Trick or Treating Craig Style....

What's a mom and dad to do when it is Trick or Treat night on post, but it is cold & raining (A LOT) outside & they really, really do not want to get out in the mess........They get CREATIVE!!

Toward the end of this week we had been told there was a chance trick or treating could be cancelled due to the weather, so I waited until today to get the candy.  As the day progressed, the weather never improved, so I was trying to think of a way that the kids could still dress up, get the candy, but stay home.  At first we had thought maybe they could decorate their bedroom doors, then one at a time go up, knock, and go bedroom trick or treating.  Then Josh came up with a brilliant idea of us hiding the candy all around the downstairs area and having the kids find them.  Now, we had to go see if we could get the kids to go for the idea.  You know what,  it was easy as pie!  They were so excited, not one of them said no...happy kids, happy parents!!

So, Rachel, Caleb & Michael decided they wanted to make some decorations for the walls and doors.

Next up, it was time to get dressed and take some pictures.  

Our kids LOVE doing silly face poses....lol

This has to be my FAVORITE picture of the night.  Every time I look at it I can't help but laugh.  All I said to them was do a silly pose and this is what I got....it's like she's saying "What am I going to do with all these BOYS?".....SO FUNNY!

After we had fun taking pictures it was time to eat....pizza of course :) 

This is where the fun began.  Josh and I had the kids go upstairs and wait in Ethan's room while we hid the candy downstairs.  Here are a couple of our cute hiding places....

After hiding all the candy the kids were ready to go at it.  We asked Michael what was going on with his costume and he said he was hot...lol

Waiting for Daddy to say GO....

And they're  OFF....

In the end, they all said this was SO much fun and they were so glad we did it.  YAY!!

Until Next Time,
Michelle

Blackhawk Village Clubhouse......

Military kids, there is just something special about them.  They are flexible & resilient.  They know that truly "home is where the heart is".  They make new friends easily & learn to adapt to situations that are given to them.....and they can make anything out of boxes people are throwing out, including a clubhouse :) 

Introducing....The Blackhawk Village Clubhouse :)  How cute is that!!  This is a corner nook that is at the entrance to our cul-de-sac.  Over the past week or so, I had noticed some items being added to this area.  It began with a rope, then boxes, and eventually evolved into this....

That is just part of the crew that helped build it, but they are so proud of their creation and were eager to show me around.  Apparently, they even have a girls and boys bathroom (lol).....don't worry, it's just for looks.

Until Next Time,
Michelle

Baking with Michael...

I have been LOVING all of the pumpkin recipes on pinterest lately!! So this week I decided to try Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffins with the help of my cute assistant :)
     *the full recipe can be found here

He had so much fun helping me gather all the ingredients and placing the muffin cups in the pan.  I love his expression as he was pouring the powdered sugar in the bowl...he sure was concentrating really hard!

This is the point where I realize that you have to freeze the cream cheese mixture that goes in the center for 2 hours before you can make the muffins :(.   Michael was SO disappointed & so was I!  Next time I will make sure I read the recipe carefully before I begin it.  By the time I got around to finish making them it was about 9:00 that night and he was already asleep.

Here is the finished product and I have to say they were AMAZING!!!

Until Next Time,
Michelle

Seoul Land...

There are several amusement parks in the Seoul area.  We went to Lotte World a couple of weeks ago and since Josh & the kids had a day off today, we decided to check out Seoul Land.  Seoul Land is one of Korea's first amusement parks and it is surrounded by Mt. Cheonggyesan.  Josh and I both commented on how to made us feel like we were back in East Tennessee!

Always have to get a front porch picture on our way out :).  This is our front porch.  I'm hoping our household goods will be in this week so that I can get my fall wreath up & decorate the porch more !!  I just LOVE fall time!

Here we are on our way to the subway....it was such a beautiful day!!!  The weather was perfect!

It was such any easy subway ride from post.  It only took us about eighteen minutes to get there.  We were so surprised by how beautiful the area was.  It truly made us feel like we were in East Tennessee!!!  The leaves were so vibrant and colorful!

Seoul Land has different festival's throughout the year depending on the season.  Right now it is decorated for Autumn & Halloween.  The kids loved all the decorations they had up and the flowers were amazing!!

Once we got inside, the kids were ready to ride some rides!!  One of the first ones we rode was this cute little roller coaster. This thing was very deceptive. It went really fast, especially compared to kiddy roller coasters that we have ridden in the States.  Caleb and Michael LOVED it!

Another fun ride that everyone loved was the log flume :)

After riding several rides it was time for a snack break.  We ended up seeing several of our friends that live on post :)  It was nice to see some familiar faces!

This was an area for the younger kids.  Rachel was right at the height limit to get in...Ethan was upset because he was too big!  The white part was like a trampoline.  You could climb it, bounce on it, and slide down it.  

This was another ride that Ethan & Rachel begged to get on.  It was kind of like tea cups, except if you get it spinning fast enough you could turn it upside down.   If you look in the second picture, they both were getting a little nervous, but once it started and they figured out that they had control of how fast it would go, they were fine!

Josh and I were so proud of Ethan.  For as long as he has been old enough to ride any type of ride, he could not handle things that took his stomach.  He would cry if he even thought we wanted him to try one out. With that being said, he got the nerve up to ride one of the biggest ones they had there.  I thought for sure he wouldn't go through with it.  So Josh took him and guess what....he did GREAT!!  He LOVED it and now is hooked!  He ended up riding several of the bigger rides :)

After the ride it was snack time again :)

By this time we were all tired of walking, so we decided to go into one of the 3D shows they had. 

Here are a couple more pictures from our day out......

We truly had a blast today and didn't even get through all of Seoul Land.  We can't wait to go back!!

Until Next Time,
Michelle :)