It's October First!

It's finally here!  I've been thinking about it all day, and I think October first is my favorite day of the year.  It's better than a birthday, better than Christmas or Easter, better than the first day of summer.  It's all about beginnings, not like Christmas, which I always feel is kind of a let-down because there's so much prep and anticipation that when it's here, it always just feels like it's slipping away.  Easter's a bust because the best part is over minutes after we wake up.  But October first means fall, decorations, and the beginning of Halloween.  (October first is WAY better than Halloween.  Halloween is just usually the day I can't wait to be over so I can take the decorations down because I'm sick of them after a month.)  So I'm all decorated, (well, mostly.  I ran out of tape so I still have a few little things to put up) and the kids are all excited.  Hazel visited us this morning (The older kids INSIST it's Mom, but she continues to try to deny it.)

Everyone in their October First Outfits. Caden says he doesn't smile that much.

Olivia's October First Outfit

The Classy Corner.  My sister made me the Halloween sign this year.  Thanks  Jen!

Yesterday I contined with my quest to celebrate fall.  I decided that I'd take all the kids when I picked up the big ones from school and we'd go to the store to get things to create our monument to fall.  You'd think I'd know by now.  I had this picture in my mind of how everyone would be excited to help, how they'd want to pick out their contributions.  This was not the case.  They wanted everything else in the store BUT what we were there to get.  It wasn't a pleasant trip.  We got a lot of stuff though. I didn't really plan for the transport of it all, but we all fit.

Sandwiched between two car seats--the cornstalks

Jammed in the front seat--the mums

The finished product

Mums in the beds

How it looked before I added the Halloween decorations and how it'll look in November, hopefully with bigger mums!

I had fun making the monument.  It didn't turn out quite like I had pictured in my head--it's still missing something, but it's a monument none the less.  Welcome Fall and Welcome Halloween Season!  Chili for dinner, as usual!