Halloween and Super Heroes

Halloween is a really big deal at Jed's work. Adobe holds a huge Halloween bash. They transform both buildings into a Halloween Carnival/ non-scary Haunted House type attraction. It was so cool. I  can't believe how much money they spend on it. Trick or treating was also really fun. Truman and Annie both participated fully. They loved running up to the houses and getting the candy. 

Annie dressed as Supergirl. After I put her outfit on, she said, "Mom, can I really fly now?" I felt kind of bad telling her no. She was hopping around and we were go go go, so we didn't get great pictures of her, but she looked awesome. Truman dressed as Thor. HIs long curly locks seemed perfect. He looked great. He actually kept the helmet on which was amazing. He also kept trying to say, "BOR". He is so brilliant. I think we have enough candy to last til next Halloween. Its crazy. It was a great Halloween, but it was exhausting. The after holiday bargain shopping topped me over the edge. We found some great deals on some dress-ups, but I am glad its over.

She was bouncing around so much it was hard to keep her shoes on, let alone the boots.

Waiting in line at Adobe was cushy. They had free popcorn, ice cream and cotton candy. They also had magicians and jugglers entertaining the crowd.

Jed's co-worker and Truman's older brother "Thor Senior".

The Harry Potter section was our favorite, of course. Hagrid was awesome. 

So Very Handsome

Trick or treating was great. They were a huge hit.

Gardner Village

Last week was Cindy's birthday. We had a girls day out at Gardner Village. Gardner Village is so awesome in the fall. They have a witches village set up where you can tour a house, learn a dance, make an evil brew and bury an evil toad. Annie was really nervous and scared but she stuck it out. She got a pony ride as a reward. We did some shopping and ate lunch. It was really fun. It was a great way to spend a Saturday, a day with the girls. 

Annie is making the most of a frosted donut. She ate the best part, of course.

Pumpkin Patch

Jed and his family took a trip to the pumpkin patch while I had a nice afternoon at home. They had a lot of fun. 

Wandering with Grandma C

Annie was in heaven picking out a pumpkin.

Annie is now fully addicted to pony rides. I am so shocked. I thought she would have hated them, but she loves it. Who would have thunk?

She picks the biggest one of course. 

As long as Truman is outside, he is good. 

The lovely Dave and Mica

They had corn that the kids played in. They had a blast. It actually looks really fun.

A Deep-Fried Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We didn't want it to be stressed and crazy. Jed deep-fried a turkey (maybe he will do a post about it). It turned out really good. I was so scared the whole time. I was afraid he would burn off his eyebrows, or worse. I was terrified that some kid was going to walk by and dump hot oil all over themselves. I was petrified that Annie was going to sneak outside (she can open doors now). It was actually pretty stressful. I was inside making everything else, while watching 2 grumpy kids...not so fun. But it didn't take to long. Annie wanted to go outside and watch Jed so bad. We then went to our friends house, the Whiteheads and had dinner with them and the Stapletons. We followed it up by a relaxing afternoon and an early bedtime for the kids. Then we ate pie with our Thanksgiving friends and looked at ads for Black Friday. It actually turned out to be a really laid back and relaxing day, probably because we left the dishes until Friday. It was awesome.

I braved the Black Friday crowds early the next morning. It was actually a lot of fun, and also kind of pathetic that I went by myself. I wish I would have taken Annie. She would have had fun. I kept thinking about the Black Friday I went shopping with my mom, Rayna and Marisol (I believe). It was such a blast. I miss living by my crazy family who will be crazy with me. Then I came home a few hours later to find Jed and the kids exactly as I left them. Too bad the house wasn't exactly as I left it :) I swear if Jed stayed home, they would all still be in pajamas when I got home from work. He has no idea how to get them and himself ready. But thats what I am here for, right? I mean, who am I to complain? I got to go shopping sans kids for a few hours. It was pretty nice. 

The rest of the weekend was great. We did our traditional Christmas decorating. Annie wants to touch everything, all day. It doesn't get annoying at all. But she loves it. Her favorite is the nativity scenes. She thinks that "Joseph" is "Joseph Smith". It is cute. It is also super cute how she keeps trying to show Truman everything. "Truman, look! Jesus! Look, Santa!" Oh yeah... and she keeps bringing me candy from the candy dish, saying, "Mommy, let's share." Man, she knows her audience.

We are gearing up for our upcoming trip to Utah. We are so excited! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. It sounds beyond cheesy, but I am so thankful for my family. I miss everyone so much. Its true that you never really know what you are missing until you don't have it annoying the crap out of you anymore :) LOVE YOU GUYS! 

Happy Deep-Fried Thanksgiving!

Thank heaven Scott was here to help. The instant they started lowering it, it was smoking like crazy and bubbling over. I  wonder what would have happened if Jed did it alone! SCARY

Death by smoke inhalation!

Annie LOVES her Daddy! She was very concerned and wanted to make sure he was ok.

Ready for dinner..

The Big Man... Carving the turkey

So tempting!

I wasn't going to touch Mommy, I promise.

Letting me do all the work, as usual.

Jed created a bit of ambiance with a fire and hot chocolate.

Fall in Ann Arbor

Sunday afternoon picnic at the park in the middle of our housing development.

Annie looks all excluded, but she really isn't. She jumps right in there nowadays.

Apple orchards are very popular. This orchard has yummy donuts, animals and farm equipment. Awesome!

Janel is my trip buddy. We love going places with the Osbornes. And Annie loves her daughter Brookie.

If you look in the Madsen Top 100 post, you can see a lot of these exact same pictures but from one year earlier.

My girl loves her sugar. I have no idea where she gets it :)

My kids LOVE their blankies. It is all about the "silkies" with Annie.

Where we live. Isn't it beautiful!

Like mother, like daughter!

Literally... ALWAYS going!