Peek into our week – Halloween and more!

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Halloween

This was our first Minnesota Halloween, and we were invited to two neighborhood parties! One was an annual gathering and the other was a “play on words” party.

 

 

The weather was perfect on Halloween and the kids had fun trick-or-treating with their friends. When Luke got too tired to walk, we went home and passed out candy – which is almost just as fun as collecting candy.

 

 

Minnesota Zoo

The boys had a four day weekend, so we took one day to go to the zoo. The zoo was awesome, but Paul got his first PUNCH in the face by a kid on the Zoo playground! I’m not exactly sure what happened, but I do know it started with a game of tag and ended with a bloody nose.

Paul was okay, thankfully, and loved the Zoo in spite of the ‘incident.” We bought an annual pass, so if anyone wants to join us next time, leave me a comment!

House of Mirrors

We visited the Amazing Mirror Maze at the Mall of America. The boys had been asking to do it, and when I found a discount on Groupon, I snagged the deal. They loved it! I’ve never done a mirror maze and it was fun! If you bring young children, I recommend you hold their hand. Paul (my 6 year old) insisted on walking ahead of me and banged his head into a mirror. He was okay but the mirrors are incredibly deceiving!  I walked very SLOW!

 

Wrestling

The boys started wrestling and needed wrestling shoes. I went to Play it again sports and they didn’t have any good used ones, so I bought one pair of new ones. I didn’t know how EXPENSIVE wrestling shoes were, and I didn’t want to buy FOUR new pairs. Thankfully, a friend gave us a pair of shoes that her son had outgrown for free. I found another pair on Facebook Marketplace, and the last pair on Craigslist. The 3 used pairs of wrestling shoes were still cheaper than the ONE pair of new ones. I wasn’t in sports as a kid, so I’m still adjusting to how much sports (and all the equipment) can cost – and am happy to let my boys borrow or purchase used items whenever possible.

 

Saying Good-bye to the Minivan Years

We traded in our minivan for a car. My minivan was sooo well loved and it was time to trade it in before winter arrived. I was nervous about getting stuck somewhere with four boys. Ted’s going to use the car for work, and I’m driving our SUV. I LOVED my minivan… the sliding doors and all the space!  If I don’t feel the same about this SUV, I may have to go back. Minivans are MADE for moms – especially moms with four boys!

 

Minnesota Vikings

Chad Beebe, a family friend, has been on the Vikings practice squad since the summer and just got called up to play with the team. It was fun to watch him play – especially since he did really well. We attended church with his family in Illinois. My first memory of Chad was when he was about 8 years old. I had just started my position as the Children’s Ministry Director. I was signing him into Children’s Church and I couldn’t remember his name. I was too embarrassed to tell him that I didn’t know his name so I said: “Spell your name for me buddy!” He said slowly, “C….H….A….D.” I smiled, thanked him and handed him his tag. I should have just asked him his name because I was more embarrassed having him spell it. I never forgot his name after that. The Beebe’s are an amazing family and I’m excited for all of them.

 What I’m loving this week:

My Swagbucks app because I get free Starbucks gift cards!  This is a screenshot of the gift cards I’ve earned in just the last couple of months.

Click here if you’d like to download the FREE app that earns you FREE gift cards:

Use code SHOP348890 or download http://getsk.co/shop348890