Adventures in Pumpkin Carving

The kids really love carving pumpkins.  I don't enjoy the mess, but I love all the creative carvings they come up with.  Michela wanted two pumpkins this year.  She came up with a howling  wolf and Chewbacca.

Hunter's pumpkin had a wicked grin.

Chase and Mike collaborated on Mickey Mouse.

Aria came up with her own pumpkin face and it was too cute.

Laina and I worked on Ariel together.

I think there were some top notch designs this year!

Halloween Party

This year we decided we wanted to be something really fun for the family Halloween party.  We all loved watching Despicable Me 2 this summer so we figured it would be perfect with the 3 girls.  Mike was Gru, Mauri was Lucy Wilde, Michela, Aria, and Laina were the girls, and Chase and Hunter were Minions.  I had a lot of fun making the minion costumes and went thrift shopping for the majority of the other costumes.

We had fun at the party, eating, catching up with family, and playing games with the cousins.  Everyone came in fun costumes.  I know Mike doesn't always enjoy dressing up, but I'm glad we have family parties like these.

Halloween

For Halloween this year Mike's Aunt Lynette had a family costume party at her house.  I was trying to go for simple and the least amount of work so we finally settled on being the Flintstone's   T-shirts from the craft store were the supplies for most of the costumes and bargain bin remnants made up the rest.   We had a fun time and the kids didn't even complain once about their costumes.

Mauri- Wilma, Mike- Fred, Michela- Betty, Hunter- Barney,
Laina- Dino, Aria- Big Girl Pebbles, and Chase- Bam Bam

 For Halloween they picked their own costumes.  Chase was a Red Ninja.

Hunter wanted his hair black so he could pull off Harry Potter.  He got up early so Michela could spray his hair.  By the end of the day his white shirt collar was a mess.

Aria was a black bat.  She resurrected Hunter's old bat jacket costume I made when he was about the same age.

Laina really got into trick or treating this year.  Mike said she would just march right up to the candy bowls and start scooping it into her pumpkin.  

Michela borrowed a cute little senorita outfit from her friend so she could go trick or treating.  She loves candy, so the thought of being too old for it never entered her mind.  Muy Bonita!

It was such a beautiful night.  No one needed coats, umbrellas, or mittens!  Mom stayed home to hand out candy and got to see all of the cute costumes.

Trick or Treat

This year Halloween was a bit different for us.  The kids were still super excited about costumes and candy.  I was still sewing away all week trying to get costumes done by Halloween.  The house was decorated and the weather was beautiful.  The problem?  My kids all wanted to go trick or treating with their friends!  I was excited to finally go out with them instead of handing out candy at the door (and stuffing my face with candy) and they all wanted to go their separate ways.  Michela went with her friend Rachel in a different neighborhood.  Hunter went with his friend Adam.  Chase went with his friends Ryan and Jacob.  I was left pushing the stroller and taking Aria and Laina.  It would have been fun, but after about 20 minutes Aria was done.  She said she was too tired to walk anymore and I was tired of her freaking out whenever she saw a cat or a dog.  Oh well, the kids looked adorable and at least Aria got to wear her costume at school and dance class, so my hard work didn't go to waste.

Hunter was a Death Eater from Harry Potter.  He couldn't wear a mask to school so we painted his face to look like one.

Chase was Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter.

Aria was a pretty little witch.  Laina was a sweet little ghost.  We tried to teach her to say, "Boo" but she was too afraid to say anything while trick or treating.  Aria treated a few of the neighbors with a little Halloween song.

Laina did love greeting the trick or treaters at the door though, she made everyone laugh when she came running and shouting every time the doorbell rang.  The funniest thing was watching her try to get into all the candy.  One time she knocked over the bowl and was covered in candy.

Michela was her own creation.  She saw these cool masquerade masks at Target and fell in love with this feathered one.  She wore it all the time the week before.  She picked out this tutu skirt and these fun tights to go with it.  She already had the shoes and we sewed some sequin strips onto a shirt from her closet.  I think it turned out to be a pretty fun outfit.

It was fun chatting with friends out on the street and at our door.  I loved seeing all the neighbor kids in their fun costumes.  There were witches, ghosts, football players, princesses, mermaids, cats, clowns, pirates, wizards, and more.  I think the thing I love the most about Halloween is that you get to use your imagination and become anything you want to be.  Chase was already coming up with ideas for next year.

Happy Halloween

We started off the evening with dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Soup to keep us warm followed by delicious pumpkin bars. Who needs candy when you have pumpkin bars!

A cute picture of the kids with Grandma and Grandpa.

Even though the night started out with a downpour, my kids weren't about to forgo the trick or treating. Donned with coats and umbrellas, they braved the rain and went out in search of treats. Thankfully the rain cleared up after a bit and the night was a success.

Aria was a beautiful little "Barbie" Princess who charmed the pants off everyone she saw.

Chase was a Mad Scientist. His wig cracked me up!

Hunter and Michela went as Goth Zombie Twins.

I'm sure it was Michela's idea and she convinced Hunter to go along with it.

Laina was a little Monkey.

I wasn't quite into the Holiday this year so some Monkey jammies from Costco saved the day. She's cute no matter what anyway.

I loved answering the door and seeing all the cute kids dressed up. I think my favorite costume was a KISS costume that one of the little neighbor boys was wearing. Totally cracked me up. It seemed like a bit of a slower night than usual though, I guess the rain and cold kept some people away.

The kids made a good haul.

My sister, Tiffany, and I helped them with their candy negotiations. I didn't want them taking advantage of Aria and having her end up with all the crap candy. I guess the silver lining on the lack of kids is that there was candy left over. Yeah for me!