real" smile!!!

Daddy trick-or-treating with the kiddos

After the square we hit the road and head over to our friend's Owen and Ava Kate's house! The kiddos run and play until close to dark when its time to head out for Trick-or-Treating. This year we had a hayride around the neighborhood and the kiddos loved it!! It was SO, SO COLD walking the streets but after the first couple of houses Braxton figured out the concept and we started hearing...."Hurry, Come on guys," "Run, hurry, candy." Braxton did a great job running up to the door, saying trick-or-treat, and then saying "thank you" and "Happy Halloween!" Braxton had a terribly hard time picking candy out of the bowls when he was given the chance to independently pick. We would get stuck on a strangers front porch for at least 5 minutes as he browsed his choices!!! After about an hour the kiddos were frozen and the candy buckets were nearing the top!! We took a hayride trip around the neighborhood for fun and then headed back to Josh and Christie's for yummy soup and Halloween treats!!

Mommy's trying to stay warm on the hayride

Sad to see Halloween go!! Can't wait to come up with Braxton's costume for 2015!!!!

Woo Pig Sooie

Braxton Cole's personality continues to emerge and it is now obvious that he is all boy!! He loves construction equipment (snorts), sword fights (ah-yahs), dirt, bugs, and all things related to balls. Football has pushed its way up the rankings and currently seems to be at the top of the list. 

You cannot live in Arkansas and love football without loving the Razorbacks or Piggie Sooie as they are known in our house!!! Braxton loves clapping and giving an encouraging "go Piggie sooie" throughout the games! We decided that we couldn't let the season pass by without giving Braxton the opportunity to watch Piggie sooie live! 

Watching intently with daddy!

Homecoming was our best option even though  kickoff was at nap time and we had family pictures scheduled that evening. Braxton did great. He stood and quietly watched the crowd and the field. He clapped on cue and threw out his famous, "go Piggie sooie" on occasion. Of course our seats were conveniently near the fireworks and homecoming was a high scoring game for our piggies. This scenario=lots of boom booms and Braxton was not a fan of the noise. He kept pleading "no more boom booms please!" Eventually he had enough and politely asked "all done Piggie sooie? Go home now?" We obliged our sweet boy and headed home right before halftime! 

Overall it was fun!! I think next year will be really exciting and Braxton will finally be old enough to make it through a whole game!!

Pumpkin patch 2014

I LOVE FALL!! October is my very favorite month of the year. I love the chill in the air, the colorful landscapes, pumpkins, and all the festivities that signal the changing of seasons!!!

The pumpkin patch is one of my very favorite traditions with Braxton. I love it so much that this year we went twice!!

Trip #1 was with Jagger on a Friday afternoon when we had some spare time. The boys rode the "train" and enjoyed the hayride to the patch!! We had a photo shoot with the giant piles of pumpkins and they each brought home a small souvenir!! It is so fun watching these boys grow up together and peeking in as an inseparable bond, that only cousins have, forms!

Trip #2 was on a Friday afternoon with our bestie, Ansley! We went to Mcgarrah farms in Pea Ridge and practically had the place to ourselves. We of course took the token patch pictures with all the backdrops provided, rode the "train", went on the hayride, and let the littles run until they reached a point near exhaustion! They had a blast!!! 

The next week we invited Ansley over for dinner so that the kiddos could paint their pumpkin masterpieces, decorate their pumpkin cookies like Picasso, and partake in a few crafts to memorialize how small or big (depends how you look at it) their hands and feet are. They loved all the crafts and neither kiddo minded messy hands a bit. The cookies were their favorite but sadly they tasted terrible and had to be thrown away! Ha

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