Halloween Wrap Up

I know it has been awhile....life has been getting in the way...but I need to finish the Halloween pictures so I can stop feeling guilty. Anyway, enjoy, and thanks for bearing with me while I play catch up!

Here are the kiddos all ready for a fun night of Trick-or-Treating. Sweet E did not keep her hat on the whole night so people were saying..."Oh look at the cute princess!" At one of the houses Mr. C said, " No she is a witch!!" And the man at the door laughed and said, "You are just saying that because she is your sister, she is a cute princess!"

The kids went to their Nonny and Poppy's ward trunk or treat. Following the trunk or treat they trick-or-treated some in the neighborhood around their Mimi and Pop's house. Sweet E was not quite sure what to do after people gave her candy so there was always a awkward pause as she decided. Sometimes she would give a thank you....sometimes she would say Happy Halloween....but at one house she ran back and blew the old man a KISS!!! I died!! Anyway, the kids were cute.

In our family fashion we had to have some funny mishaps along the way too! At one house Mr. C was walking up to the house admiring all of their decorations. He stopped and looked, and touched their fiber optic pumpkin and then proceeded to what he thought was a dummy dressed up in a grim reaper costume. Mr. C went up to the chair where the grim reaper was sitting and started touching its head.....then all of a sudden the grim reaper jumped up and said "BOO!!" Mr. C ran backwards screaming faster than you could imagine. Then when he realized that the "dummy" he was touching just happened to be a 10 year old boy dressed up sitting to hand out candy he started laughing!! It was HILARIOUS!! I wish I would have caught it on tape because we could have made some serious money on America's Funniest Home Videos! Mr. C talked about that house the rest of the night...he thought it was AWESOME!! Then across the street we let the kids go up to the door, and just as Sweet E turned the corner we heard her let out a horrific scream and we heard her candy bucket hit the ground! We quickly went to help her only to realize the reason she had screamed was she had passed a fellow trick-or-treater on her way up to the door that had a scary Scream mask on!! She was SO SCARED of the mask!! Unfortunately, we followed that family for a few houses and it happened every time she saw the kid. The mom felt so bad she made her son take off his mask so she could see it was just a nice little boy....after that she just laughed at him.

The kids by far have more fun handing out candy, so we did not spend much time trick-or-treating because Mr. C was anxious to get back to the house to hand out candy to all of the "customers"! They would comment on everyone's costumes and enjoyed giving out all of the candy. It was fun to sit back and watch them work! Over all I think the kiddos had a fun Halloween!!

Halloween Hair

Sweet E wanted to be a "dancing" or "pretty" or "princess" witch for Halloween. So I thought that she should have some fun ringlets under her little witches hat. After consulting my sisters I decided the best way to achieve the look I was going for was to use sponge curlers. I was well aware of the horror stories....but I wanted a hairstyle that would last so I knew I needed to go with the curlers. Halloween morning I bathed Sweet E and then sectioned off her hair and doused it with mousse and started putting the curlers in. I left the curlers in all day and then took them out about 40 minutes before our first Halloween event. I was worried that the curls would not turn out or hold....boy was I wrong.....

Here is Sweet E ready to get her curlers out!! She was pretty good not to take them out. However I did find one curler on the floor with all the hair still attached!! I asked both Mr. C and Sweet E if they cut it out....but they both denied it....if she pulled it out I am SURE it HURT....I am just glad it did not take out a HUGE chunk of her hair.

Here is Sweet E right after we took the curlers out. Aunt C was starting to laugh because she knew I had done them a little too tight and that we were going to have a poof ball to deal with!!

Here is the back of Sweet E's hair!! She looked like she was wearing a blonde Tina Turner wig, or a clown wig at first. I could not help but laugh....then she started to cry, "my hair not pretty!!" Luckily with a few bobby pins we were able to control the mane a little better and by the time she went to her first party the curls had relaxed some. I had a handful of people ask me if she was wearing a wig. Nope it is all her hair....and now I know it can hold a curl REALLY WELL!! By the end of the night Sweet E was stopping to look in all the mirrors to admire her fancy hair do!

