Getting Spooky

It was the perfect warm fall day for putting up Halloween decorations; the perfect day for rope swinging, tree climbing, and backyard exploring. Capturing the adventures of the Smith family was nothing short of magic. Before the decorations went up, I was introduced to their seasonally appropriate black cat Berkley, who they rescued from the woods behind their house. While inside, Olive showed me her porcelain doll collection that had belonged to her grandmother, and Hudson showed me his tricks of scaling the walls and climbing the door frames. While Olive's dolls were at school (it was even picture day at their school), Hudson was trying to shoot down a gooey octopus that he had stuck on the ceiling.

Back outside, spider webs were slung across the porch, and Hudson was swinging from the branches of the trees as if he were Spiderman himself. Olive did some climbing as well before the decorations were complete and they started riding the skateboard down the sidewalk. The races continued in the backyard on a cart followed by swinging and more exploring. The Smith's backyard is full of sculptures and beautiful iron work (Jason is a blacksmith, and you can see his work here). There is a Secret Garden type gate leading to a wooded area where they built a steel frame hut that has been covered in kudzu, making the perfect fort. A tire swing and climbing tree nearby make for the perfect accompanying playground.

We were all called in for dinner, and I was amused by the interesting discussions. Bridget made a jar of questions for dinner conversations that she found here. I could tell it is part of the dinner experience that the kids really look forward to. We had a little more time outside after dinner, and then bedtime routines and couch snuggles finished off the evening. I couldn't love this family any more.