Halloween Fun!

 Hi Friends!

Happy October!

What a weird year... The last time I wrote in this blog was April... woah. It feels like so much has changed since then yet somehow it also feels like so much is still standing still. This year has been, well, hard. As I'm sure it has been for most of you too. I guess maybe a better word would be different? And sometimes different feels hard. Especially when it's abrupt. I've spent the past six months thinking things would go back to "normal." any day now. As you can probably assume, that got exhausting and lead to several hard days. I finally feel like I've kind of let go of that idea and instead have just decided to try to do things as "normal" as possible in my home. We LOVE holidays around here. Like so much. I started to feel pretty bummed when I realized the holidays would look pretty different this year. I sat with that for a little bit and then just tried to figure out what I CAN control and what activities my family can still do to make the holidays fun. I wrote down all of our usual traditions and tried to figure out what we can still do, what we can't do, and what we would have to adjust. I then created an October calendar and started to schedule everything in to make sure we watched all the movies, ate all the fall foods, had costumes done on time, etc... I feel soo much better now and we are already making October such a fun month. I'm planning on doing this same thing for November and December so we can still have tons of holiday fun. I encourage all of you moms that are feeling in a rut to do the same thing! I promise it'll bring happiness to you and your family. Holiday traditions are such a blast and your kids will be so happy to have a little normalcy in their lives! Just make or print out an October calendar and start filling in fun fall activities! I made little graphics with some of my personal favorite activities! I hope this helps make your October a little more fun, a little spookier, and a little more normal. 

A few other things I didn't put on the graphic are: 

-Halloween family home evening. I made a highlight with ideas on my IG page! Doing themed FHE is something my kids love! It makes it so fun for them!

-We use a little spider called Spooky Ooky to promote good behavior. I literally just printed out a cute spider, laminated it, and called him spooky ooky. In our house he takes toys to his "cave" (haha just a drawer) and keeps them there til the girls earn them back. He also talks to the girls each night about how they are doing behavior-wise and gives them a hug before bed. At the end of the month he gives them a "Halloween surprise" if they have earned it. They love him so much. Britt from The Holiday Co. does a fuzzy spooking spider. She has a super cute book for it too and shares a lot about him on her IG page. I started doing my version before I knew about hers but I definitely would recommend checking hers out! It's put together so well! 

-Decorate cookies! The first year we moved to San Diego I was so bummed that there weren't very many fun family activities for the holidays since I was used to living in Utah where there is something to do every weekend! So, I threw a little mommy and me playdate where the whole concept originated from the idea to decorate Halloween sugar cookies. It got a little bigger as I started planning... but it was so fun! Since then I haven't thrown that big party but have still made an effort to decorate cookies! Here's a link to the party post! 

-A Spooky Halloween dinner/breakfast. Pinterest has soo many fun ideas but honestly, Trader Joes will be your best friend! They have so many awesome Halloween/Fall themed treats and foods from shaped pasta to pumpkin spice everything! You can also use food coloring to literally dye anything. Black pasta is super fun! I love doing orange pancakes with Halloween sprinkles for breakfast on the 31st. 

Again, it the little things like this that will make holidays soo much fun for the whole family! Figure out a few things that work for your family and run with it! And message me if you have any questions or suggestions!! 

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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A Cozy Christmas

This post is sponsored by Sleepyheads. However, all opinions are mine alone

Today marks only ONE MONTH until Christmas! Can you believe how fast that came?? Maybe it doesn't seem fast for the rest of you, but for me this entire year flew by! We're pretty busy planning our move to San Diego so I've been trying to get things ready for Christmas as fast as possible. One of the first things I thought of is one of my favorite family traditions; matching family jammies for Christmas Eve! Generally, I don't post about our jammies until Christmas Eve but this year I wanted to share the cute and cozy ones I found so you can snag some too! 

