Halloween 2011

Our Halloween Crew!

My little fairies.

Calla was a midnight fairy.

Bella was a flower fairy.

Micah, my scary pirate.

Noah channelling Harry Potter.

Nehemiah was and is our little football player. I anticipate seeing him in football gear again in just a few years.

This was the same pumpkin costume Calla wore, many years ago. Still just as cute.

Bella and our neighbor Lily, also a flower fairy.

Yep, that is a big group and most of them are ours:)

Someone got tired out trick-or-treating!

The next morning I just had to get a few more pictures of my little pumpkin. Elijah was very accommodating.

And while you can't see it in these picture, he just cut his first tooth, thus the gnawing on the pumpkin stem:)

So photogenic!

Alright, alright, enough pictures already, time for a nap.

5th Annual Pumpkin Carve

Every year we anxiously await the kickoff to Halloween, the Pumpkin Carve. Throughout the year Jeff meticulously plans every game, activity and of course the surprise! I however, just take care of the food, easy in light of all of the planning he does:) This year we had a modest 65 people, down a bit from last year. The kids seemed to enjoy the carving, the games, the movie and SURPRISE, the fireworks which were quite a hit.

Busy carving.

Behind carving, Beyblade was another popular activity of the night.

When most of the kids finished carving their pumpkins, Jeff planned some games to let the adults finish their pumpkins in peace. Here they are playing "Pass the Pumpkin" (played like "hot potato").

The the traditional screening of "It's a Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" on the projector.

This year instead of bobbing for apples, we opted to tie them up and see who could bite into one first. With a nip in the air, I didn't want to be responsible for anyone catching a cold from being drenched in apple bobbing water:) While fun, we still have some kinks to work out of this game for next year.

The crowd enjoying the fireworks!

Can't leave without taking some goodies:)

Parties, Parades and more Pumpkins (October Wrap-up)

I had hoped to being writing a post filled with breathtaking hot air balloon pictures and picturesque countryside. However, since we spent our Saturday on the side of the interstate instead of at the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Anderson, SC I have decided to go with a wrap up of our October instead. By the way, our van is being fixed as I write and boy do I miss having transportation. Praise God for the blessing of good friends who came to pick us up on the highway and also friends that took us to church Sunday!

Well October is full of birthdays for friends and family. It was Grandpa's birthday in the beginning of the month and Jeff's at the end. We had a great time celebrating both as well as some fun kids parties. One friend hosted an adorable tea party for her daughters 5th birthday. The girls and I had a ball dressing up and drinking tea and the boys had a man-day at Lowes Home Improvement making a flying bat project.

Jeff's cake and presents.

The girls ready for their tea party at the Joneses.

The week before Halloween, we went to Albemarle for their annual Halloween parade (which all costumed kids could march in) and then Trick or Treating at several local businesses downtown. After a full afternoon of marching and candy we went to visit the pharmacy where my mom works part time and of course, they had candy for the kids as well...lots of candy.

Marching in the parade, Nehemiah had to be Charlie Brown again because it was much to hot for his dragon costume.

Then Saturday, strangely enough, we had nothing to do! Calla's friend Taylor came over and the girls carved a pumpkin all by themselves. They found a cute template, took turns cutting and then proudly displayed their pumpkin, candle and all.

Now that we are well into November, I think I will have to start a post about something other than Halloween or pumpkins:)

Trick or Treat

Sunday, of course, was Halloween and in our neighborhood that meant Trick or Treating. The kids had a great time getting dressed up in their costumes and before long we were rounding our neighborhood. Although Nehemiah and Micah lagged behind and Bella had a bit of trouble understanding "take one", the night turned out really fun. Once we were all completely worn out, we headed home to change, eat and, eventually, sleep (once the sugar high wore off).

One scary dragonOne fuzzy monkeyOne fairy princessObi-Wan Kenobi Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile And they're off! Until next year, roooooaaaaar!