{October in Numbers}

24

Number of posts to the blog this month. Some of my favorites were our trip to Cameron Park Zoo, Mug Love Exchange, DIY Personalized Pumpkin, The Kids Behind the Blog, Picture Perfect Project, Falling for Fall Photo Challenge, Fall Bucket List Update #1, Halloween Costume and Pajama Party

42

Number of pictures I posted to Instagram this month. 

2060

Number of pictures in my October folder on my computer. These are pictures taken with my Nikon only and does not include the pictures taken on my phone. I can only imagine it's going to go up from here with the holidays coming. 

3

Number of Sundays that Nathan, Mason and I served at our church in October. On the 16th we had a water leak in one of the buildings and had to shut off all water to the campus. And because of that we had to cancel church services that day. And then we were out of town on the 23rd.

4

Number of miles we hiked at a Cub Scouts Event. Four vigorous miles. Up and down huge hills. It was tough! And there's nothing like a bunch of 6, 7, and 8 years olds showing you up and proving how out of shape you might be! 

1
Big ol' mistake made by Nate. Mason was off school and Nate was off work. Nathan took Mason to run some errands and they came back with a drum set. A freakin' drum set. Really?? haha! He is cute with them, though.

5
Weeks that Mason went without touching an iPad. I had noticed that he was coming home from school and watching Netflix or YouTube for hours and I didn't like it. So I made a deal with Mason that if he gave up the iPad I would do things with him. We did all kinds of crafts, built Legos, played outside, etc. It went so incredibly well. And after 5 weeks we started letting him have 1 hour of iPad time.

2
Number of lizards Mason caught this month. This boy has no fear when it comes to creepy crawling things. It makes my skin crawl. He kept one for a few days as a pet. He told me that one day at school he had to help a teacher rescue some crickets to the outside of the school. No one else would get near them, but he didn't mind. Eeek...all boy!

2
Number of rides I took in a haunted elevator at a haunted hotel in town {The Rogers Hotel}. My brother in law and Nate wanted to check out the cigar shop at the bottom of the hotel so we went around 8:30-9:00 one night. One of the workers was telling us about the elevator and how it starts going by itself sometimes. We decided to take a ride in it. So creepy! And then we walked around the hotel and it was just eeery. I had a nightmare that night!

2 
Number of pumpkin patches we visited in October. The first was Country Critter's Farm and the 2nd was Mainstay Farm {which I still haven't blogged about}. We had so much fun at both, but I would say more so at Mainstay Farm. There's just more to do there and we had the whole family with us.

1 / 6 / 1 / 2:00
One concert attended with 4 other ladies from my church! We saw Lauren Daigle at the Bomb Factory in Dallas. It was such an amazing night of worship. After the concert we spent some time in Deep Ellum. 6 delicious pies were split among the 5 of us. One is the number of tattoos that happened that night. 2:00 am was the time I got home. GREAT night! And worth every bit of staying up about 4 hours past my bed time.

50
Days of First Grade under our belts and 50 days of perfect attendance for Mason and one cute little dude dressed in 50s attire. He got an award at his school's award assembly for perfect attendance.

17
Number of days Mason had good behavior at school with no marks on folder.

4
Number of days Mason had a mark on his folder...all for talking. Go figure!



14
Number of apples Mason shot out of a cannon.

200
Number of paintballs Mason shot at zombies at Jellystone Park.

9
Number of books we bought at Mason's school Scholastic Book Fair.

7:20
 The time that I woke up one morning. We were out of the house by 7:30 and at the school by 7:45 only to find out that school doesn't start until 7:55. We made it in plenty of time! For some reason my sound on my iPhone doesn't want to work sometimes. The alarm goes off, but there is no sound. It's happened 2 more times since this one. Ugh! 

76546895
The approximate number of people that were in my town for the Texas Country Reporter Festival. I had it on our 2016 Fall Bucketlist to go to the festival, but it didn't happen. We drove around for 25 minutes looking for parking and then gave up. The crowds were ridiculous!!

10
Number of Halloween costumes or masks and number of pumpkins bought in October.

18
Number of items crossed off our 2016 Fall Bucketlist in the month of October.

And that is a wrap! This month I did something different and kept an 'October' note in my phone. Each day I would document anything we did that day and any numbers I wanted to share. I had a lot more to share by doing this.

