Halloween Parties-----

We had a busy month in October and it seems still. I had every intention of posting this weeks ago, but better late than never. Our first official party to wear costumes was the Ward party/carnival. No masks were allowed so we had to try out our make-up skills. I thought Tyler turned out pretty scary.

Emily donned her Barbie Fairytopia dress complete with the crown and high heels. She also wanted flowers painted on her cheeks to "look even more Barbieish." (Her words, not mine).

Megan was basically unrecognizable at the party with her get-up. Many people passed right by her and then did a double take. Her Frankenstein was unexpected.

After we ate and ate, the kids got to play tons of games put on by the Primary. Emily loved this cute Halloween Twister game. This is not her most lady-like pose.

Megan played the games, but is excited to be in Young Women's next year when she gets to help run the games. It's sad she's about outgrown being a kid.

I made 120 cookies again---which was half of last year. We still had some left, but not dozens and dozens like in the past. I need to remind myself next year that about 60 cookies will do and half the frosting.

Wendell dressed as a cowboy and the kids wouldn't let me dress in my witch costume. They told me I needed something different. Well, I think they were disappointed when all I came up with was a scrub shirt. I'll try harder next year.

Tyler, Emily, and Megan in all their glory.

Our next party was the traditional carving night with our friends. It just wouldn't be Halloween if we didn't try to have 10 kids crowd around our table trying to carve pumpkins.

We had seeds and goop all over. Luckily, the kids ar getting old enough that they can actually scoop out most of the pumpkins by themselves and even do some of the carving.

The best part was trying to decide what to carve.

The finished products turned out awesome.

Mindy brought cool stencils and this is a close-up of Megan's masterpiece.

The partying continued at school. Emily was a little disappointed in her first official Halloween party. She wanted to have it last longer and play more games. I told he maybe next year when the kids are a little older. She did make a cute bat.

Tyler's class had crafts and tons of games. His schedule was very full. They made Harry Potter wands and masks. Emily should have gone to his party.

The 6th graders really got into the games. That pumpkin they are kicking did end up as a smashed mess. I'm sad that this was Megan's last elementary party for Halloween. It was fun to help with this party, because the kids are able to actually play games and not need a million instructions.

Mammy's Halloween party was next. Soup in pumpkin rolls, caramel apples, chocolate, and oh yeah and pumpkin carving. Mammy went all out decorating with cool signs and of course her witches.

Megan tried to convince Jeff to carve, but he wouldn't give in. Tyler and Emily wore gloves and pronounced them the best things ever for cleaning a pumpkin. Tyler worked and worked on his pumpkin all by himself. He wanted to be able to say he carved it himself.

The finished products. Tyler did the skull, Emily the cat, and Megan that huge face. The black looking pumpkin is actually a zuchinni we carved. Lots of fun and great looking pumpkins. Now we were finally ready for the actual Halloween day.

Pumpkin Walk

Megan's class at school each got to bring home a huge pumpkin the week before Halloween to carve for the city Pumpkin Walk. Megan of course chose the biggest pumpkin she could and we just happened to have parked the farthest away that day. Just getting the thing to the van was a struggle.
She was proud of her creation and found it right away among the hundreds and hundreds of other pumpkins. We were just grateful the city hauled it to the park and then disposed of it after.
Tyler found his favorite pumpkin along the walk.
Emily found this cute princess castle and proclaimed it her favorite. I think the candy that was passed out was the most favorite.

Enchanted Woods

Since Megan pranced around the Treehouse in her fake high heels at age 2, we have gone to the Enchanted Woods during the Halloween season. The kids have loved the stories and treats they have gotten over the years. Well, a turning point in our lives has occurred. Megan informed us she was too old to go and Tyler only went because he didn't want Emily to feel bad about going alone. He didn't want to dress up, though.