Stay tuned for the big Halloween reveal later in the week!! I promise I am almost done with my Halloween posts!!

Jack-O-Lanterns

The Friday before Halloween we carved our pumpkins. Daddy was the knife handler and the kids attempted to gut the pumpkins. They were not keen on getting their hands dirty so they tried a variety of approaches. They used their hands at first washing them frequently, then they tried to use rubber gloves, and then resorted to using spoons. Needless to say Mommy and Mimi ended up cleaning out a majority of the pumpkin guts!! The kids carved their two pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, and then Daddy carved one of the bigger store bought pumpkins. Then one Halloween night the kids sat on the front porch and carved the other big pumpkin while they waited for "customers" aka. trick or treaters. We let the kids draw their own faces on their individual pumpkins....I think they did pretty well! Big B made his big pumpkin into a awesome Buzz Lightyear....however I realized too late that we did not ever get a great picture of it :-(. Anyway, enjoy the pictures of our carving experience.

Mr. C's pumpkin is the one with the teeth....Sweet E's is the one with the big open smile (obviously daddy had to help direct her a little bit)....Mr. C did his all on his own...he is becoming a pretty good little artist!

It's A Bird, It's a Plane, It's a Witch??

So the Friday before Halloween I was driving Mr. C to school and saw something in the sky. I could not make out what it was. As we got closer to it we were making all kinds of wild guesses! It wasn't until we pulled on to to the street that Mr. C's preschool is on that we finally could tell that it was a hot air balloon shaped like a witch. Mr. C and Sweet E were SO EXCITED!!! Mr. C ran into preschool to tell everyone! All of the students went out on the playground right as the balloon was passing. It was so cute to see them all get so excited. Sweet E kept saying, "It is a witch just like me!!" It was definitely a fun way to start the Halloween weekend!!

PS. I have been updating this blog for WAY too long I am going to bed....but keep your eyes out for the final few posts of our Halloween adventures over the course of the next few days!

Howl-O-Ween Fun!!

Every year the zoo here in town holds a Howl-O-Ween party at the zoo! We have gone the last few years and the kids seem to love it. They go all out with decorations, and people in costumes, as well as some fun treats and games for the kids. Every few feet there are people dressed up in costumes handing out candy, or fun coupons. So it is a kids paradise!! Again here are the pictures....


They had a cowboy hoedown area where there were people dressed in cowboy and cowgirl costumes and some fun music playing that the kids could dance to. The picture does no justice....you will just have to trust me that Sweet E was in HEAVEN....she did not want to leave she wanted to boogie on down all night!

Which witch is which??

To The Rescue!! Need a super hero....take your pick!

Buzz meets the "dark side"!

Mr. C was OBSESSED with the R2-D2 remote control robots...there were 3 of them!! Some people must spend some serious money on their hobbies....because these robots were AWESOME and had to have cost some serious money!

Here is our princess witch with some of her other favorite princesses!

Here the kiddos are at the exit....they were pooped at the end of the night!!

Fall Festival

A few weeks ago the school that I used to work at was holding their Fall carnival. They were combining with the school that my sister (Aunt C) works at so we decided to take the kiddos. I always enjoy going back and seeing the teachers I used to teach with as well as some of my former students. I always get mixed emotions....I LOVED teaching....but I also LOVE being a mom...it is hard to explain. I ran into some of the students I had when I was pregnant with Mr. C and it is crazy how much they have grown up...they are in 5th grade now. One of my former students mom's pointed out that Mr. C is only slightly younger than my students were when I taught. It was a SCARY thought!! There is a special place in my heart for the school I taught at...and especially for my last group of students, their parents, and my teaching team. Anyway, that is not what this post is about....we took the kids to the fall festival and they had tons of fun with the games, jumping castles, performances, etc. Here are some pictures from the night.....

Sweet E trying her hardest to get the spider-ring on the hook....she really wanted another sucker!! Needless did she know she would have gotten one even if she got none of her spiders on the hooks!

Sweet E always went for the suckers at each booth....here she is trying her hand at putting!!

