Pumpkins and Parades

I think the Hershey natives love October. Of course, I agree with them wholeheartedly. I mean, all the best things happen in October. The leaves are fully changing into vibrant reds and oranges, pumpkin-pie-spiced concoctions pop up everywhere, riding around on a pile of hay suddenly becomes cool, and All Hallow's Eve is celebrated by dressing up like a crazy person and eating ridiculous amounts of sugar. Oh, and it's my birthday month. So like I said, best month of the year!

And Liv and I have fully taken advantage of this month! She has been a great friend to pal around with in all of the autumn glory. After our Harry Potter outing, Liv accompanied me to a local farm where, for a mere $5, we enjoyed a walk through a cornmaze, a hayride in the crisp morning air, a small cup of cider, and Liv got to pick out her very own pumpkin! One of the members in our ward organized this fun outing, so a whole herd of kids and moms were able to enjoy this together. I think pictures will do a better job of relating this experience than I can! 

Arriving at Risser Farm. Liv was so happy to be running around outside!

She even sat very nicely through an explanation of all the different kinds of pumpkins found on the farm.

Walking through the cornmaze (which she actually didn't enjoy at all. I attribute it to uneven ground and feeling claustrophobic.)

Picking out her very own pumpkin. 

It was just the perfect size!

Playing in the corn box

This was actually her favorite thing at the farm. She loved "riding" the tractor. When other kids wanted to get on, I would take her off and then she would just stand around touching the tractor until the kids were done. Immediately she wanted to get back on. :)

The very next day we heard that Hershey puts on a parade for Halloween! I had never heard of that before, but boy were we excited.  So we bundled up again and this time we convinced Chris to come with us.  (He is a sucker for parades.) It was everything you think a parade should be. Shameless advertising by local companies and shameless begging for candy by local citizens. A win-win for everyone really. :) Only this time everyone is dressed up in their most elaborate Halloween costumes as they walk down the street. Even the high school marching band had impressive get-ups while playing spooky Halloween songs.  I now think that every town should have a Halloween parade. They are so much more fun than 4th of July parades (sorry Independence Day), not to mention much cooler! I will take a bundled up autumn night over a scorching July morning any day! And here are the pictures! (Much worse quality because my phone can't take night shots.)

We got a pretty good spot right next to the road! It was at the end of the parade, but I don't mind that. Far fewer people!

Our friend Kayla. That's right, Kayla, you couldn't escape all the pictures!

Liv's friend, Sorren, dressed up like a giraffe. The Chen family definitely got into the right spirit for the Halloween parade with full costumes for every member of the family!

Liv and all her loot after the parade. I'm sure mom and dad will steal a few pieces here and there. ;)

And just for fun, here is a picture of Liv painting her perfect pumpkin. I think she has some true artistic ability. ;)

Now do you see what I mean?  We love October!!

Harry Potter-mania!!

Can I just say that I LOVE the fall! Especially here in the East, everything seems so much more vibrant. Even just taking a walk down our street brings feelings of awe and wonder. This last weekend we drove to Philadelphia on the back roads to avoid tolls. It seemed like every five minutes I was exclaiming, "Oh my goodness, this place is just sooo pretty!!"  Chris was in just as much awe as I was so it wasn't annoying. :)

What were we doing in Philly, you may ask? Why, enjoying the annual Harry Potter festival of course! Yes, for two days the city of Chestnut Hill devotes all their man power to hosting thousands of muggles dressed up as witches and wizards, and transforming their town into famous places from J.K. Rawlings' magical world. They had all kinds of activities available, including psychic readings, wand shops, face painting, defense against the dark arts classes, and of course, Honeydukes Candy Shop. (We just had to indulge in that last one.)

We are one cute wizarding family!

Snape and Hermione walking down the street.

Chris had a great time creating a costume for Liv. She is Dobby the house elf! We tried to make her look "authentic" by making a skull cap out of my old nylons, but I thought that made her look creepy. So we just went with the headband.  She illicited many ohhs and ahhs from all the passers-by.

We all had a great time, but I think Chris enjoyed it the most. He was able to let his true kid come out as he enjoyed Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (and yes, this did include vomit and earwax flavors), drank butter beer, and exchanged spells with a Harry Potter who looked eerily like the real thing.

Who's ready for a Harry Potter movie marathon?!