Halloween (again)

Trick or Treat was so fun this year.  We all went together for about 4 houses, then Casey took Ender home and he passed out candy while I continued with the others.  Then Maya got too cold so we dropped her off and she helped dad.  Then after a few more houses Bennett got too cold and we took him and Miles home and Porter and I finished the rest of the neighborhood together.  It was so fun to get to spend a little time with him.  He's such a funny kid, I really enjoy him. 

The kids had a great time and it was fun to feel like permanent residents of the neighborhood.  Our sweet neighbor gave them special goodie bags:)  They felt pretty cool. 

Why didn't I crop this next picture???  Oh well, now I'm too lazy to do it (you can always click on it to see a bigger version). 

These next pictures were taken at the church.  They had a midweek Halloween party for the little guys.  We all felt a little shy at first (we're still pretty new in the ward), but we warmed up quickly and had a great time.  They girls who planned it did an excellent job!  I was totally amazed by they refreshments.  So healthy.  No candy!!!  Lots of fruit and veggies.  Just what we needed.

Ender has the crazy eyes going on in this second picture! So funny!

Halloween 2012 (Pumpkin Carving & Trunk or Treat)

 PUMPKIN CARVING

Ever since we bought the pumpkins the kids have been DYING to carve them.  We put it off for as long as we could, but we finally got them carved.  I always have a hard time knowing when to do it.  If you do it too early they look all rotten and shrively for Halloween, but if you wait too long things get busy and they don't get done.  This year was perfect.  We did them right before the ward trunk or treat and then we were able to use them as trunk decorations.  Also this was the first year where the kids were really able to do a lot of it themselves.  They were great designers and the final results were great!

 TRUNK OR TREAT

When Casey was a kid his mom played a trick on them one Halloween.  She cut a nail in half and, using fake skin, made it look as if it had gone through her nose.  Casey decided this was the year to pass that gem on to the future generation.  He was in our bathroom getting it all set up and the kids were in the living room making sure they had everything they needed for trunk or treat.  Suddenly he came running in SCREAMING!!!   They all rushed to him and upon seeing the nail froze, open mouthed, not knowing what to do.  It was totally priceless.  Bennett was the best reaction.  His eyes were bulging out and his little mouth just dropped open.  I'm so mad I didn't take the time to grab the video camera and record it.  Just so you don't think we are totally mean, we did tell them it was a joke, and no one cried:)

 Casey- The Clumsy Carpenter

 Maya (a witch) and Bennett (a zombie).  Aren't they adorable?  I thought Bennett was so cute with those dark circles around his eyes!!!

 Bennett was in heaven with all the games.  Well if I'm being honest I think he liked the prized more than the actual games.  They gave out fun little plastic prized and for a kid who likes collecting as much at Bennett they were quite the treasures!

 Maya was so adorable!   She decided she wanted to be a witch and it turned out great.  I think mostly she was excited to get a broomstick because she can use it as a Quidich broom after Halloween.  She decided to tie her stuffed cat to the back of the broom using a rubber band.  Super cute!

 Ender (a dinosaur) had a great time watching everyone.  He loves chaos!  They had a little haunted house set up and he played in that for a while, what baby doesn't love playing in boxes? 

 Miles (a lobster) was a crazy man!  He's a hard guy to keep an eye on.  Lucky he was dressed in red!  Just like the big kids he HAD to have face paint, and Casey and I were doing the big kids faces so Miles grabbed some paint and took matters into his own hands.  Cute little stinker...

 

Porter was a zombie.  He thought it was great fun because we bought a suit coat at Goodwill and let him cut it up to look old and worn.  I felt a little guilty about cutting up a perfectly good piece of clothing, but I guess Porter wasn't phased because I noticed he also cut HUGE gaping holes in his perfectly fine school jeans (jeans with no holes in the knees are hard to come by for this kid)!

 Getting ready for Halloween is always hectic but we did manage to get some decorations for the trunk.  Casey found some dry ice and used our carved pumpkins to make a spooky, smokey, creepy, trunk.  The kids loved it!  Halloween is always so fun, we can't wait to do it again on the actual Halloween!

 I really need a better system for updating my blog.  Since I started posting pictures on instagram I can never remember if I've blogged them or just instagramed them.  It's driving me bonkers.  So with that being said, I think these are some of the pictures I took this week that I haven't blogged.  We had a few more gorgeous days and took advantage of the opportunity to be outside.  Its been a little chilly and rainy the last couple days so we've taken to cooking and crafting (oh, who am I kidding, and movie watching).

 Last weekend we had some extra time so we decided to redo the caulk in our bathroom (the plumber said he thought the old caulk was to blame for our sporadic leaks).  Well what should have been a pretty quick project ended with us ripping most of our wall out and part of our shower.  Of course this happened on the weekend so we couldn't get a hold of the plumber so Casey caped off the pipes and we stuck a fan in there running nonstop to dry up the area.  So now we have to share a bathroom with the kids (YUCK).  We did eventually get in touch with the plumber and he has ordered the part so hopefully it won't be too much longer before we can start putting things back together.  I miraculously got my sewing machine working this week!!!  I was so excited.  I've been meaning to try to figure it our for a few weeks now, but I'm not very good and mechanical problem solving so I was putting it off.  Casey said our family prayer the other day and in it he said "and please bless mom to be able to accomplish what she wants today."  When he said that I though about the sewing machine so when I got a few seconds I pulled it our and started checking it our.  Instantly I noticed that a piece seemed to be screwed on backwards.  I was a little stumped because it had been my sisters machine before and she hadn't had any problems with it. but I went ahead and unscrewed it and after a little while I got it turned around and put back together.  While I was doing this I was talking to my mom and Sarah on the phone and they were helping me figure it our.  Sarah mentioned that she had lent it to a friend who's husband had taken it apart so I think he just put the piece on backwards.  I was so happy to have it figured our!!!  To celebrate I sewed a pair of curtains for my bathroom!!!

Bennett has been crazy about sharks lately.  He loves watching shark week and in this picture he is pretending he is fighting sharks with an underwater breather.  Cute and creative, just like his daddy!

A little outdoor time!

 It's starting to get to the time of year when you REALLY appreciate the nice days when they come along.  We went to the school playground and played last week and it was awesome until it started raining but even that didn't dampen our spirits. 

 The crazy little monkeys got all their climbing out and loved every minute of it. 

 Porter is getting so big!  He's such a fun boy and I love that he is getting even more fun to talk with.  He has a great sense of humor and he is super kind and will ask me how my day was when he gets home from school. 

 Maya is also getting so big and helpful.  She will randomly come up to me and say "is there anything I can do for you".  I love it!

 Bennett.  Isn't he adorable in that hat?  He's been in a bit of an whiny phase, but even with the whiny we still love him!

 Ender, also in a whiny phase!!!  But darn cute.

 I love that they play with each other.  They don't need anyone else,  just their siblings and they have a great time!!!  They are just a cute little band of ragamuffins.

 After the rain finally stopped and the ground dried up we decided to rake up the TONS of leaves in our backyard.  It was a lot of fun and the weather was great, unfortunately winter is right around the corner.  I'm not ready!