I found our jammies at Sleepyheads.com and we love them so much! They had so many options to chose from and they are seriously the comfiest jammies any of us own! Oaklyn thinks it is so fun that she gets to match mommy and daddy and cam looks so adorable in hers! I love this red snowflake collection because they had them in every size we needed! I was so nervous that I wouldn't be able to find identical jammies for all of us this year but was so happy when I saw these! I love that they are footed jammies because I know the girls will be cozy sleeping in them. Hunter and I have the feet on ours as well, except ours zip off! This feature was so perfect for Hunter who is really tall. Hunter and I also have a little hood on ours.

So how does this tradition work? Well every year on Christmas eve I wrap up our jammies as one present. I let Oaklyn open it (now Cambria too!) and then we put them on right away! Then we read a Christmas book and get ready for bed. We wake up Christmas morning in our matching jammies and it just feels so festive and fun! We open our presents in our matching jammies and continue to wear them year round because they are just that cozy! I really love this tradition and plan to continue it until our kids find it embarrassing to match their parents, haha!

Because I love Sleepyheads SO much, I can just guarantee that you all will too! So, I have teamed up with them to giveaway up to 4 pairs of these same jammies! This is a quick giveaway so be sure to enter pronto! Comment here with what your favorite gift of all time was! Then head over to my instagram for more entires!

Giveaway will run for 48 hours!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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An Afternoon at SeaWorld, San Diego!

This post is in partnership with SeaWorld San Diego. All opinions are mine alone. 

I had been talking about taking a trip back home for a bit because I wanted one last fun trip with both grandparents for Oaklyn before she becomes a big sister. 

When Hunter finally agreed to the idea and said he would try to get work off, I got so excited and started planning fun things to do!

We decided to take one of the days we were there to visit SeaWorld San Diego.

Growing up in San Diego, I never really took advantage of all it had to offer.

I went to SeaWorld on a field trip when I was a lot younger and again with family when I was still pretty young.

So, while this trip was definitely for Oaklyn... I was just as excited to go to SeaWorld for myself ;)

Most amusement parks are kind of out of the question for us right now because I'm in my third trimester of pregnancy and Oaklyn is just a few inches shy of riding most rides. 

From what I had remembered, SeaWorld seemed like the perfect place for our family at this stage of life.

Boy was I right!

Me, Hunter, Oaklyn, and Hunter's mom all went and that is a very wide range of ages... yet we all had lots of fun!

There was something entertaining and fun for all of us and Oaklyn got to see animals she had never seen before.

When we entered the park we honestly had no idea where to go, haha.

We had a map but just kind of decided to aimlessly explore and stop at the attractions that appealed to us.

The first thing we found was the Dolphin Encounter.

Other than Oaklyn's major meltdown (ohhh toddlers) I thought it was so cool!

You can see the dolphins above water doing all their fun tricks and below water by the glass!

I think dolphins just look so friendly and fun.

They always appear to be smiling and I just love that.

There was also someone over the loudspeaker explaining facts and details about dolphins I didn't know.

I loved that it was fun and educational for all ages. 

After that we tried to map out where we went based off show times.

The first show we saw was Sea Lions Live and it was the cutest thing ever!

I was so impressed with how well they were trained for the show and how clever the script was.

Oaklyn was fascinated by these animals she had never seen before and us adults were cracking up at the hilarious jokes.

That was by far my favorite show and my top recommendation for anyone who visits Seaworld.

We had planned on doing two other shows but ended up just going to the dolphin show and it was awesome!

One thing we all loved is how they personally introduced each dolphin and said how many children they had haha.

I also loved the fun and playful interactions between the trainers and dolphins.

I loved the upbeat and positive vibe of the show.

The dolphins did so many cool tricks and Oaklyn sat pretty still through the whole thing which I would say is a win!

Hunter said he now wants to be a dolphin trainer haha ;)

Okay, let's talk about the other things you can see while at SeaWorld...

There are so many different areas dedicated to specific animals. 

We loved seeing the penguins, sting rays, dolphins, and there are so many others!

