Cinderella Days! Fall Fun!

Cinderella Days!  Fall Fun!

I just love this time of year!  Although it’s been a bit of an adjustment for my two granddaughters, Makena and Marli, to give up their shorts and flip flops, they are enjoying the feel of fall in the air and the festive fun of pumpkins and the anticipation of Halloween!

Since Makena is away at kindergarten in the mornings now, Marli and I have had the chance to enjoy some fun times together!  Marli tickles me with her sweet, energetic disposition, and she always keeps me amused by her cute chatter and her curious nature as we play and work together!  I would imagine that most grandparents find it delightful to watch the personalities of each of their grandchildren grow and develop!

My mom used to say that she’d love to bottle the energy of a two year old and drink it on days she lacked her own!  Wise words!!

Halloween Decorations And Other Fall Fun!

Since my daughter is building a new home, some non-essentials like her holiday decorations are in storage, so I told Makena that we’d decorate my home together for Halloween.  As the girls helped me get boxes out of my storage room and placed items they unwrapped around my house, it renewed my Halloween spirit to see them so excited to help!  What is it they say about holidays being for our children…and grandchildren?  Whatever it is–it’s true!

I think being in school has made Makena even more inquisitive!  When she asked me why there was such a thing as Halloween…I have to admit, we had to go ask “Mr. Google”!

The page we looked up on Halloween gave some good details that are simple to explain.  You can find all the information here.  It was interesting to learn that Halloween means “Summer’s End” and is based on an ancient Celtic holiday.  It was believed that spirits came to visit on the last day of October, so everyone dressed up to scare them off!

 I think Marli simply liked the fact that she had a friend just her size!

Although we are more than a week into October, the girls had fun making their Halloween Countdown Chain!  I remember making these with my mom at Christmastime out of butcher paper that we colored and decorated before she cut them into strips for us to link together.  I thought it would be fun for the girls to do one for Halloween!

There’s such a wide variety of holiday paper available at the stores now!  Makena and Marli had fun picking out their favorites!

I made sure there were enough strips of paper to make a loop for each day until Halloween.  You can even randomly write down an activity to do every few links or so, then when it’s torn apart you’ll have something fun to look forward to doing together as a family!

Fall Fun At The Pumpkin Patch!

Picking out that perfect pumpkin always seems to be a magical experience!

In considering “safety first”, these pumpkin kits are perfect!  They are easy to assemble and not nearly as messy as carving a pumpkin, so the girls were able to do most of the work themselves!    

This bumble bee kit came with instructions to paint the pumpkin’s face black, but Makena said she wanted to leave it orange because it was a girl bumble bee!  (That made the decorating process much easier!) 

Makena loved the wings on her pumpkin!

Since we have a family Disneyland trip scheduled next month, Marli is all about Minnie Mouse!  Any kind of character or animal you can think of, it seemed like there was a corresponding pumpkin kit!   As we finished up our work on the pumpkins, they seemed to take on their own personality and were almost like new friends for the girls!

Happy Fall, Y’all!!

I’d love to hear fall decorating or craft ideas you have!  I’d like to have a few extra on hand for the next few weeks to come!

–Mary