{TKBTB // November}

Ten months ago some of my sweet blog friends and I started the Kids Behind the Blog series. It's been one of my favorites ever since. The things that kids say never ceases to amaze me. So, I love putting them on the spot each month and having them answer a few questions. And it gives me a chance to learn a little more about my friend's little(s). I just love it. If you're new to this link-up you can find all of the details here. I hope you will join my co-hosts {Stephanie, Meghan, Jessica and Beth} and I and link-up with us. This month's questions are Thanksgiving/election {but only a little} themed.

{Bits of Fall // Home Tour}

It's no secret that I love fall and love decorating for fall, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't totally ready to start deckin' the halls! I can't wait to snuggle up on the couch with a warm cup of coffee by the glow of the Christmas tree! But before I do that I thought I would share a fall home tour.

{Cub Scouts // Hike}

I mentioned in an earlier post that Mason had joined Cub Scouts. I am sure some of you are wondering what happened to karate? In my post on Whitney's Mommylogues Series I shared that Mason has ADHD and with that he tends to not want to finish things that he starts. Once he starts playing a sport he feels like he is 'done' with it after the first game. So, after a month and a half of going to karate four days a week he didn't want to go back anymore. It broke my heart because I know that he loved it. He still walks around doing all of the karate moves that he learned...all day everyday. But, we weren't going to make him go. It makes it too miserable on all of us when he puts up a battle and cries to not go. And that's how we wound up in Cub Scouts. A representative came to Mason's school and talked to them about it. He came home with the flyer and asked us if he could sign up. He was so excited about it. We've had 6 meetings/activities since he started and so far he is really enjoying it. I have faith this might be the one thing he sticks with more long term. We only meet once a week on Sundays after church unless there is a weekend activity. His cousin just joined the 4th graders, so that is a bonus for Mason.

{Five on Friday // Halloween // Science Concept Day // Cub Scouts}

Wow! It's been a while since I have been able to write a Five on Friday post! September 16th to be exact. October was a crazy busy month and it flew by too fast for my liking. I have a feeling things are not going to slow down until at least January. Our November calendar is already filling up fast. But today I am sharing a bunch of randomness...

{Fall Scarf Exchange}

For some reason I didn't join this exchange last year, but I was sure to sign up this year. Scarves are one of my favorite accessories and blogger exchanges are also my favorite. I was so excited to hear that I was partners with Courtney from A Plus Life Blog. 1.) I adore her and her sweet little family, and 2.) I was so sad to hear that her partner last year did not follow through with the exchange. I was happy to send her a little scarf love. To see what I got Courtney head on over to her blog.

{Fall Fiesta at Jellystone Park}

Last weekend we checked another item off of our 2016 fall bucketlist - camping at Jellystone Park {Yogi Bear} for their Fall Fiesta event. It's usually one of our favorite things to do in the fall and we look forward to it each year. But sadly, this will be our last year to camp there....

{This is 20}

This is 20.

{Holiday Ornament Exchange}

I know! I know! Halloween is barely over and I am starting with the Christmas. I can't help it! I saw a meme on Facebook yesterday {Thanks for sharing, Beth} that said 'Can I put up my tree now?' and I totally would if the mister would let me! I love Christmas {and decorating for Christmas} so much and wish the season lasted a little longer. So when Stephanie asked if I wanted to co-host an Ornament Exchange I couldn't say yes fast enough! And today I am excited to share the Ornament Exchange details with you!

{Happy Halloween // 50th day of school}

Happy Halloween from my little zombie to you!! 

{FREE Halloween Fonts}

{Rewind Friday // All About Halloween}

Happy Friday!! It's been a pretty hectic week around here. We were all a little under the weather with colds & bad allergies. On top of that I had to cover for a co-worker on Monday and then another on Tuesday. It left me feeling drained! Things seem to be on the mend for Mason and I, but Nate is still feeling pretty lousy. Poor guy! I am praying he gets to feeling better soon, too. One exciting thing that did happen around here was my new blog design! If you only click on specific posts through Bloglovin or another reader it may not look too different, but if you go to my main page {here} you can see the full re-design! I am so happy with it. I was having formatting and spacing issues with my previous design and it just got to be too frustrating! I found this one on Etsy. It was super easy to install and the designer has been very helpful anytime I have a question. I'm still tweaking a few things here and there, but overall I am in love with it. Let me know what you think.

Today I am linking up with Meghan, Beth, Stephanie and Whitney for Rewind Friday. Today it's all about those past Halloween posts.

