Fall-O-Weens-Giving

Fall is hardly noticeable in Florida and although we don't get the Fall colors of the midwest, we do get to enjoy cooler weather (like 70's instead of 90's!) The beach is a part of our lives, no matter the weather...we must adventure on! 

I had the pleasure of flying out to stay with the Cowgills for a week (Columbia, MO) to support their parenting journey of their precious baby boy, Sawyer. We made comfort food, spent some time in the great outdoors, and talked about parenting/babies till we were blue in the face. Love these guys!

Baby Sawyer, 6 weeks old. Look at those chubby cheeks!

October 27 at The Old Naples Surf Shop Skim Jam. This is the only skim competition that's held in our town, so we had all three kids ready to compete. 

Both girls did fantastic and were the youngest by far. Francis took 4th place. We were so proud of both of them for stepping outside of their comfort zone and skimming their faces off!

Alastair took second place. He has improved so much; this was a big win for him as he usually gets 3rd or 4th. He's learning to hold his own in the face of adversity. 

The kids have studied Greek Mythology pretty extensively at school and they love talking about it. They chose our costumes this year. We are Zeus, Hera, Perseus, Athena, and Persephone. Graham brought the ideas to life; he blows my mind every year with his creativity, sewing, painting, and gluing. 

Alastair is Perseus, Greek warrior and hero, famous for beheading Medusa. His leather suit and Medusa bucket are hand made/painted. 

This was a sand bucket that Graham paper mached and painted. Turned out incredible!

Maisy is Athena, Goddess of war. Her shield is our trash can lid and her staff was a broom stick, all hand painted by Graham. 

She really played the part well. Plus, she's a tough cookie in real life, a warrior in her own right. 

 

She chose her warrior hair from Pinterest, which came out looking amazing!

Francis is Persephone, Goddess of Spring Vegetation. She was as gorgeous as ever and we found this perfect dress at Goodwill for $6!

The golden bird on her shoulder was her favorite part. 

And her hair turned out beautifully. 

Zeus, king of the gods, and Hera, Goddess of marriage and family. I think these costumes costed maybe $16 total. We 💛 homemade and affordable!

We trick or treated in a Halloween-obsessed neighborhood. It was so festive; I bet there were 6,000 people walking around. 

We found this beautiful, aptly name trail close to our house. It's called The Serenity Walk. We don't get a lot of hiking around here, but this was close enough and just what we needed on a Sunday afternoon. 

Sunset on The Serenity Walk. 

For Thanksgiving Break, we traveled five hours north to Ormond Beach to meet Booma/Boompa and Micah/Chelcy/Milo. We spent the whole week at a condo right on the beach. Although a bit chilly, we spent plenty of time in the waves. Luckily there were hot tubs overlooking the ocean where we warmed up several times a day. 

We love us some waves. 

Milo's first time seeing the ocean. He couldn't keep his eyes off that sand!

The Skim Spaz doing what he does best. 

We had a little tie dye project to do one day. 

Cute cousins at sunset. 

Little Milo had his parents up for sunrise several mornings. Not the worst way to wake up against your will. 

Sunrise is meant for coffee, hot tubs, and the view. 

We had a rainy day, so we went to the movies. Booma and the girls saw the new Grinch movie. 

Alastair got to meet up with Alex and Jacob, the guys who run Skimtona, an online skim community for whom Alastair is a team rider. Super fun skim sesh!

Paddle ball with Aunt Chelcy. 

Our elf, Herbie, showed up the day after Thanksgiving. He's wearing a coat and wondering why it's so chilly. 

We did a tour of the Daytona International Speedway and came back at night to see their Christmas lights display. 

Until next time, family! It was a relaxing, fun-filled trip.