Fall Fun

This Fall has indeed been fun. We finally moved back into our home and after several late October days in the high 80s the temperature is slowly turning Fall-ish. We have been very busy with all this fun!

Connor's school had their Fall Festival. She was a little tired getting up from her nap to go... But the gardens were beautiful and the day couldn't be beat.
There was a storyteller...
Festive decorations...
And tons of great activities. I especially liked the Pet Rock Decorating!
And the classic Halloween game - a cake walk!
There were even pony rides. Connor hopped right on and give it a whirl.
We joyfully welcomed our first houseguests. After being in close quarters for two years it warmed our hearts to throw open our doors to entertain. Our first overnight guests were my parents who came down and whipped up some needed magic to help with home improvement projects. Thank you Mom and Dick!
Mom has such an eye for design. She pulls everything together so nicely. I especially love the way she took the random rocks we collected from the Normandy beach called Etretat (in France) and arranged them just right in the curvy, silver bowl. An infusion of Europe - perfect.

The very same weekend cousin Michael came to town with his sweet girlfriend Corey! Connor was in heaven with so many doting guests. Michael and Corey were kind and patient playing Connor's games and seeing all her toys.Fall also means Halloween! Boo! We didn't really celebrate Halloween in Belgium. There wasn't widespread trick-or-treating or anything like that. To come back to find nearly every house decorated with webs and spiders is terrific. Americans go all out with their decoration, don't we?One of my favorite neighborhood Halloween traditions is "getting BOO'd!" I think it is a relatively new phenomenon. One day we came to our door to find the following...
And inside a note explaining the concept:
It is like a Halloween chain letter. You are supposed to in turn take 2 small treats to 2 neighbors after 'being BOO'd'. By posting the sign below on your door, you indicate you have been boo'd already and thus it is supposed to spread right through the neighborhood.
Finally, last weekend we had some of our best friends over for a small Halloween party. The kids wore costumes - which were adorable. We had them bob for apples which proved to be a big hit.Everyone was surprisingly brave dunking their heads in to bite the apples. It took a little coaching with those logical ones who wondered why they couldn't just reach in with their hands to get one.Yes, Fall fun is in the air and all around. I am so happy to be back in our own home in time for trick-or-treaters and the falling leaves.