{Halloween Pajama & Costume Party}

The day is finally here! Time to show off your little(s) in their Halloween costumes and pajamas! I have been looking forward to this day ever since I was asked to be a part of this fun party!! There is nothing more adorable than a kid dressed up in a costume or festive pajamas. The link-up is open until November 3rd for those of you that want to wait until after Halloween to show your costumes. Feel free to link-up as many times between now and the 3rd too...as long as it is Halloween costume or pajama themed. And if you're not a blogger you can still join us. Just be sure to tag #costumepty16 in your photos so that we can check them out!

{Guys behind the blog // October}

In case you missed the original announcement {here}, I've joined a few friends to keep The Guys Behind the Blog link-up going! We are so excited that today is our first installment and includes some fun Halloween themed questions.

{Countdown to Halloween // Week 3 // BOO'ing}

BOO'ing a friend, neighbor or relative has become one of our favorite Halloween traditions. Mason and I have so much fun picking out little Halloween themed treats to put in the BOO bag. Last year Mason and I BOO'd one of his friends {post here}. This year we BOO'd Masons 4 cousins...who all happen to be boys!

{TT // All Things Pumpkin // DIY Pumpkin Burlap Wreath}

I shared that I wanted to make some fall wreaths and donate them to our church's 26th annual fish fry & bake/craft sale on our Fall 2016 Bucketlist. When I saw this pin on Pinterest for a Pumpkin Burlap Wreath I knew I had to make one! I mean, how cute. And my love for burlap really runs deep.

{October 24th // Our Due Date}

A very special thank you to my sweet friend Amy {Keepin' Up with the Smiths}. She sent me this precious angel baby charm back in March when we going through our miscarriage.

October 24th...

Today would have been our baby's due date.

But, I will never hold that sweet baby this side of Heaven.

{2016 Fall bucketlist update #1 // Hallow PJS // PSL // Porch // Wreaths // Wardrobe}

Goodness gracious I love this time of year!! The colors, the weather {when it cooperates}, the festivities, the coffee, the overall feel of fall, the pumpkins...everything! We have been so busy checking things off of our 2016 fall bucketlist and enjoying every minute of it. Sharing the first round of things today.

{#FallingforFallPhotos // A Fall Themed Photo Challenge}

When Amy, Jess, Whitney, and Stephanie announced their Falling for Fall photo challenge I knew right away that I would be joining! Two of my favorite things are photos and fall, so it was a no-brainer! I've had so much fun with this challenge. Below are the prompts then followed with my pictures. I grabbed them from Instagram so that they would have the captions I shared.

{Countdown to Halloween // Week 2}

One of the things on our 2016 fall bucketlist was to buy and carve/decorate pumpkins! We've done quite a bit of that so far!! The first project we tackled was foam pumpkin decorating. We bought several at the dollar store for $1 buck each. Mason added those re-usable kits to them and then on one we added dum dum suckers to the top. It serves as a candy dish and also looks like hair on top of the pumpkin! It's pretty cute. He had so much fun decorating these.

{TT // All Things Pumpkin // Pumpkin Patchin' #1}

Saturday {10/8} Nathan had plans to go fishing with his brother. Mason and I didn't have anywhere to be until 2 that day so I decided to take him to Country Critter's Farm/Pumpkin Patch. We used to take Mason to Country Critter's Farm every year until we discovered Mainstay Farm in 2013. In December 2013 we went to Mainstay Farm for their Christmas tree days, but learned of their pumpkin days and knew we'd have to go there in 2014. And that we did. Mainstay Farm has become our preferred place for pumpkin patchin', but we thought it would be fun to go back to our old stomping grounds for a day.

{$10 Target Challenge // October}

It's time for one of my favorite monthly link-ups - the $10 Target Challenge! I love any excuse to go shopping at Target {along with every other lady in this world}!! I went into this challenge looking for a new lipstick and bronzer, but I was unsuccessful. I just couldn't find anything that I loved. Since the makeup was a bust I went to search the Target dollar bins. Those are always a hit! So, what did I get this month?

{What we're reading // Halloween Books for Kids}

We are major book lovers over here! And there's not much more that I love than rotating books out for each new season. Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic. But, we do love our books. We've got our Halloween books out and have been reading them on repeat. Last year I shared some of our favorites which you can find here. Since last year we have added quite a few to our Halloween collection including some chapter books. Thank you Scholastic books! I have got to admit, Scholastic Books is one of my favorite parts about Mason being in grade school. I don't know who gets more excited, me or him, every time he brings a new order form home. Mason has really gotten into chapter books lately and I love it. Here is what we are reading right now.

