a world where there are Octobers.

October has long been my favorite month.

This year was no exception.

We kicked the month off with my aforementioned half-marathon, my birthday, and General Conference, all packed into one super-fab weekend. My birthday was spent sleeping in, reading in bed until 10 with breakfast being brought to me, being carried down the stairs on several occasion (it was the day after my half, after all), eating Phish Food and pumpkin chocolate chip cake, and listening to the prophets of God. We also went out to play in the rain, and I couldn't help but marvel at my three crazies, the very best things I've done in my 27 years.

We also enjoyed the final games of Carly's soccer season. Carly spent most of the games running around cheerfully, looking pretty clueless. On one occasion she was the goalie, and she watched calmly as the other team scored on her and yelled, "Thanks for the goal!" Granted, she is only 4, but it will be interesting to see if competitive sports are really her thing. She loved being around the other kids, and really liked her coach, so it was a fun experience. It was incredibly cute to watch her out there. Whatever her niche is, we are so proud of her.

On weekend #2, Chris's parents came to town. Chris adviser and his wife (I've mentioned them several times on our blog . . . I'm calling them Jim and Linda from now on!) offer us football tickets every year, and Chris's parents come up to hold down the fort. We spent Friday evening at our favorite pumpkin patch, and the kids got lots of grandma and papa time while Chris and I enjoyed the game with Jim and Linda the following day. (I'm not going to mention how it is our last Spartan game . . . I'm sure you're all sick of my extreme sentimentality.)

We spent a lot of time enjoying the beauty autumn has to offer. The leaves were actually a bit slow this year since we got a warm spell, but it has made fall a little longer, which is nice. One Sunday evening drive led us to a beautiful dirt road that was perfect for a stroll. We also have our beloved "forest" right in our complex. It is a little wooded loop that we have walked hundreds of times, and there is a big tree that drops seemingly endless orange leaves. That leaf-covered path is one of my favorites.

The girls loved playing in and throwing the leaves. Our boy likes to wield sticks and check the holes in the base of the trees for wild animals. He does point up the the beautiful leaves and say "Treeee! Woah!"

We also had Carly's first field trip! I found a sitter for the twins and joined in on the fun. We went back to our favorite apple orchard/pumpkin patch (only the third time this fall). We learned about how apples grow, how they make cider, got to pick an apple and a pumpkin, and got to eat a doughnut. But hands down, the highlight of the trip was riding on a real school bus. Carly talked about it endlessly leading up to the big day, and was absolutely beaming when she climbed on. Absolutely adorable. I'm glad she doesn't know how much she'll hate it when she's 13.

The final weekend in October held the annual leaf rake at Jim and Linda's house. People from Chris's program come rake leaves, and get divine homemade chili and biscuits in return. Linda also put together cute Halloween things for the kids. This was another event Carly was really looking forward too, as she got a rake for her birthday in August. She was quite the hard little worker. Quinn and John really put their hearts into it too, though Quinn's broom did more spreading than raking, and John's popper wasn't particularly effective.

We also started to get into the Halloween spirit, perfecting our spooky face as a vampire princess, watching daddy carve a pumpkin (Carly inherited her mother's gag reflex, so she didn't participate), and painting the pumpkin she picked at her field trip.

The week of Halloween arrived, and no one was thinking about Halloween. Monday was a big day: Chris officially proposed his dissertation. Prepping for his proposal involved a lot of writing, a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of stress, and a lot of practicing. All reports say he did a most fabulous job. He passed and now has permission to go full-steam ahead with his dissertation. He'll be gathering data on pregnant women in three locations (Lansing, Saginaw MI, and Salt Lake City), so it is a great thing, and we are exciting so see it all come together.

Tuesday was just as big of a day in Carly's book: she got to be the snack girl. You see, the snack girl/boy gets to be the line leader and it is a pretty exciting thing. This was Carly's first chance to be the snack girl, and she has literally been talking about it since she started school. Halloween was two days later, and all she cared about was being snack girl.

Halloween finally arrived. The day before was bright and sunny and 65 degrees. But Halloween was dreary and rainy, and we were trying to figure out how to go about our day. Carly's school party was Halloween morning. It was so fun to go and watch her in her classroom. When did she get so big? They paraded through the elementary school and my heart was full. She's the best.

On Halloween afternoon we went to an assisted living center to "trick-or-treat". There were residents gathered in the front lobby ready to hand out candy. John got one look at the wheel chairs and headed over to try to push. Luckily we caught him before he started saying "vroom!" It was a sweet experience, and I hope we brightened their day almost as much as they brightened ours.

On the way home we stopped at Tim Horton's for doughnuts with Halloween sprinkles and chocolate milk. Because Halloween doesn't have enough sugar already. Our super fancy dinner of jack-o-lantern cheesies was well-received, especially by Quinn, who liked it so much she didn't want to eat it.

Evening arrived and the rain was falling and the babies were exhausted, so Carly and I geared up for some mommy-daughter trick-or-treating. It is hard not living in a traditional neighborhood, but this year worked out well as the management handed out orange pumpkins people could tape to their doors if they were handing out candy. Spotting pumpkin doors became a game all its own, and as one of the very few trick-or-treaters in the area, Carly got several handfuls of candy at each door. The rain faded into a mist, and it turned into a most perfect evening for candy-gathering. At one point Carly said to me, "One of my most favoritest things in the whole world is going trick-or-treating with you." I felt exactly the same way.

A word on our sweet things' costumes. I let Carly lead the way on this one. She could pick whatever she wanted, and I'd try to work the twins off of it. She picked Tiger Lily from Peter Pan in mid-September. It surprised me; all the options open and she picks Tiger Lily? I held out for weeks, and even tested her will with pictures of other ideas, but she held tough. She is so fab. She has been interested in Native Americans, and was so excited to dress like one. We've been reading books about Sacajawea, and she's always loved Pocahontas. After I finished her costume, she put it on and said, "I'm like Tiger Lily, Sacajawea, AND Pocahontas, because they were all brave heroines!" Yes, you certainly are.

Working off of Tiger Lily was as easy as it comes, and John and Quinn made a natural pairing for Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. And the more I thought about it, the more humorous it became to me just how well their costumes fit them.

John. Such a boy. Always getting into trouble. Loves to be rough and wild. Not too many worries. Absolutely no interest in growing up.

Quinn. So sweet and beautiful and tiny. You can't help but just love her. But behind that sweet face she is actually quite the stubborn little stinker if she doesn't get her way. But she gets away with it, because look at her.

Carly. Strong and brave and quiet, but lets loose into a boisterous, fun personality when she's in her comfort zone. As loyal as they come to her family. 

I love these sweet Neverland babies.

I'm hoping this means they'll never grow up.

As a life-long fan of October, I just loved coming across this quote:

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

October sure makes life a whole lot sweeter.

I'm so thankful for another beautiful one in the books.