Cunningham's do Halloween

It was a bit chilly, but the Cunningham's pulled off another great Halloween party this year.  Tanner and I had to eat and run to make it to a Stake Corn Maze activity, but Dean and the other boys stayed all night and had a blast carving pumpkins and hanging out with everyone.  They got to search for Easter candy with flashlights after dark since we missed having the big Easter party back in May due to Covid.  This year has been so weird, but I love watching people adjust, figure out new ways of doing things, and how resilient kids are.  We ended up with super cool Mario, spooky face, and Homestar Runner pumpkins.  Later Tanner got a pumpkin and carved Strong Bad at home to make up for missing the party. 

Spooky Art

Everyone always says the youngest gets spoiled, and I guess in a lot of ways that's true, but I also find myself moving on to older kid stuff and forgetting to do the little kid things with Bridger that his brothers all got to do when they were his age.  Some old photos popped up recently that reminded me of a fun fall art project I did years ago, so we pulled out the supplies and Braddock and Landon were even happy to join Bridger for the fun.  First they painted sunsets with watercolors and then we went outside to blow black paint across the page to make trees.  They finished up with some fun spooky details using black marker once everything had dried.  

 

Trunk or Treat 2020

For the first time in years the weather cooperated for an outdoor Trunk-or-Treat activity.  Considering the state of the world right now, that was key, because we couldn't move things indoors and follow the social distance guidelines that are still in place.  Our new Primary Presidency organized things and it was great for the kids to actually see them, and feel of their love since they can't meet in person right now.  They even passed out packets with some great activities for the rest of the year and cupcake mix for each family to go home and make together.  I'm so impressed by how people are finding creative ways to make the most of this unique time.  We had a great turnout and it was so fun to see everyone's costumes and visit with each other.

Pres. Simons, Sister Rice, and Sister Hill

This year was tough to settle on costumes that everyone was happy with, but after much deliberation we are Luigi, Diddy Kong, Player 1, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario riding Yoshi, and Link.  And after yesterday's activity the boys were already asking what we're going to be next year! Hahaha!

These guys deserve creativity points for their costumes.  The Corona Virus and his disinfecting brother.

Link was just a *tad* particular about his costume.  I think after a lot of work on several of our parts, he was thrilled with the outcome.  

The Hills win for my favorite car.  They had a fake fire, camping gear, and their candy was in a cooler.  Loved it!

Grandma represented the Nelsons well.  Grandpa was at home with Janna because it was too cold for her liking.

Clay Atkinson makes a great Bob Ross.

And I guess Yoshi must be to blame for riding Mario onto the top of the van!?  ;)

We're running a zoo!

This week we inherited a pet rabbit.  Some of our good friends, the Giaimo's, are moving to Utah soon, and my sweet Young Woman, Lindsey, was looking to re-home her bunny before they go.  I've always loved rabbits and this one has been litter trained and everything.  Chloe's still on the fence about the whole situation, but we're hoping with time she'll come around.  For now the bunny's been living in the garage but a new rabbit hutch should be arriving soon so she can live outside and adjust to the weather before winter hits.  The boys have been so excited to have another pet and she's fitting into the family nicely.

Columbus Day at Montour Trail

A few weeks ago we picked up a new (to me) bike on facebook marketplace.  Dean cleaning it and greasing it until it was in top notch working order.  I sure do love that guy!  We had yet to get out and use it, so when we realized we all had Columbus Day off of school we decided we should try to squeeze in a family bike ride.  The weather was seriously amazing and the fall colors were at their peak.  I'm pretty sure this fall ranks as the prettiest one since we moved here twelve years ago.  2020 has had it's share of ups and downs, but this fall has helped redeem it at least a little.  We drove to Montour Trail and unloaded all the bikes and hooked up the bike trailer for Bridger.  The trail is nice and flat and the boys loved riding through the tunnel.  A half mile into the ride, Braddock crashed and scraped himself up pretty bad.  A little consoling and some quick thinking on Dean's part got us back on the trail with Braddock's arm wrapped in Bridger's sock and we were good to go.  We did a total of 6 miles and were feeling pretty good about our day until we arrived back to the van to find a flat tire.  The boys were excited to learn how to change it and I was seriously grateful Dean was there to field that one.  Braddock and Landon were great helpers and Tanner and Bridger put their efforts into building "Rocky" in the gravel pile near by.  Haha!  We found a half of a razor blade, a screw, and a nail in the tire so I guess we were lucky it didn't happen sooner.  Two new tires later and it turned out to be a bit of an expensive, but totally worth it, family bike ride.

Chloe's 3!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our favorite Pup! 🎉 If I would have known how hard puppies are, I probably wouldn’t have taken the plunge, but now that she’s older we’re enjoying the payout of having the perfect dog for our family. We love you Chloe! 🐾

Falafel

 We're always wondering where Tanner came from.  He has an endless stream of ideas and never stops going.  Lately he's been on a Falafel kick.  I didn't even know what Falafel was, but he decided he was going to make some anyway.  So this last weekend he started the process (apparently it takes two days) and then on Monday we had it for dinner.  It was a bit on the spicy side but still yummy and I'm still floored with his capabilities/knowledge.  He sure keeps life interesting.