Happy Halloween

Friday, October 31, 2014

Our neighborhood

We had our friends the Shepherds over for a yummy dinner and trick-or-treating afterward.  We shared chili and cornbread and mummy dogs and scary vampire floats for dinner.  Then we got the kids into costumes and took them trick-or-treating.

Sean's "Prince Hans" sideburns

Dallin didn't dress up this year, but helped Bennett go from door to door.  And Bennett didn't say trick-or-treat, but he was pretty good at saying, "Buh-Bye!"  At one house, he was greeted by the residents and their little dogs.  He tried to share his candy with the dogs.  Aw, so cute.  He melted people's hearts wherever he went.  (Didjya catch that little frozen pun I just threw in there? )

"Some people are worth melting for.

Just maybe not right this second!"

~Olaf

My favorite part of the night was watching Sydney's pink cloak billowing behind her as she raced from door to door.  That girl was a candy MISSION!

Enjoying the spoils

Happy Halloween!

Sometimes you need a sick day

Friday, October 31, 2014

Albuquerque Zoo

Dallin had a couple days off school for parent teacher conferences.  And since my kids get home so late from school and I didn't want to feel all rushed for dinner and costuming and since I also didn't feel like rushing everyone off to school,  I called everybody in sick (sick of school, that is) and we went to the zoo.

I don't do that all the time.  But it was a good choice.  Sometimes you need a sick day.

The orangutans were so fun to watch--they were climbing and swinging and the baby was playing peek-a-boo.  My favorite exhibit, for sure.

My little monkeys

Oh how Bennett loves his dad.  When he noticed Arthur was up ahead of us, he wiggled out of my arms and went running to catch up with "Da-da."

He kept chasing this peacock around saying, "Hi! Hi!  Hi!"

The ducks don't get fed as much in October, so they were all pretty excited about our stale bread.

Love those yellow leaves

It was a very nice sick day.

Jack O'Lanterns

Monday, October 27, 2014

Family Home Evening

October is a fun month for Family Home Evenings because there are so many fun activities instead of "lessons."  ;)  Carving pumpkins doesn't always make it onto the agenda but this year we squeezed it in and we got 8 pumpkins done in record time, to boot!

Daphne loves to scoop out the guts.  Sydney wouldn't touch hers, and most of the rest of us just suck it up and get it over with.  Dallin's strategy was choosing a tiny pumpkin.  This year we tried   wearing gloves and I think it helped it go faster.  At least, I was a lot faster when I wasn't feeling so grossed out by the pumpkin guts.

Dallin and his tiny pumpkin

All the boys wanted psycho knife pictures taken.

Hayden carved this guy all by himself.

This one is my pumpkin--I loved how tall and skinny it was!  And it didn't really have very many seeds and pulp to scoop out, although Daphne had her arm in there up to her armpit trying to get it all out.

Sydney designed her own Jack O'Lantern face.  It was kind of hard to carve it exactly how she envisioned it because I couldn't do her beautiful eyelashes or the 20+ razor sharp teeth in her mouth.  (I think in the end, she got just 2 teeth.)

All ready for Halloween!

OCD: My halloween disorder

I have accepted that I have a disorder.  Obsessive Costuming Disorder.  

My month of October looks like this:

(Arthur is so patient with me.)

I can't explain it, but every year as Halloween rolls around, I am inexplicably drawn to Joann's, Hobby Lobby, and my sewing machine.  It's getting a little out of control, but I can't stop.  I'm a  little obsessed with homemade costumes.  I stay up way too late, too many nights and sew and sew and sew until I get a migraine.  (Or at least what I imagine a migraine would feel like.)  And I get so happy when I see all my beautiful costumes hanging in the closet waiting for Halloween week.

Since our ward doesn't do a costume party at Halloween, we have continued to go to La Cueva Ward's Halloween party because I MUST have a place at which to debut our coordinated family costumes.  And the following week, I am super excited any time there is an excuse to get the kids dressed up.  So this week, they'll wear them for their school parade, and for our annual visit to Barbara, and for the Middle School's Show Choir Halloween Carnival, and for Halloween, of course.   That's a pretty good run, I'd say.  :)

Duke of Weasletown Weselton!

Elsa

(Daphne sewed all the sequins on her costume herself.)

Prince Hans of the Southern Isles

Anna

(Sydney was beyond excited to wear make-up!  This girl has even snuck into makeup to wear to preschool thinking I somehow wouldn't notice her messy bright red lips?)

Christoff

Olaf and "Summer"

And I was a "Frozen Fractal"

Pie Eating Contest:  Dallin won his round

And we won best group/coordinated costume!  Which was really nice of them, since we aren't even in their ward anymore, and there were 3 or 4 families all with a Frozen theme.   (I wish we could have rounded up all the Frozen characters at this party and taken a picture.  Easily 25+ people of all ages!)

We did have the only Prince Hans, and the only Duke of Weselton.  Also, there were no other "Summers"  or "Frozen Fractals."  So half of us were original.  And except for Bennett's, they were all homemade.  (OCD)

 Happy Trunk-or Treating!  

And may your Halloween costume experience this year be less time-consuming than mine!!