Halloween Parties, Pumpkin Carving, & Boo at the Zoo

We were invited to not one but TWO Halloween parties this year and took Liam to Boo at the Zoo on Saturday! The best part about all of it was that we got three extra times to dress up in our costumes! haha Nic and I woke up this morning looking at each other like, "Is it REALLY Halloween today?" because it has just been such a fun and festive October that we feel like it has already come and gone! Nevertheless, Happy Halloween TODAY!! We can't wait to take our big bad wolf out for his very first time trick-or-treating! If it goes anything like Boo at the Zoo did on Saturday, we won't be coming home with any candy because each and every piece will have already been wolfed down before moving on to the next house. ;) Prepare yourselves for picture overload because you know narrowing them down is not my forte!

Our friends, the Southworth's, put on the best Halloween party a couple weekends ago! That big bad wolf landed Little Red Riding Hood and the lumberJack right in jail! ;) 

Everyone brought a festive dish to share! Liam and I both believe that the world just would not go around without pretzels in our lives so mummy sticks it is! ;) We also made these mummy pizzas which seemed to be a hit but I didn't have a chance to try them so I'll take everyone's word for it. If you by chance happen to make them, make sure you TRIPLE the cooking time. 8 minutes people, yeah right, they took us about 25!

Not only was there yummy food and great company at the party but we all brought our pumpkins and decorated them with vinyl faces (so fun and without the mess!). Liam loved it of course because they were essentially big giant stickers so we went home with more than one face on our pumpkin. haha And last but not least, one of my favorite parts of the party was watching all of the little kids dance to Thriller!

On Saturday we got all dressed up again and went to Boo at the Zoo! 

Most of the exhibits had already been winterized and many of the animals were not out anymore but we did get a few close ups of the black bears and mountain lion.

Many of the booths with activities they had set up around the zoo were a little too mature for a two year old but he did find a circle of hay bales filled with leaves and his day was made! I love seeing the joy that the holidays bring on a child's face!

What happens when you find a sucker in the pile of leaves ...

Checking out the friendly goats at the petting zoo!

Saturday evening our friends, the Staley's, invited us to their Halloween party! It was later in the evening and I didn't have much light left to work with so I only got a handful of pictures that are pretty grainy. I had to share these next two of their son, Braydon, who is all legs and cheeks. Cutest future Jedi I've ever seen. ;) And the best part was, he was surrounded by a pile of play food the whole night and was going to town on that banana! haha

We brought mummy pretzel sticks to share again (surprise, surprise. Award for creativity! haha). Liam was too interested in all of their toys to ever sit down and eat with us but the Burdick family brought pizzas and the Staley family made apple nachos. Have you ever tried those before?! Ahhmazing. 

We ate. We chatted. Then the kids played don't eat Pete the monster, pin the face on the pumpkin, and  did a monster craft out paper bags! We had such a good time with everyone! 

Sunday evening we finally carved our pumpkins! Nothing like waiting until the night before right?! ;) Truthfully we've had a lot of warmer days lately that I was afraid they would rot if I carved them any sooner than the weekend before. Liam's reaction to the "guts" was priceless ...

We managed to get him to try sticking his hand in there but only for the briefest of seconds and only once!

But the spoon got a different reaction entirely! It was adorable watching him mimic his dad's hand motions and try to scrape the insides out. When he got bored of that, the spoon became a drumstick on the outside of the pumpkin and we had our very own one man band in the kitchen! :)

For some reason or another, I don't know if it was the texture of the stem or the fact that it seemed like a lid, but Liam was obsessed with picking up and carrying around the top of the pumpkin.

Doing such a good job helping dad ...

Other than "photographer", my job during the process was to draw the designs on the pumpkins and then Nic cut them out!

After lighting them for the very first time, Liam cautiously inched closer and closer until he was close enough to reach out and touch each pumpkin. He took in one deep breath and blew out the candle! Then turned around to face us and said "more" with the most serious face. haha It was hilarious! Between Liam and the crazy wind/rain storm we had here last night, we spent the rest of the evening trying to keep them lit. You better believe these beauties will be lit tonight though for when our cute neighbor kids stop by to trick-or-treat! Happy Halloween everyone!!! Hope it's SPOOKTACULAR! :) 

on stepping out of your comfort zone

If there is one thing in life I think a lot of us avoid (intentionally or unintentionally) it is stepping out of our comfort zone. It is easy to become accustomed to the things we feel most confident and successful at that we rarely choose to take a leap of faith. The thing about stepping out of your comfort zones though is that it can be the ultimate learning experience. The uncomfortable part about learning is that it often surfaces the flaws we have but the more you practice at something that makes you uncomfortable the better you become. Believe me when I say that I am in no way an expert at stepping out of my comfort zone but I can definitely speak from experience at the times that I have.

A month or so ago an opportunity came across my path and looking back now thankfully it was one of those situations where you can't really turn it down but at the time I wanted to out of fear. My darling little neighbor girl turned 8 and was getting baptized during the month of October and her mom (my next door neighbor) asked me if I would be willing to take her baptism pictures. Just as any situation merits that makes you step out of your comfort zone, I immediately wanted to respond with, "I really shouldn't. There are so many photographers out there far better than me. This is such a special time in your daughter's life, a once in a lifetime kind of moment, and I would want nothing but the very best to commemorate her day!" At least those were just a few of the negative thoughts consuming my mind in that moment. Unlike the one tiny flickering flame, the only positive thought in my head contrasting all the others, "Meagan, this would be such a good learning opportunity for you to step outside of your comfort zone and try something you know in your heart you've always wanted to try with a family you know, love, and trust." So I had a choice to make in that moment. Let fear and doubt overshadow my opportunity or seize an opportunity to learn and grow.

