Halloween to the Max.

Happy Halloween to all! There's a reason this is one of the favorite Leahy family holidays ... we love getting into the Halloween spirit. Today has been filled with one spooky shindig after another! Luke had school today, where all the teachers and students sported their finest costumes. The students enjoyed a special breakfast and watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Then it was off to march through Downtown Monument in a school parade and do some trick-or-treating at the various Monument merchants. 

Breakfast at Luke's school. Reid enjoyed a muffin, too.

Parading to Downtown Monument.

The mob by the downtown shops anxiously await more candy!

The brothers at the parade.

This Very Tall Sheriff (on stilts) joined the parade festivities. He helped direct traffic so the kids could cross safely!

After returning home for what Mom hoped would be nap time (which actually turned into "I want more candy" time), the boys kicked back for a few hours before we headed out again to go trick-or-treating at Scott's work. His company opens up on Halloween, and the employees' children can go office to office and score a boat-load of candy in a very short amount of time. It's great to meet the people Scott works with, and they enjoyed seeing the boys in their superhero costumes. After getting each piece of candy instead of putting it in his trick-or-treat bag, Reid would hand it to us and say "OPEN IT!" We tried to explain to him that we'd have some when we were done ... you don't eat as you go ... but I guess by Reid's rules, you snack along the way!

The family enjoyed some trick-or-treating (with lots of treats) at Dad's work.

Figuring the boys would be tuckered out and sugared up, we opted to stay home and welcome the ghosts and ghouls stopping by our abode tonight ... until Luke's neighbor friends came by and then he wanted to go candy-gathering again. So Scott took the boys out -- for the THIRD time. If you are going to celebrate Halloween, better live it up to the max! Following are some fun pics of the two superheroes together tonight.

Batman & Superman sit on the front step.

Is this the batmobile?

Demonstrating one's superpowers is all fun and games, until Batman flies into the house and bonks his head because he can't see out of his masked cape. Superman stands by though ... still flexing his 'muscles.'

Flying off to save the day.

Look at all our candy! Yum!

Happy Boo-day!

The art from the invitation.

Today we celebrated Reid's 2nd birthday with a Halloween costume parade & playdate. (We waited to have his party until closer to Halloween to make sure everyone had their costumes!) It was a gorgeous 70-degree day, so all the lil' ghouls and goblins enjoyed playing in the backyard and the haunted clubhouse. The costumes included our own resident superheroes, another Batman, Barbie cheerleaders, policeman, firefighter, ballerina, Cinderella, cowgirl, and frog! What a fun day for Reid and for us all!

Pizza & pumpkin cupcakes ... yum!

Beware of the haunted clubhouse! Enter at your own risk.

1 ... 2 Batman Boys! Reid & Gavin looking cute as superheroes.

I scream. You scream. We all scream for FROSTING!

The Costumed Crew! (A few moms had to jump in the photo to encourage shy children!)

Speaking of shy, Reid was a little bit timid when the birthday singing began. Good thing Dear Ol' Dad was there to help!

Kicking off the Halloween festivities...

Salt, Pepper & a couple of Superheroes!

One of our favorite times of the year is coming up this week, and we've got a full week of hauntingly good fun! We kick-started the Halloween festivities with a party today at the neighbor's house. A bounce house, ghoulish goodies, creepy kabobs, cookie decorating -- what fun! Our neighbor Kat went all out planning a great afternoon. Enjoy the first of many Halloween pics for the week!

Mr. Frog (Jake) and Superman (Luke)

Everyone knows the muffin top is the best.

There once was a boy named Reid.

Who decided it was time to feed.

So he pulled up a stool.

He was surely no fool.

And ate 1 bite from each muffin top indeed!

Social Saturday.

Saturday was full of social outings for the Leahy family. Jami enjoyed a girls' afternoon out shopping with some friends at their favorite boutique Eve's Revolution in Old Colorado City and then lunching at eclectic Shuga's. We all enjoyed the dose of girl time with good friends!

Jami, Beth & Jenny enjoy lunch at Shuga's.

In the evening, we hopped yards and enjoyed a Mexican fiesta dinner with our next door neighbors Brian & Melissa and up-the-hill neighbors James & Kat. We're all grateful to have found one another in the neighborhood because our kids are similar in ages and love to play together. Check out the cute neighborhood pals below!

