The 31st of October

Oh, boy. We had a super busy day! We got started early and stayed out late (well, late for us, anyway). It was fun, though, and I think the kids had a good day.

We reported to church at 8:30 for Ethan's choir rehearsal. The choir was supposed to be singing in the morning service, and this was to be their final run-through. FBC declared Sunday "Hallowed Be Your Name" Day, and opted to celebrate the Lord instead of, well, demons and candy and costumes and stuff. :) Anyway, when it was time for the kids to sing, Ethan just stayed in his seat and cried. I went down to sit with him, and he spent the entire first song clinging to my shirt for dear life, so we ended up just walking out before the choir was finished. Poor kid. Needless to say, we will be most likely be pulling him out of choir, because this is not the first time he's acted this way. He seems really scared of/intimidated by it, and we don't want it to be a source of stress when it's supposed to be fun. So much for entertainment.

After church was over, we drove all the way out to my parents' church for their Harvest Fest. They had hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone with all the trimmings, and tons of fun things for the kiddos. It was, um, a little WARM, but it was fun! The kids got to paint their own little pumpkin, and they loved it. (Thank you, Grammy, for being a smart preschool teacher who is aware that kids need to wear smocks when they paint!)

 Ethan wouldn't smile for me at all.

I got this instead...

 

Cute.

Nicholas seemed to enjoy playing on the playground the most, and we had a hard time keeping him out of there. Once the boys discovered the giant bouncy castle, though, he definitely wanted to leave! Sometime in the middle of all this running and bouncing, Ethan, Granddad, Zoe, Daddy and I went on a hayride. One of the CVBC members had brought a tractor and trailer (covered in hay), and spent the greater part of the afternoon driving groups of people all over the church property. Oh, boy.

It was HOT.

Word of advice: when you're pregnant and you've just devoured a giant hamburger, going on a 30-minute long, super bouncy hayride in temperatures over 90 degrees is NOT a good idea. The poor kids on the trailer almost saw me hurl. Yuck.

While Mommy went into recovery mode, Ethan and Nicky got their faces painted. 

Nicholas got a ladybug.

Ethan's request? A gnat. No, I'm not kidding.

The lady that painted it thought it was hilarious.

He wanted "a little black dot" and she added some eyes.

After that, all three of them had lots of fun climbing inside the castle and headbutting one another. Luckily, we managed to leave before anyone sustained an injury. Always a good thing.

I forgot to mention that, during all this time, there were some very talented people providing some awesome music! My grandparents were also there, and they really enjoyed the outdoor concert.

Aren't they sweet?

We headed home (after we peeled the kids away from my parents) to try to get the kids to take a mini-nap before we had to leave home yet again. Why didn't we get to stay home? Well, every year, our church hosts Autumn Family Fest on Halloween evening, and Nathan and I love to go and help out. Also, now that our kids are a little older, they can participate in all the festivities. 

Off we go again...

There are lots and lots of different games for the kids to play, and they get treats and toys at every stop. So much more fun than trying to do door-to-door trick-or-treating with three little ones!

Another bouncy castle.

 The duck pond.

Aunt Beth and Zoe.

Daddy was showing Nicky how to jump rope.

Grandma and Grandpa helped the kids "go fishing" for prizes.

Oh, yay! More candy and stuff!

Trying to convince Zoe to attack the giant pumpkin with a beanbag.

Finding the lost coin in the sand.

They really liked this one a lot!

There was also face painting, food, balloons, a dunking booth, and some awesome live music from our own praise band. So much fun!

Nicky kept asking for more and more paint, and Ms. Julie just kept painting!

She's so sweet.

Ethan getting his hand painted.

A frog!

Measles?

Ethan was trying to decide what he wanted.

He ended up with an orange sword.

Zoe's pink poodle.

We took the kids inside the church to play for a while, and Nathan and I went to find someplace we could be helpful. We ended up helping with the basketball game, and I'm pleased to report that I did not get creamed in the head by any stray shots, although there were a couple of close calls. It was really fun to hang out with Kathleen (who cracked me up the whole time), and watch Nathan playing basketball with the kids.

We finally got home and got the kids into bed at about 9:30-ish. We were all soooooo tired. It was a good day, though!