ichabod + chocolate waffles

last week for fhe, we did our annual beginning of october tradition of chocolate waffles with ice cream + caramel, and watching ichabod. this year, it wasn't just me looking forward to it, brooklyn has been asking about it since this summer. it makes me so happy that she remembers these traditions and looks forward to them. she could hardly wait all that day, asking over and over when it was finaaaally time watch the movie.

our guests were few this year. bless chelsea for making the trek over alone with her two kids, so that we could have a little bit of company to join in our tradition. we started with the waffles, which were inhaled, and then brooklyn had us down in the basement for the movie seconds after. brooklyn watched every second of it this year. kendall watched parts, and ellie loved to know what was happening every five seconds. it really is getting more and more fun every year!

after everyone was gone, i dressed the girls in their matching glow in the dark skeleton jammies and put them to bed. but i totally forgot to take a picture. so, the next morning, after breakfast of course, i had them pose out on the front porch by our pumpkins, bed head and all, for a few pics. these were the best i got.

oh these two. they keep my on my toes, but they sure love each other. what else could i possibly ask of them?

october so far...

october is killing it. the weather has been beautiful, our flannel sheets are officially on for the next couple months, and brooklyn has been drinking her weight in hot chocolate. we love the leaves, and playing in them with friends. it's flying by and we're trying to enjoy every second!

this is the first year that brooklyn has really gotten excited about pulling out all of our halloween books. she wants to read them all, multiple times. her favorite being the skeleton meets the mummy.

and if you can handle kids' halloween songs in the car, i totally recommend this. i recommended it a year or so ago, and i still stand by it. brooklyn loves it. there are fifty tracks so you don't hear the songs repeated too often. 

some other halloween books we have been reading...

we also pulled out the fall/autumn books. 

i've been burning candles not stop the past few weeks. i love them all and couldn't choose a favorite with a gun to my head. they all smell delicious and make me want to stop time forever. not to mention that kendall is so adorably fat right now that time could stand still and i'd be content. i want her to just get more and more chubby! 

(she wears this outfit once a week. getting good use out of it.)

we love when family remember that we live in davis county when they're in the area. the cute lynch/reynolds family came to kaysville for a soccer game and let us know so that we could see each other. it was so fun to get to chat and swap babes for a little while. 

october is going to be over before we know it, but we could definitely say we squeezed every last good drop out of it. we're looking forward to halloween and dressing the girls up, and going trick-or-treating. after that, the countdown to thanksgiving in hawaii is on.

october traditions

all our fall/halloween decor is up and tonight was our annual "ichabod/chocolate waffles night". i really need to come up with a better name. i'll work on that for next year. we had friends and family over for chocolate waffles/ice cream/caramel and to watch ichabod crane. outside!!! my favorite way to do it. we found a very generous family in our ward that owns one and we were able to borrow it for the night. it seriously makes this tradition so much better! i love using a projector outside.

besides watching the movie inside or outside depending on the circumstances, i don't think the tradition of the chocolate waffles will ever change. unless maybe we make them pumpkin waffles. they're so good!

the weather was perfect for a movie outside. it was cool, but not too cool. it really was a beautiful october night.

and how cute are they?

enjoying one of my favorite traditions of the year!

our favorite neighbors. 

jeremy and his gang showed up a little later to complete the get together. 

thank you to everyone who came to make this silly tradition so much fun for me!

and especially to my sister haley for coming hours earlier to help me housework, my kids, and getting everything ready for the night.

i love the picture below. i only wish we were all smiling. i feel like this depicts my every day life. totally captures it!

^^^my blue eyed girl and my gold bat shirt from wal-mart. love them both.^^^

i already can't wait for next year. but this especially makes me excited as it kicks off the awesome holiday season. and having kids around makes the holidays so much more fun!

until next year ichabod. {last year. the year before. and the first year of the tradition.}

h a p p y  halloween  s e a s o n !

october first tradition.

homemade root beer, chocolate waffles covered in ice cream and caramel, popcorn, ichabod crane (the headless horsemen movie), and lots of family to enjoy it with. this tradition is one i look forward to all year round. 2012  2011

all of my siblings and a couple of my in laws were able to make it. i was so happy they came! dev and kenz came a little early because they had to leave a little early. they're so responsible in keeping up on their studying/labs/homework. way to go you two!

i was extra excited when this little miss showed up. my goodness i could just eat her up!

i got pictures of everything except the waffles. THE BEST PART. my goodness. but you can imagine them right?

greasy buttery popcorn is what's inside the brown paper bags. to eat during the movie of course.

enjoying the movie. brooklyn definitely got more into it this year than last. she was content with her own bag of popcorn and a seat next to grandma.

it was all over so fast. jeremy and chels came a little later. we all chatted and then sent everyone on their way. i love living close enough to my family that they are able to come share in these traditions.

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i meant for our little family to get a picture but everything got cleaned up, clothes turned into pajamas and comfy sweats, and then it was too late. we'll make up for it. i can't believe i didn't get one. what's more important is the memories. right? you know how i feel about traditions. they make me happy. bottom line. traditions are what make the world go round. 

h a p p y  w e d n e s d a y

october traditions.

last night was the first of our october traditions. oh my goodness i love october. i was giddy all day just  thinking about it. when james got home from work, he did all the technical stuff, and i made up the paper chains. happy happy times.

we enjoyed a yummy fall meal by my MIL and then had the chocolate waffles and ice cream. i could eat those every night. but i won't. that would not be good. brooklyn loved them almost as much as i did. but she wanted to eat hers off of aunt chelsea's plate. 

the night was chilly and cozy. we hauled blankets and pillows out to the tramp and hunkered down to watch a little ichabod crane. a childhood favorite. i really hope my kids end up loving it as much as i do. that and hocus pocus!

it turned out to be such a fun evening. brooklyn behaved better than i thought and she even sat and watched the last thirty minutes, shaking her head at the scary parts and saying no no no. silly girl. i loved it. 

traditions. i'm all about traditions. they make me more happy than almost anything. i want my children to grow up with memories of fun traditions that make them reflect back on their childhood with happy hearts. 

last year.