{Picture Perfect Project // October}

 Any chance we get we head down to the pond for the evening. It's one of my favorite places to take pictures of my boys. Mason is usually occupied with doing boy stuff and I can snap pictures without him being annoyed {mostly}. I just let him play and do not ask him to pose for anything because I want some candid pictures of him just being a six year old boy. There are so many opportunities for him to do just that at the pond. This particular evening he went down to the pond wearing a mask and forgot to grab his glasses. It amazes me how different he looks without his glasses. He also thought it would be fun to wear his shirt backwards and deemed it backwards day.

{Countdown to Halloween // Week 2 // Masks}

One of Mason's favorite things to do around Halloween is to stock up on masks, toy weapons and anything he can dress up in. He usually comes home from school and goes straight to putting on a costume for the rest of the evening. Last night we went to visit our friends at their snowcone stand and Mason was in full costume! He loves it. Anyhow, we've already collected several masks and an arsenal of toy swords and knifes and there's still time for more!

{The Kids Behind the Blog // October Edition}

Welcome to our 9th installment of "The Kids Behind the Blog"!! If you're new to this link-up you can find all the details here. I know I may be a just a bit biased, but this is seriously one of my favorite link-ups each month. It's so much fun to read what the kids have to say each time. Kids say the most hilarious things and are so unpredictable. It's my favorite!! I hope you'll join my co-hosts (Stephanie, Meghan, Jessica and Beth) and I and link-up with us. This month's questions are Halloween themed. Can't wait to see how your kid(s) answered these.

{Tuesday Talk // All Things Pumpkin // DIY Personalized Pumpkin}

When my friend Meghan posted her fall home tour last week I spotted a pumpkin that I wanted to recreate! I ran out right after I saw her post and got the materials to do so. I knew I needed this on my porch asap! I absolutely love all things pumpkin...especially those you can use year after year!

{#MugLoveExchange}

So, I totally spaced out and missed the deadline to co-host this amazing exchange. But, I was so so happy that I was still able to participate in the Mug Love Exchange. Coffee and fun coffee mugs have my heart! Especially during the crisp and cool mornings of fall and winter! I was paired with Mandie @ BadBrewPack for the mug exchange. I did not know Mandie before this exchange. That is one of the things that I love most about these exchanges - meeting new friends! To see what I sent her, check out her blog.

{Raising a child with ADHD}

I originally wrote this post for Whitney at Work It Mommy as part of her Mommylogues series, but I wanted to post it here too.

{Cameron Park Zoo // Waco TX}

A couple of weekends ago we woke up to grey skies and rain in the forecast. But, I didn't want that to keep us from enjoying a nice Saturday afternoon. I checked the weather for Waco, TX and found only a 15% chance for a span of 3 hours all day. It was much better than the percentage of rain near home. So, on a whim we were able to check an item off our fall 2016 bucketlist by visiting Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, TX. We had always heard great things about it, but have never made it over. It's about an hour and 10 minutes from our house, but worth the drive.

{September in Numbers}

Time to take a look at the month of September...in numbers! I love this perspective on the month.

{Countdown to Halloween // Week 1 // Halloween Crafts}

One of my favorite things about fall/Halloween is all of the fun crafts! While Mason doesn't have much patience for sitting and crafting for too long he does enjoy anything that entails painting {or making a mess!}. I love to raid the Target dollar spot bins around a holiday for little crafts we can do at home. I hit the jackpot on Halloween crafts this year! Among them was this fun paint your own skull.

{Tuesday Talk // All Things Pumpkin // Free Pumpkin Fonts}

I knew I couldn't let this "All Things Pumpkin Party" pass by without sharing some of my favorite free pumpkin fonts! I'm a little font-obsessed around here. I've included the link for each font below the graphic. Simply click on the link, download to your computer, open the zip file, double click on the font and choose install. Super simple!

{Things I love about Fall // Halloween Pajama & Costume Link-up}

{Rewind Friday // Falling for Fall}

Happy Friday! Joining some of my sweet friends {Meghan, Stephanie, Beth and Whitney} for Rewind Friday. A chance to share some of your favorite past content. I don't know about you, but I have fall on the brain something fierce. It's the best time of year, in my opinion. I love the crisp mornings, the changing color, college football and pumpkin everything just to name a few. Today I wanted to do a round-up of some of my favorite fall blog posts from years past.