I spent the weeks leading up to the photo shoot practicing and planning. When the day finally came, I was a complete ball of nerves. Even when they were people I knew, loved, and trusted I was still shaking all over and doing my very best to not let any doubt or insecurity show. I did all I could do in those moments, gave it my very best, and this is what came out of it ... 

Pictures of a beautiful family that I am really proud of.

I learned so much from my first photo shoot with this sweet family. Some constructive criticism for myself like to look for details that can't be fixed in post processing and that I need so much more practice with what feels like the impossible task of getting everyone in a family of 6 all looking at me and genuinely smiling at the same time! haha But I also learned that there is so much beauty in simplicity. My off the wall ideas didn't turn out quite like the organic simple and natural poses did. I learned to trust in my ability and talent that I feel blessed to have been given. The best part about it all was that they loved them! That is what truly mattered the most to me. I couldn't have asked for anything more from my first photo shoot and I am grateful for the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone for a passion of mine that is worth the risk!

More pictures from my photo shoot with Katelyn & the Staley family HERE.

To Katelyn :: Thank you for letting me be a small part in your very special day! There could not have been a more beautiful girl than you in that white dress! 

Liam's 2nd Birthday // A Construction Party

Liam's fierce love for tractors made choosing the theme for his 2nd birthday party pretty simple. On Saturday we had a construction party for him to celebrate with his friends and he had so much fun!

When Liam's party guests arrived, they each put on a construction hat and jumped straight into their working zones. ;)

We had a wrecking ball zone where the kids got to stack different size boxes into a tower and swing the wrecking ball into their tower to knock it down! This was by far their favorite game and Nic's too!  He became best friends with all of the little kids, especially the boys, who were loving when he helped build their towers to knock down. Liam's reaction every time it would fall was the absolute best! As it would begin to sway from side to side after being stacked to its limit, he would hold his breath with an anxious look on his face and then scream and fake laugh/cough with excitement when it all fell down. Hysterical!

Another zone we had for the kids was the digging zone. It was definitely the second favorite for everyone but might win as Liam's top favorite! We filled a plastic storage bin with a couple bags of sand and had duplos, legos, wood pieces, and rocks throughout to dig up with tractors. Can you believe we had this on a mat in our KITCHEN?! I know, we're crazy! You have to improvise with October birthdays when the weather has already dipped a little too low to have games outside.

Liam naturally hogged all of the tractors in the sandbox but the other kids didn't seem to mind. It was easier to dig with their hands anyways!

We had a ring toss zone in our hallway but it ended up being kind of out of sight out of mind so it didn't get used by more than one or two kids who tried it out. Aren't those homemade rings award winning?! ;) Good job Nic! We searched allll over town (which in this town is honestly not many choices haha) and asked everyone we knew for rings to borrow for a ring toss and they could not be found. Tin foil and painters tape for the win!

After playing games for a bit, everyone was ready to eat! One of my favorite parts about designing the whole party was this digger & balloon wall! Thanks to a sweet husband who helped me hang it all just where I wanted it, it turned out better than I even imagined! For the food table we had pretzels (nails), chex mix (nuts & bolts), and grape/banana/strawberry fruit skewers (traffic lights). Liam loves candy way more than cake right now so we went with a non-traditional dessert, a build your own cup of dirt! Everyone got a cup of chocolate pudding (dirt) with gummy worms, crushed oreo (gravel), reese's pieces (rocks), and candy corns (construction cones) to choose from for their toppings! It was a favorite and so yummy!

For drinks we had a refueling station with water and lemonade!

Liam's birthday "cake"! ;)

We all sang "happy birthday" to Liam as he tried to blow out his candle (again, sorry there wasn't two!) or swipe at the flame. haha We adore you birthday boy!!!

I love Liam's face in this next picture. haha He was all about those gummy worms and stuffed them in until his little cheeks were exploding. He also didn't let go of his tractors during his entire party!

While everyone was eating I had name tag stickers, tractor stickers, washi tape, and markers on the table for them to decorate their construction hats. The table runner was also chalkboard paper so I got out chalk for them to decorate the table. Everyone loved it!!

After food and hat decorating the kids went back to playing at the zones for a while and then Liam opened his gifts. As a mom, I loved watching this part because his excitement for each and every gift he got was just so sweet! He loved all of them equally and wouldn't put anything down. He has carried all of his new tractors and fire truck in one big pile with him everywhere he has gone since that day. :)

A big thank you to all of his cute friends for coming and celebrating him with us! We are lucky to have such wonderful neighbor kids for Liam to grow up and play with! This was the best group shot I could get. It was like herding cats trying to wrangle everyone together and have them all looking at me. haha :) (His buddy Weston is missing from this picture too because he didn't want to leave mom and dad) but we loved having everyone who could come!

Before his friends left, we sent them each home with their very own tractor and some extra reese's. :)

// Party Sources //

tool belt sold out (similar: here)
tractor party favors
font used on the signs & other party decor
construction hats (similar: here)
wood round & napkins & seating tag labels (Hobby Lobby)
washi tape
name tags & plates from the dollar store