Makenna, Anna, Gavin, Luke, Reid & Jake

Pumpkins & Pasta.

This evening Luke, Scott, and Papa enjoyed a guys' outing to a spaghetti dinner at Luke's school. In the fall, the students get to treat their fathers and grandfathers to this tradition of a pasta dinner with a side of pumpkin carving! Luke's class made the special spaghetti sauce at school today (yes, they seem to be very into the culinary arts) with each student bringing one ingredient for the sauce. The Leahys provided an onion. The dads and grandpas then got to sample the sauce in the main course at tonight's dinner. After eating, everyone set to work on carving their jack-o-lanterns. What a fun evening for the guys! Meanwhile Mimi, Jami & Reid had their own family night out with dinner at a favorite local restaurant A Second Cup.

Cold snap.

Rumor has it that the first snow of the season often comes in mid to late October. Sure enough. Last night the wind started howling, this freezing mist began falling, and the weather turned downright cold. This morning we awoke to a very different scene...

View from our driveway.

Our nice green backyard blanketed with wonderful white snow!

Reid dressed for the chilly day!

This first snowfall of the season reminded us of traveling to the Springs last year at this same time on our initial house-hunting trip.  It was a blizzard the entire time we were touring houses! History repeats itself...

Sir Counts-a-Lot.

We were able to capture Reid counting on video. You have to coax him into getting started, but then he is off and counting. (Listen closely ... 7 and 8 come quickly.) Enjoy! 

Changing hues.

We have a few Aspen trees in our yard that just finally changed colors this week. They must have missed the memo from when the rest of the trees turned earlier this month! The colors of the trees complement our house paint color quite nicely! Look closely and you can see some fall yard gnomes in the photo.

In good company...

Scott & the boys enjoy a sweet treat on Pearl Street!

Today we embarked on a fun fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants road trip to Boulder, where our K-State Wildcats were playing football at the University of Colorado. Our hope was that we could hang out on Pearl Street for a while, then head over to campus and maybe rustle up some super cheap tickets for the football game (because taking 2 small children to a football game doesn't mandate having really good seats.) Pearl Street was as entertaining as ever -- stopped in some shops, got a yummy ice cream treat, let the boys play on the outdoor kid play areas, and watched the street performers. Our favorite was Zip Code Man (if you gave him your zip code, he could tell you the city in which you lived ... amazing capacity for memorization there!) 

Then off to the stadium where we enjoyed a self-guided tour of the CU campus (saw many random tailgate parties in their many parking lots). We scouted out a few ticket options, but all too much for what we wanted to pay. That's okay. We'd spent the day in Boulder with our team and its many fans and in good company. (Sorry to report K-State ended up losing 14-13.)

Small Wildcat. Big Buffalo.

Reid fell asleep on the car ride from Pearl Street to the campus. So we got to take turns carrying the sleeping Reid around campus. 

Jami and SuperFan Luke -- Go Cats!

More fall fun...

Mimi treated her lil' punkins Luke and Reid to a day out at the Pumpkin Patch!

The fun of fall festivities continued today as we ventured to Denver to visit Mimi, while Papa was working. She scouted out a pumpkin patch in Littleton, so that was at the top of the day's agenda! The boys enjoyed the hay maze, bounce house, pony petting zoo, and pumpkin bowling, while we all enjoyed the wonderful warmer weather after the recent cold snap. We're so glad Mimi is feeling better and that we could spend the day out and about with her!

Help me ... I'm lost in the hay maze!

Mama and the boys near an inflatable yet decrepit looking haunted house!

When pumpkin bowling, it is best to launch the small pumpkin at the pins ... and hope it doesn't break open!

This just in...

Luke's soccer coach Sarah just sent us these team photos from the final day of his clinic last weekend. Look how cold everyone is?! Brrrr... (If you can't tell beneath all the layers, Luke is in the front row, center, holding the ball.)

Scooter school.

Though the weather was dreary today, the boys spent a bit of time outdoors riding their scooters in the driveway. Big bro Luke helped teach Reid a few things. Now that Reid's got his new helmet, Luke is ready to teach him some wild tricks! Let the good times roll...

