We had such a great weekend! It felt like Halloween festivities were popping up all over town last weekend and we definitely took advantage of the festive fall fun!
Our Friday night was a little more relaxed since we hung out at home and hosted our friend Ben and his family for a cookout. His family is visiting from England and we loved meeting them and chatting over grilled chicken thighs, burgers, roasted sweet potatoes, cornbread, cold quinoa salad and Brussels sprouts. The nice thing about hosting other people in our house is that we can put Chase to bed at a normal time and then spend hours of undistracted time with our guests once he is sleeping away. Of course Chase had a blast with his new friends (who completely won him over with a new Thomas train) and we really enjoyed meeting Ben’s crew!
Saturday
Our Saturday morning kicked off with eggs and toast before our little trio headed off to the gym for a morning workout. I wasn’t in the mood for anything crazy and took myself through a 30-minute incline treadmill walking workout and followed it up with some stretching before calling it a day. Ryan and I then reconnected and picked up Chase for our big adventure of the day!
We drive north to Statesville to check out Rescue Ranch’s annual fall festival. Rescue Ranch is a non-profit animal welfare organization that is home to a myriad of animals, including donkeys, cows, pigs, goats, turkeys and more. The fall festival was a great time to visit the ranch because there was no shortage of things to do for kids of all ages. After we paid for our tickets, Chase immediately spied the big green tractor and began yelling “HAYRIDE!” so naturally we began our adventure with a hayride around the cornfields.
The hayride was a blast mainly because it was so toddler-friendly. Chase had so much fun pointing out the hay bales painted like some of his favorite characters, including Cookie Monster and Thomas. Once the hayride was over, we wandered around the expansive property, said hello to the animals and spent more than our fair share of time watching Chase jump around in the Bounce Houses, fish for magnetic fish and play lawn games.
The playground at Rescue Ranch is also worth mentioning and is easily one of the nicest (if not the nicest) playgrounds I’ve ever seen. There were so many unique features incorporated into the jungle gym that Ryan and I could not stop pointing out to Chase and each other. A big red swing that looked like a cross between a large egg and a gondola was Chase’s favorite feature and he rode that thing a million times!
A mini kid’s maze was also a hit and we let Chase navigate his way through that thing over and over again before our stomachs told us we needed to head out and grab lunch on our way home.
We made it home a little before 2 p.m. and Chase went down for his nap while Ryan and I parked our butts on the couch and began watching the second season of Stranger Things. So often I use Chase’s naptime on the weekends to work so it felt like such a treat to do nothing other than curl up on the couch with Ryan and binge-watch one of our favorite Netflix shows!
By the time Chase was up from his nap, we were ready for Chase’s preschool’s big Trunk-or-Treat party!
(Jeans:Just USA via Nordstrom Rack / Cardigan: LOFT via ThredUP / T-shirt: A New Day via Target / Booties: TOMS)
I wasn’t sure what Chase would think of his elephant costume, despite the fact that he loved it the first time he tried it on. He seemed interested but not overly enthused, so I tried my best to show him that his costume was super cool by wearing it myself which kind of worked for five minutes.
Thankfully seeing the other kids in their costumes helped Chase get excited about his costume again but we had an apprehensive little elephant on our hands as we made our way around the preschool parking lot to trick-or-treat out of the trunks of decorated cars.
(Yes, Chase definitely had a mouthful of candy in the above picture.)
We spent the rest of the time at the Trunk-or-Treat party hanging out with friends while Chase and his best buddy Claire had a ball on the big inflatable slide. (They were 100 percent obsessed!)
After a quick stop to pick up a pizza for dinner, we arrived back home around 7 p.m., ate dinner and then put Chase to bed a little before 8 p.m. And then – you guessed it – we watched more Stranger Things. I wonder how quickly we’re going to make it through this season at this rate!?
Sunday
Sunday was a lot more low key around here due, in large part, to the cold and dreary weather. We spent the morning at church but hung out at home for most of the day until around 4 p.m. when we made our way to a friend’s house for a delicious spaghetti dinner. We arrived back home feeling full and ready for a good night’s sleep! I began reading a new book that is already pulling me in! Have any of you read The Girl Before? It’s definitely intriguing so far!
And now I should probably wish all of you a very HAPPY HALLOWEEN before signing off this afternoon. We have plans to take Chase trick-or-treating tonight with four of his best buddies and I cannot wait to see all the kids in their adorable costumes. It should be a blast!! Hope you guys have a fantastic Halloween!
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I have read The Girl Before and really liked it! Definitely a page turner! I also just read The Couple Next Door which was one of the better thrillers I’ve read lately. Took me all of a day and a half to finish if you’re interested! 🙂 Hope you have a great time trick-or-treating!
Hello,
First time poster- there is a TON of code at the top of your site.
It was an issue with a plugin after a recent update — it’s now been deleted and the coding should be all gone! Thanks for letting me know!
Cutest little elephant!! So fun!!
What a fun weekend! The hayride and bounce castles sound amazing! Then the elephant is the best! I love your outfit as well! I’ve been looking for a new cardigan. Love it! You are the cutest fam!
Thank you, Bethany!
I love all your book suggestions so I’ll have to write down that one. Currently reading Big Little Lies. And omg Chase’s costume is so adorable! What a great way to spend a Fall weekend.
I think that swing is a handicapped swing….
They’re usually referred to as Inclusive Playgrounds, and all kids can use the equipment. That looks like an awesome playground!
Ooh I’m definitely jealous of that playground (I have a special needs son and we only have one decent accessible playground near us).