Mr. C surprised the parent workers with his strength...he was interested in getting another witch finger!!On the back playground there were TONS of inflatables for the kids to enjoy! Here is a shot from the obstacle course inflatable. This year Sweet E insisted that she could do everything Mr. C could....she just usually needed a little help!

Mr. C enjoying the BIG slide at the end of the obstacle course.

Sweet E's approach was go on you belly....then you can see that what you are doing is CRAZY!!

Here Sweet E is enjoying the traditional jumping castle! Wishing she could be on the "bigger" kid one where her brother was!

Here the two kiddos are enjoying the little train ride that they had set up at the carnival!!

We had a fun night!! I am glad that there are events like this that give me an excuse to go to my old stomping ground!! I am grateful for the efforts of the school to provide a safe, fun, environment for families!

Where Did October Go??

It has been awhile....and a lot has happened....so I will try to update this blog and let you see what we have been doing while I have been away. I have been busy helping my brother with his homework, and then I got stuck with this nasty cold that has lasted nearly 2 weeks....needless to say many nights I have been passing out as soon as I hit the couch. I think I am starting to feel better....or at least sound better.... so maybe I will get back on the blog wagon....who knows??? In the mean time enjoy our October re-cap!

At the beginning of the month we decided to take the kids to the "pumpkin patch." In previous years we have gone to a big commercialized pumpkin patch in the heat of the day. This year I was just not feeling like trekking through the dirt in 90 plus weather to get the perfect pumpkin. I did a little research and found a little farm down south of us that was opening their pumpkin patch at night. They had fun little things for the kids to do, they showed The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown near the pumpkin patch once it got dark, there was yummy food, and there was a fun tractor /hay ride out to the field to pick your pumpkin. The farm operates all year long and is one of the top 100 places to see in the area. I was a little worried when we pulled in because it was off the beaten path in a grove of trees....but it was PERFECT!! It was less commercialized.....it was a whole lot COOLER because it was in the evening....there were not advertisements all around....etc. You really felt like you were on a farm enjoying the relaxed atmosphere....it was a lot of FUN!! Well enough typing here are the pictures.....

Here is Mr. C searching for the perfect pumpkin! He insisted he needed a flashlight! In his defense it is pretty dark out in the country....the stars were AMAZING!

Here is Mr. C at the beginning of the hay maze....they had a kid friendly maze....the kids LOVED it!! Mr. C had fun running all around with the other boys in the maze playing tag!!

Here is Sweet E making her way through the hay maze....she insisted she could do it herself!

Here are the kids enjoying climbing up and down the hay pyramid that was set up near the eating area. The kids enjoyed playing while our hamburgers were being cooked!

I just liked Mr. C's face in this one so I had to post it!

They had tons of these little wheel barrels for the kids to play with...they had piles of hay around the pyramid that they could load in the cart....Sweet E especially loved them!

Here is Mr. C on his horse that he got to ride on the real live "merry go round"! He was in heaven!! He begged and begged me to let him do it again!

Sweet E was a little timid at first so Big B had to walk along side of her....she was sad when the ride was over....she also had tons of FUN!

There were some cool tire swings hanging from some of the bigger trees....the kids has fun swinging around!

Here the kids are with their pumpkins that they picked from the patch. They are getting ready for the movie to start. There was grass you could sit on or you could choose to sit on one of the hay "benches". The kids LOVED the movie....it was a fun atmosphere for sure!

The farm had wagons to pull your pumpkins and your kiddos to the car in. Here are the kids at the end of the night....can you tell that Sweet E passed out before we even hit the asphalt?? It was a fun night, and got us excited for the beginning of the holiday season. We made some fun family memories for sure! I am glad that we did not settle for the hot pumpkin patch this year....this was MUCH better!!

It's Not Halloween Yet!!

The other day I picked Mr. C up from preschool. He had what appeared to be a red scratch coming from the corner of his eye down his cheek. I asked him what happened and he said he did not want to talk about it. As we were leaving I asked his teacher if she knew what had happened to his eye. She said that she did not know and had asked him about it early in the day, she assumed he came to school with it. I was confused....because he did not leave the house with it. I was a little irritated because picture day was coming up and we had just gotten his haircut so he would look nice, and now he had this bright red scratch by his eye. I tried to reason with myself that if worst came to worst I could cover it up with a little bit of makeup. In the car on the way home I started quizzing Mr. C about the scratch.