This is a perfect teaching moment with little ones to help make the trip a little educational too.

There are always plaques with info on all the animals so I was learning quite a bit as well.

I love how happy all the animals look and how playful they all were!

Now let's talk rides...

Hunter loves rides and I may even love them more than him haha.

Clearly I wasn't able to go on any rides but Hunter had a blast on the two he went on!

He rode Manta and Journey to Atlantis and absolutely loved both!

He rode Journey to Atlantis twice because the line was super short and he thought it was so much fun.

It is a coaster and a water ride combined together. 

You get a little wet going down a big drop and then do the roller coaster part. 

Manta is a roller coaster that soars dives and twists just as a sting ray would.

Oaklyn discovered a new found love for rides this trip to San Diego and kept asking to go on them at SeaWorld.

They have two places for your littles to ride some rides...

The first place is Sesame Street Bay of Play with so many fun things for your toddler to do.

They also just opened a new area called Ocean Explorer and we spent a good chunk of time there letting oaks go on the rides.

She LOVED them!

They were the perfect size and speed for her and it was so fun watching her smile through each ride.

We had such a great afternoon at SeaWorld San Diego and can't wait to go back again!

I can't believe we'll have a second kid the next time we go!

Overall, SeaWorld gets two thumbs up from our family because we loved that there was something for everyone!

What is your favorite thing to do there?

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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Washi Tape Clothespin Magnets + Halloween Coloring Pages

Oaklyn is definitely getting more and more fun as she gets older, but she's also getting quite a bit busier!

Just playing with random toys isn't cutting it anymore...

She wants to be exploring new things and learning new skills every minute of the day.

It's keeping me quite busy on top of everything else I have to do, but I love watching her little mind learn and grow.

I've been trying to think of more arts and crafts projects to do with her since the weather is starting to get colder.

We still have a few park days left, but once the snow hits we'll be inside most of the day.

I've recently introduced her to coloring and she loves it!

Sometimes she isn't all that interested, but most of the time she thinks it's so fun that she gets to create.

She definitely got that gene from me ;) I've always been more on the creative side.

I did an instagram promotional post with Scotch and we had so much fun with this Halloween craft that I thought I would post it on my blog as well!

This craft is so simple and fun and would be perfect for every age.

I think I'll be making some for every holiday and season!

Supplies Needed:

-Clothespins

-Washi Tape - I used Scotch brand from Walmart

-Orange paint (or whatever color you want, orange is perfect for Halloween)

-Mini magnets (I got these at Walmart too)

-Hot glue gun

-My coloring pages!

How To Make:

1) Paint your clothespins. Only paint one of the top sides since you will be putting washi tape on one side. I only did one pretty thin coat and they look great!

2) While letting them dry, print out coloring pages! Page One | Page Two | Page Three

3) Apply Washi Tape! Just place it like normal tape edge to edge trimming the excess.

4) Hot Glue Magnets to the back

5) Color with your kids while listening to Monster Mash ;)

See, so easy!

This was our Sunday craft and our whole family got involved. 

As you can tell, Hunter and I had fun coloring too ;)

Now we really feel like parents with Oaklyn's art hanging on our fridge!

Now I'm off to go work on our Halloween costumes!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

3

You've Been Boo'ed!

We started this little tradition in our family the first year Hunter and I were married.

Yes, we really did just go the two of us without any kids ;)

Hunter thought it was a little strange at first because he had never done it or had it happen to him, but growing up this was something I always looked forward to.

I remember getting the little ghost and treats on my doorstep and loving it so much.

I also remember hiding in the bushes and watching our neighbors look for the "Boo'er" and trying so hard not to make a peep!

While I was pregnant I began thinking about different traditions for each holiday that I wanted my family to look forward to.

I remembered this little tradition we did in my neighborhood growing up and decided I have to carry it on because it brought so much fun and joy to me when I was younger.

Usually this takes place the whole month of Halloween but I'm always a little slow to remembering to do it ;)

Here's to hoping I get better each year!