To clear up the question with the swing – I think it is intended to accommodate children with special needs, however, certainly all kids are welcome to use them (as long as common courtesy is being practiced and nobody is “hogging” the swing – it’s quite hard sometimes to tell if a child has special needs and you should never make assumptions one way or another).
Happy Halloween to your family, Julie!
Thank you so much for your insight, Becky! I really appreciate it! I truly had no idea the swing was intended for children with special needs and really appreciate the kind way you weighed in on this to let me know. We definitely had Chase get off the swing after each ride to join the line and take turns without taking it over. Thank you again! <3
Of course! How would you have any way of knowing? The whole point of an “inclusive” playground is just that – the equipment is inclusive for everyone. Plus, those swings are great for older kids who might be too big for a “baby” swing, but too small to safely sit on a “big kid” swing. (My 2-year old daughter loves them).
Saying a typical child can’t use a certain swing is like saying he can’t walk on the ramp because it’s for children in wheelchairs. It’s just nice to be aware that for some kids, that might be the only option that they can play on at the playground.
Question, I have been seeing everyone watching Stranger Things. I literally have never heard of it until this week, is it scary?
It’s definitely creepy but not scary in a thriller/slasher kind of way. It’s scifi (which normally would NOT interest me) but the show keeps you on your toes!
It sounds like you guys had the best Halloween weekend!! Love love all of the pictures, Chase is just so cute! I haven’t read that book, but now I am going to!! 😉 You always have the best book recommendations!! Hope you had a great Halloween! Xoxo
Looks like an awesome Halloween weekend! Saturday could not have been more perfect weather – fall is the best season hands down! I loved Chase’s costume, seriously so adorable.
Thanks for sharing the book, I’m going to check it out. I picked up The Woman in Cabin 10 after I saw it on here and loved it. The only problem was I finished it in about 2 days and now I need a new book!
Wow, what a wonderful weekend! I wish there were more fun things like this near us…they are all so far away. I’m surprised the huge slide didn’t scare him a little. Your little family is so cute! BTW, just had to say, you have gorgeous hair! Have a great day, Julie!
I was SHOCKED he wasn’t scared! He didn’t even hesitate! Ryan thought he was going to want to slide down in his lap and he said, “No Dad. I do it! 1, 2…” and went down on 2! Crazy kid! And thank you for your kind words, Marie. I really appreciate it! <3
You should have included the video from your instagram; it was so cute! That’s when I realized how brave he was! 🙂 haha Did he have a tough time climbing up the slide? It’s always funny watching the kids make it up there, especially if they have slippery socks on.
Love the elephant costume! My son does not like things on his head, so I have to go other routes for costumes. I made him a scuba diver costume this year.
Also, we finished Stranger Things 2 last night! It’s so good! And we admit we have a Netflix binge problem!
That dark green color is great on you! Adorable pictures of you two on the porch. Happy Wednesday!
Looks like you guys had a great Halloween! And Chase is seriously the cutest elephant ever!
This looks like such a fun and festive weekend, and I LOVE Chase’s elephant costume. 🙂 So adorable. My boyfriend and I are in the same boat with Stranger Things 2 right now. That’s actually how we concluded our Halloween last night! We’re trying to ration each episode, so we’re only on 4, but man I could just sit and watch them all back-to-back. I want to be those kids’ best friend in real life!
Did Sadie get any attention over the weekend?
Oh she’s always getting lots of love!! Anytime we are at home she’s getting tons of cuddles (so our Stranger Things marathon was right up her alley) but Ryan also took her on a walk both Saturday and Sunday morning before Chase was up & we played fetch in the backyard both days as well. I don’t recap every little moment on the blog for the sake of brevity but please know she’s never neglected around here!
I found his LOFT shirt that is grey with white polka dots and I can’t justify buying yet ANOTHER SHIRT! ?
Whoops, wrong post ?
Hi Julie!
It must be frustrating at times having your blog under constant scrutiny of others. I hope the few comments that you do get that are critical never discourage you from continuing to blog, because I have a feeling the majority of your readers are like me, and just quietly enjoy reading what you have to say every day. You are clearly a great mom, wife, doggy mama, etc. Have a wonderful day!
Hey Kate,
I’ve been thinking the same thing! I’ve been here since the beginning, and I feel like they’re getting worse. Sometimes the comments section is so negative I just don’t scroll down. I can’t believe all the little snarky comments from people regarding her parenting, her approach to life, everything… it’s crazy. Even little jabs like someone asking if Sadie got attention over the weekend. But Julie always replies with such poise and dignity, which is why I think she is so popular. I simply would not have the patience or understanding to put up with it. Julie, if you’re reading this – you’re doing an amazing job, in every aspect! How you constantly deal with shitty people, I have no idea. I could not do what you do.
I read often but rarely post. I have to agree with Kate and Debbie! I’m often amazed at the grace with which Julie handles some wholly unnecessary comments. I would probably just delete!
Thank you guys so, so much. I really appreciate it. Truly, it can be exhausting to feel like my life is being picked apart constantly but I try my best to remind myself I’m just doing the best I can. Thank you so much for you kindness!!
It was an innocuous question akin to “how was that latte” directed at someone who makes a living sharing her life on the internet. It wasn’t rude and it certainly wasn’t a jab. Julie mentions Sadie often; how is it rude to wonder at her absence in the weekend recap? Julie’s response was gracious and detailed which certainly displays her patient character but again, having readers who are interested in her life is how she’s able to be a blogger. I’m one of these readers and it’s part of the gig to answer questions.