ME- How did you get the scratch on your face?
MR.C- I can't remember
ME- Did you fall down at recess?
MR.C- Yeah by the circle thing but I did not hurt my eye
ME- Did one of your friends make the scratch?
MR.C- NO!!! MY FRIENDS ARE SPECIAL TO ME!!! THEY WOULD NEVER!!
ME- Well how did you get that scratch then??
MR. C- I don't remember
ME- Are you telling the truth?
MR.C-Uh maybe??
ME- What does that mean?
MR.C- I don't know

I realized I was getting no where with him. When we got home I made the kids wash up from the suckers that they were eating in the car (the suckers were the treat for Mr. C having a good day at school). I tried to see if I could wash the "dried blood" off of his face but he screamed. I decided it probably hurt and I would just try later. I looked at the mark and was a little surprised at how red it was...but I could see a little scratch....and figured that that was where all the blood came from. Mimi (my mom) saw him a little later and also thought that it was a scratch. As the day went on his scratch changed....and I just couldn't stand it anymore. I dragged him to the bathroom and tried to clean up his "scratch".....I quickly realized I was not cleaning up blood....but I was cleaning up RED MARKER!!! I quickly asked Mr. C if he had colored on his face, to which he smiled and said YES!! I said, "why in the world did you color on your face??" He said, "I wanted to look like the Horny Toad lizard in my book, you know the one that can shoot blood out of them eyes??" SERIOUSLY!!! What am I going to do with this kid!! Needless to say I could not do anything but laugh!! I guess I need to be more selective in the books I let that kid read. My only regret is I wish I would have taken a picture with him and his "horny toad eyes."

Father and Son....and Daughter???

So as you can tell I took a break from blogging. My brother had a paper due, and then Mr. C had a little fall break....and well sometimes it is just nice to not have to worry about blogging....so I took a break. Needless to say there is a lot to catch up on. First and foremost is Mr.C and Big B went on a Father and Sons camp out with Poppy and Sweet E tagged along! I was already scheduled to go out of town for the weekend (more on that later) when we learned of the event. Since I was going out of town with my mom and sisters there was really no other option for Sweet E....and there was no way to keep Mr. C from going on the camp out....so Sweet E got to go on her first ever, and hopefully last, Father and Sons camp out. And let me remind you that she not only went on the boys camp out....but she also went the first week she was potty trained and did not have a single accident!! Anyway, they all had a grand time. However, Big B did not get much sleep since he said he spent most of the night up stuffing the kiddos back into their sleeping bags so that they would not get cold. Big B definitely deserves some BIG brownie points for taking the two YAHOOS on a camp trip with out the mama! There are a MILLION pictures....but how could I choose...they were all too cute!!

All Mr. C wanted to do on the camp out was "roast marfellows"! And boy did his dreams come true!!

Sweet E did not like the sticky mess that the "marfellows" made on her hands....especially after she fell in the dirt!

Here Poppy is helping Mr. C blow off his hot "marfellow." Sweet E has opted for sitting back and observing!

Sweet E was saying, "Time to go to bed and take a nap??" She was all tuckered out before their program even started. She decided she would try to take a rest on the camping chair.

Yummy!!! Campfire breakfast....dirt never tasted so good!!

Mr. C and Big B enjoying a morning stroll around the lake. If I were Big B I would be worried about who was in control of the oar! You are definitely in for a WILD ride when Mr. C is in charge.

Mr. C concentrating...or is it dazed???

Sweet E trying to convince herself that being in a canoe is fun! Sweet E is thinking," This is fun??? I think I am about to be sick!! Get me out of here."

Mr. C is ever our little explorer!

Are there any fish in there???

Off to find the next adventure!!!

Cleaning Up Camp!

Getting ready to head home from her first ever "Father and Sons!"

On the road home.....what a FUN camp out!!

The kiddos sure did have fun! Thank you Big B and Poppy for helping these two little campers have a fun weekend in the "jungle." I am sure they will remember their fun camp out for a long time!!