The object is to "Boo" neighbors or friends by leaving treats on their door step, knocking on the door and hiding to watch their reaction, or running away!

We always hid and watched as kids but Oaklyn would blow our cover since she doesn't totally get what's going on yet so we opted for running.

She loved running away and was giggling so loud haha!

Hunter got a great adrenaline rush since he was the knocker and we talked the whole way home wondering what their reaction was.

It's truly so much fun and makes a great FHE activity. 

I made some free downloadable printables for you down below so you can do this in your neighborhood!

Now go Boo someone!

(and no, it isn't "boo" like when someone does something bad its "Boooo" as in what a ghost says!)

Download Page One Here

Download Page Two Here

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Pamper Yourself With Groupon

This post has been sponsored by Groupon. All opinions are mine alone. 

One thing that I have come to realize I really need since becoming a wife and a mother, is "me time." I love making memories as a family but there's just something about getting pampered and not having a worry in the world during it. Often times, the days are long and I go to bed realizing I didn't do anything but chores and I feel stressed about all the things on my plate. Getting pampered helps relieve some of that stress and really helps my mental health. Whether it's receiving a much needed massage, getting a fresh coat of polish on my nails, or getting a new hairstyle, having some time alone helps me feel refreshed and rejuvenated. 

As much as I love feeling special and getting a spa day, these sorts of things can really add up fast. That's why I'm so glad Groupon helps me save on all things Health, Beauty, and Wellness while also providing quality services on their site. I ensure that I'm always signed into my Groupon account on my computer so that I can pull up all the local deals right around me making it easy to save money in my area. There are so many different ways you can save on pampering yourself with Groupon thanks to their daily deals on massages, nail salons, hair salons, day spas, and much more!

My family also loves to go on adventures together. We love getting out of the house and doing a fun activity together, trying a new restaurant, and going on vacation. Groupon helps you save on all of those things with new listings constantly. Groupon has been such a wonderful resource to help my family save on services and dining, to retail products.

Groupon is also a completely free service! That's right, no paying a membership fee! Simply create an account, log in, and start saving! I know you'll love Groupon just as much as we do so go ahead and give it a try!

Trust me, you need a spa day ;)

How do you save money with Groupon Goods?

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

3

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

One of the best parts about growing up in a vacation spot is all the exploring we get to do when we go home!

If you follow me on snapchat (aleighjoy) you probably saw we took a little vacation to San Diego a week and a half ago!

Hunter and I are high school sweethearts and my parents just moved, so our parents now live literally 3 minutes away.

It is so perfect because we get to see both families in just one trip!

Even though we grew up in San Diego, it is even more fun going back to visit because we get to act like tourists and explore places we didn't all the time while living there.

Before moving to Utah, I had a full time job which hardly left any time to explore like I would have wanted to.

We have made it more of a goal to do fun things while there now and one of the super fun activities we did this time around was go to a Padres game!

Hunter loves baseball and the whole atmosphere so he was super excited to go.

We knew it would be a little difficult with our busy body toddler so we brought grandma and grandpa along too ;)

I had forgotten how beautiful the ballpark is!

It is literally right in the heart of San Diego.

It is right downtown and you can see the San Diego Bay, all the sky scrapers downtown, the Coronado Bridge, and Coronado island.

Is that not the coolest location?

The park also has a grass field where you can sit and have your kids run around.

There is also "the beach" where there is sand to play in. So cool!

You will also find mini fields for children to play on during the game!

Petco Park is both family friendly and adult friendly, I just love that there is something for everyone. 

Now let's talk about food!

I couldn't believe all the different food options!

When I think of a baseball game I think of hotdogs, popcorn, peanuts, and you know... cracker jack ;)

However, there was literally something for every single tastebud.

I still stuck with my (yummy) hot dog but the street tacos, ice cream sandwiches, and philly cheesesteaks were all super tempting!