Another big birthday!

Today marked the other big birthday in our house -- Scott turned 32! We celebrated with a fun fall donut breakfast and some early morning gift opening before he jetted off to work. Happy birthday to Scott!

Happy Birthday 2 Reid.

Today Reid celebrated turning a fantastic 2 years old. He enjoyed Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast, playing at the YMCA, a long nap in the afternoon, reading new books and playing with toys he received as gifts, and then the grand finale of dinner out with the fam to celebrate the two birthday boys. We learned Reid is a big fan of sopapillas! (Who wouldn't be?!) 

With this milestone of turning 2, here are some of his latest feats:

• He can count to 7 (yet to be captured on video but hopefully coming soon!)
  
• Favorite toys: Trains. Mickey Mouse. Superman. Diego.
  
• He's started dancing a lot. He particularly loves the music at Mexican restaurants. Olé!
  
• He can climb in & out of his crib. When he climbs out and leaves his room, he always shuts the door behind him. Funny! 
• He talks a mile a minute and is very opinionated. 
• He loves playing with big bro Luke, unless someone gets in Reid's personal space and then look out ... Reid will let you know LOUDLY that he doesn't approve.

M-I-C-K-E-Y birthday pancakes!

Check out my new bike helmet from Mom & Dad. I can wear it for skateboarding, too, when I get older!

Neighbors Night Out.

In addition to loving our new house, we've also found we have some great neighbors! Last night, the women of Wuthering Heights ventured out to the Second Street Art Market & Wine Bar in Downtown Monument. Previously only housing local artisans' creations, the art market recently turned half of its store into a wine bar ... and they even feature entertainment on the weekends! We listened to cowboy crooner Clay Canfield while we sipped different varieties of vinos and tried their tartines (tar-tans), French-style open-faced sandwiches. The weather turned pretty cold and rainy yesterday, so this was a great way to spend the evening ... out with the neighbor gals!

Jami, Kat & Melissa on our Neighbors Night Out

Kat is Jami's neighborhood running buddy, and we hit the road early on Thursday mornings. Melissa is our next door neighboor, and we've had many conversations over the fence while our kids are playing on the swingset!

Happy Birthday to...

... Reid & Scott! October is a fun birthday month for us because we are fortunate to have many family birthdays to celebrate this month. Two of these birthdays are Reid (Oct. 13) and Scott (Oct. 14). Today we partied it up with these back-to-back birthday boys with their favorite ... pizza! Mimi & Papa came down to join us for lunch and watched the birthday boys open a few gifts early. We even had German chocolate cake for dessert. 

Reid models the new headphones that Scott received from Eric & Charity! 

Soccer star!

Luke and his teammates after the big soccer game!

Today marked the final day of Reid's soccer clinic. The skills have been building so that in today's final session they could put them to use in a real game. Only problem was the freezing cold weather. So the game was a short one (a mere 8 minutes) in 40 degree weather with wind. The awards ceremony was moved inside to the warm YMCA! 

Luke & Coach Sara

Laughin' with Gaffigan.

Dining at 5280 Steakhouse before the show.

Last night Scott & Jami enjoyed a Date Night Out in Denver. Long ago when Reid was born, we received a gift certificate to TicketMaster so we could enjoy a night out on the town to a show. We finally put it to good use with getting tickets to see comedian Jim Gaffigan at the Buell Theatre in Downtown Denver. His delivery style is one that includes joke after joke, so we were laughing the entire time! The boys enjoyed an evening with Mimi & Papa. Fun for all!

Pumpkin Patch Kids.

We joined some Junior League friends today at a Pumpkin Patch in Monument. Our morning was filled with 2 hours of fun including a hay slide, petting zoo with goats, 'sandbox' with ground corn, hayrack ride & haybale maze. The boys had a blast and even got to pick out a pumpkin in the end!

Luke & Reid decided to wrestle in the petting zoo pen. Watch out, goats ... you might be next!

Luke takes a time out from the haybale maze.

Mom & Reid take a fast ride down the slide while sitting on a potato sack. Whee!

City boy meets farm life. Reid loved driving this tractor!