I missed my weekly thankfuls last week due to vampires, so I’m happy to be joining in again with Lizzi and her weekend Ten Things of Thankful link up where she encourages everyone to think of ten things for which to be thankful each week.

It was a busy, mostly Halloween-themed week for us over here. But lots to be thankful for.

I was thankful for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch last weekend (Thankful #1) and then pumpkin carving with friends (Thankful #2). We’ve been doing this with the same group of friends every year since our kids were born and its turning into a fun tradition. It’s our third year choosing Miller’s Farm as the pumpkin patch of choice, and as per usual, I also found some awesome new winter hats there for the kids.

So about the vampires hijacking the blog, I got into the Halloween spirit this year and did a week’s worth of posts about one of my favourite obsessions: vampires. Crying Dolly got into it too and even left his spot on the wall for the week. Here’s my first attempt at creative seasonal banner modifications:

Anyway, I’m thankful I actually managed to post daily for a week (Thankful #3) and pretty proud of the results. I’m also thankful (Thankful #4) that I now have a list of new vampire fiction to read as a result of my “research” and some of the comment suggestions and thankful for new blogs and people I met through a week of posting and tweeting on the subject who were also kind enough to share the posts.

I’m thankful for being able to make it out for the annual Hilloween celebrations with our family on Wednesday (Thankful #5). My husband and I met because we both worked on Parliament Hill, where he still works. My eldest is forever excited that daddy works in a castle and our youngest now refers to it as “the pretty house” because we have a painting of Parliament on our walls which we got as a wedding gift:

I’m also thankful for a bit of pre and post party fun at my husband’s favourite downtown pub which forever treats us like family (Thankful #6); and I’m thankful, after the horrible events of a few weeks ago, that Parliament remains open to the public and business carries on as usual.

As for Hilloween, it’s an annual party put on by the Speaker of the House of Commons for the kids of the staff on Parliament Hill. People dress their kids up and bring them to the Hill to play a few games, get some candy and, well, hang out in the castle.

I’m forever thankful for my Ontario Early Years local playgroup (Thankful #7). I use it less than I use to, but rather like my husband’s favourite pub, whenever I bring my kids it still feels like home. We went for the first time in a while. My eldest fell right back into the groove and my youngest loved circle time at the end which makes me think I should make an effort to take her more often. Here they are prepping for “sleeping bunnies”. First they sleep, then they “wake up” and basically jump around all preschool mosh pit. It’s always a highlight.

I’m thankful I made it to the gym this week (Thankful #8). At times, really, half the challenge is just getting there.

I’m thankful for finding a gymnastics program I could sign both my girls up for (Thankful #9). If you don’t have kids, finding such programs is harder than you might think. Every Saturday afternoon this fall, we’ve been going to the St. Laurent sports complex for parent and me gymnastics. It lets us run around in a gym together, play games, and practice balance and other useful skills.

Finally, I’m thankful for a fun Halloween night with the family (Thankful #10). I got home with the girls and they then refused to start without daddy, so I sent him a message to come home, making HIM feel like superhero daddy to the rescue. We then headed out to trick or treat and spotted some AWESOME pumpkins; then headed home and handed out candy to other trick or treaters that came to the door – which I think the girls almost enjoyed more than trick or treating themselves.

So that was our week – what were you thankful for this week?