Emily dressed in her Barbie princess dress complete with her own pair of high heels. Tyler tried to blend in the background most of the time and made sure he was always in the back during the trip through the woods.
Emily had a great time and Tyler liked it o.k., but he informed me he wouldn't be going next year. He wanted to move to the Haunted Hallow next year. I guess Emily will be going alone unless anyone wants to join in the fun for a couple of more years. I'm not ready for the kids to be so grown up yet. Where does time go?

Green Extreme!

Megan some how talked us in to letting her play soccer again this year. She does love it and is quite aggressive on the field. Her team ended their season on October 23rd undefeated. In fact, only one goal was even scored against them over the 7 games. (Megan was happy she wasn't the goalie during that kick). Many coaches over the weeks have complained that it is a stacked team, but it really was random--except for Megan and one other player who were added at the last minute only as bodies. Megan did her fair share of pushing and scoring, though, to make the team proud.
Tyler, on the other hand, has given up any aspirations of a soccer career. He spent the last 7 Saturdays playing with friends on the playground and bridges at the park. He is actually happy he doesn't play anymore. Emily is in the same boat and has given up soccer for ballet. We definitely have 3 very different kids.

Looking at the lovely shade of green, it is evident why they named the team the green extreme. Congratulations girls on a great season. We'll see how it goes in the spring.

Pumpkin Patch

One of our favorite October traditions is to head to the pumpkin patch and pick our own pumpkins. Emily was so excited she giggled the entire way in the van. We started with a hay ride to the field.
Then comes the fun part---looking for the perfect pumpkin. Megan found hers right away. She just wanted the biggest one in the field. Emily and Tyler were another story. Emily looked for the perfect round one and Tyler just wanted a perfect one with no dirt.
Yeah, it took forever. The rest of the wagon was waiting for Tyler and Emily to find their pumpkins. It really is hard to find a really round pumpkin.
We finally got 5 pumpkins loaded on the wagon, though. The driver of the tractor even gave us a bonus pumpkin in case one of ours just wasn't good enough when we got home. We had a great time and even great weather. Now we'll just have to wait another week to carve them. That's the part Megan and Tyler like the best!

Fourth Grade Field Trip

As part of the curriculum for 4th grade, Tyler gets to learn state history. The teachers planned a field trip to visit "This is the Place" park and learn about the pioneers' life. I was lucky enough to be picked as a chaperone and got to hang out with Tyler for the day. I must say it was one of the best field trips I have been on. (It sure beats Megan's trip to the marshlands in 4th grade). We all got to learn about life in the mid-1800's. We visited the school house, the tin maker's house, and then finished with a square dance at the cultural hall. I loved being Tyler's dance partner, even though he didn't appreciate it that much.
After lunch we rode the train around the park.
They kids then got to pull handcarts around a short route. Even empty they were harder to pull than they all thought. Well, I guess I should say harder to stop than they all thought.
I actually learned things about our state history and enjoyed spending the day with Tyler and his classmates.

Down & Derby!

We're finally back blogging again. Tyler is in a cleaning mode and has put away everything that is normally just out---that includes our cord for the camera. Yes, it is nice to have the house always clean, but we spend an awful lot of time looking for things in places we would have never thought.
Anyway, back to our past month. On Sept. 25th, Tyler had his first Pinewood Derby experience. The car looked really cool, but we should have known something was up when the wheels were put on minutes before we left for the church and then fine-tuning was left for the "body shop."
Megan and Emily enjoyed making Twinkie cars to eat during the many heats.
This is Tyler ready to go---unfortunately his car wasn't so cooperative. I'm not sure what happened to his wheels, but let's just say by the end of the night his car barely made it down the track.
He did take 2nd in 2 of his many heats and 1 3rd place win, but of the 10 or so he did, 4th was the favorite position. At one point in the night, Tyler wouldn't even claim his own car. Emily had to go and pick it up after a few of the heats. I guess Wendell and Tyler will have to try harder next year. The good thing is that they can only go up from here. :)