{MTB // My Sweet Man // The Guys Behind the Blog announcement}

There is no doubt that Nate is a manly man. He loves all things outdoors; hunting, fishing, sports, hiking, etc. But, he especially loves fishing. He always has. However, our most recent vacation to New Orleans and Panama City Beach reminded him of his obsession love for fishing and he has logged many hours near the water since! Lucky for him we have a pond in our backyard. Mason and I love to join him occasionally. Nate fishes, Mason fishes with him sometimes or plays in the bamboo and I snap pictures of them both. Win, win for us all.

{My boy right now}

There are so many things I want to remember about my sweet boy right now. If there is one thing I've learned it's that time is definitely not on our side. These precious moments are fleeting. I wish that I could bottle up every ounce of Mason right now to have during his teenage years. But since I can't, this blog will have to do. Below is just a random list of things I want to remember about Mason at this age.

{All Things Pumpkin Announcement}

I don't know about you, but it's all about pumpkins around here! Pumpkin Cheerios, Pumpkin coffee creamer, pumpkin flavored coffee, pumpkin coffee mugs, pumpkin candies, pumpkin decorations, etc. I think I start getting in the fall mindset earlier and earlier each year. I can't help it. I love all things fall and all things pumpkin. So when one of my sweet blogging friends reached out to me about an All Things Pumpkin Party link-up I couldn't say yes quick enough!

{Local places // Munster Mansion}

via

It's no secret how much I love our litte town. I talk about it all the time on this blog. It's such a gem and is filled with so much character and charm. I think I have also mentioned a time or two that when Nate and I were dating we would drive out here just to look at all of the old Victorian homes. We adored the town, but never in a million years thought we would live here one day. Living here is amazing and kind of like a dream. Our only regret about moving from the city to here is that we didn't do it sooner. 

{FREE fonts for fall}

{Fall Bucketlist // 2016}

It is no secret around here that I love fall. It is my favorite season without a doubt and for a plethora of reasons. I love the sweet little fall family traditions that we have made over the years and look forward to them each time fall rolls around. This year is no different. I am so ready for fall that I can't stand it. I just really wish the Texas weather would get the memo and get on board! It usually doesn't start cooling off until late October for us. But, I do not let that stop me from enjoying all things fall. Since today is the actual first day of fall I am sharing our 2016 fall bucketlist. It's usually the same each year, but this year I've added a couple of new things that I am pretty excited about.

{Cub Scouts}

In yesterday's post I mentioned that we did something exciting on Sunday. We signed Mason up for Cub Scouts!!! A Boy/Cub Scouts leader came to his school last week and talked to them about joining and all the fun things they do. Mason couldn't wait to tell me as soon as he got in the car. We called his dad on the phone and Mason told him all about it and asked if him he could sign-up. Nathan of course said yes. Nathan and I have an agreement when it comes to Mason that we will let him try anything he wants to do {as long as it is safe, of course!}. We want him to find his passions in life and how else could he do that if we didn't let him try different things?

{Weekend Wrap-up // hair, boats, homemade ice cream and church}

 We had such a good weekend! It was one of those that was the perfect balance between busy and relaxing! Friday night my boys had a guys night while I had a girls night at my aunt's house. My cousin is a hairdresser and is currently doing most of the girls in my family's hair. She knew that several of us were due for a hair appointment so she scheduled a 'hair party night'. It was so fun and great to hang out with some of my favorite girls. Nate and Mason rented the new Captain America movie and got a pizza. They were both asleep when I got home and I was bummed, but I couldn't wait to snuggle with them.

{$10 Target Challenge}

Some of my blogger friends do a $10 to Target challenge each month! I haven't joined in a while because I can never keep my Target bill under $10 bucks. I tried really hard this month though, so I decided to join in. When doing these $10 challenges I never make it past the dollar section in the front. Especially around holidays! And right now they have the cutest Halloween, fall and Thanksgiving things. I could have went crazy, but I kept the challenge in mind. I guess I will just have to go back. Is that cheating?! ha! Here is what I bought...

{Five on Friday // PinkBlush, Homecoming Week, Boomerang, Chain Breaker}

Happy Friday! We had a pretty good week. Nathan and Mason had a date night one evening at the new indoor trampoline park in town and I caught up on some shows I had recorded. Other than that, it was pretty low-key and relaxing. I'll take it. I'm ready for the weekend, but until then it's time for Five on Friday. Just a little bit of what we have been up to this week...