Oaklyn stuck with popcorn and water and seemed to really enjoy it ;)

It was so fun to be there as a family and to meet up with one of Hunter's best friends while there!

Oaklyn and I did a whole lot of walking around the park and I loved exploring all of it... as did she ;)

Hunter and his dad were also super excited to see a home run from the Padres!

Baseball games are such a fun family activity, we will definitely be headed back another time!

Thank you San Diego Padres for an awesome afternoon!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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Tasty Tuesday: Red, White, and Blue Fruity Waffles! (Guest Post)

I'm so excited to have Jenna from the blog, Espresso Ever After guest posting today!

I love this little recipe she put together that will be perfect for Memorial day or the Fourth of July!

Happy Tasty Tuesday Friends!!

Hi! My name is Jenna Wodiske and I'm the mommy/lifestyle blogger behind Espresso Ever After. I am having way too much fun living this mommy-hood life in sunny Arizona! I am a Jesus lover, wifey to a fantastic husband, and a mommy to two beautiful little girls; Paisley (three years old) and Payton (one year old).  I am a messy topknot wearing, photo obsessing, latte loving mama ... battling this thing called real life! My passion is encouraging other moms to be the best them and to embrace their authentic motherhood, so that in return we can all grow and become the best moms to our little ones.  Head on over to my blog, I can't wait to meet you!

With Memorial Day just a few days away, I thought it would be fun to share this red, white and blue fruity waffle recipe with you.  It is a simple and colorful twist on waffles,  that everyone in your family will love!  Waffles are made just about every weekend in our home, so knowing that a simple and easy change-up to our regular waffle routine can be done with a splash of color and fun toppings... makes this chef happy!

The recipe is simple and scrumptious, but the key to it all is having fun while cooking!

Red, White & Blue Fruity Waffles

Ingredients:

-Round Classic Waffle Maker - This Cuisinart waffle maker is my favorite!!!  It is easy to use and easy to store in the cabinet.  Check it out!

-Your typical waffle mix & needed mix ins - follow the directions on the box

-Red & Blue Food Coloring

-Cooking spray

-Strawberries, Blueberries & Blackberries - small package of each

-Whip Cream - any brand and style

...That's it, let's get to cooking!

Directions:

-Plug in your waffle maker to give it time to warm up while you are prepping the batter.  I usually cook on the medium setting.

-Mix together your favorite, go-to, waffle mix.  Once you have it prepared, split it into three equal bowls.

-In one bowl add the red food coloring.  I prefer bright colors, so I started with 6 drops in each.  Continue adding one drop at a time, until you have your desired color.   Repeat again with the blue food coloring.  You will leave the third bowl and waffle mixture as is, it is your white.

-Once you have your batters at the preferred colors, get ready to cook.

-Spray down the waffle maker with cooking spray and pour one batter in at a time to cook.  Don't forget to spray in between each waffle.

-Once you have all three of your colored waffles made, cut each one into fours.

-Time to create your masterpiece.  On each plate mix the 3 colors so that each waffle has a red, white and blue waffle pattern.

-For toppings I continued in the red, white and blue theme with whip cream, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries.  Feel free to get creative and add sprinkles, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, bananas, etc.  Have fun with it.  Also, serve on patriotically plates for an added bonus!  Click HERE for a fun kit.

-Enjoy!

I love this recipe and so does my family.  Not just because these waffles are delicious, but because it is such a fast meal to whip-up and serve.  My daughter adores the taste, but she also loves that I let her help in the kitchen.  If you are looking for a kid-friendly cooking experience, this is the one.  I let me 3 year old daughter mix up the batter,  add in the color, decorate with the fun toppings and of course enjoy her cooking!  It makes for a fun memory with her, followed by a yummy treat!

Wishing you all a beautiful Memorial Day!  Have fun spending the day and weekend with your loved ones and surprise them with these waffles, they will think you slaved in the kitchen all morning!Let's get SOCIAL! : Join me on INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK / PINTEREST / TWITTER / BLOG

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