Halloween!

Trick-or-treat! Here’s your treat . . .  I’m finally posting pictures of Halloween on the blog! :)

This was our first Halloween in our new house, and while we’ve trick-or-treated in our sub for the last two years with Jeff and Lori, this year we were able to give instead of just receive. We weren’t sure how many kids to expect though. We got a fairly large amount and gave out about 5 pounds of candy or so (unfortunately we got just as much back!). I think because it got cold and windy that people didn’t stay out as long.

We started out by trick-or-treating down the street to meet up with Jeff and Lori, and Matea quickly discovered that she liked this trick-or-treating thing. And I quickly discovered that lugging around a baby is the “trick” part of trick-or-treat. It’s not much fun. Matea couldn’t walk fast enough to keep up with the older kids though, so I carried her around for a bit, then stuck her in the wagon with a piece of candy to chew on while she watched the kids run around. At that point (about half an hour in) the wind really picked up and it started to get cold. So when we went past our house again Matea was deposited at the door (a trick or a treat, I’m not sure) and we continued on. Grandma Amanda and Grandpa Terry, visiting to celebrate birthdays, stayed with Matea to hand out candy, which was very much appreciated!

After just one trip up and then back down the next street over Eli was finished. He said that he had enough candy (his bucket was full quickly with the handfuls of goodies he was getting at each stop) and, while he was warm in his outfit, Jon and I were cold!  Jeff and Lori continued on a bit longer but we headed inside to paw through our loot (which I didn’t get a picture of this year for some reason).  Then we headed over to Jeff and Lori’s for homemade marshmallows and hot chocolate. Nummy nummy! Our first Halloween in our new house was definitely a treat!

Why am I in the wagon again? What’s going on?

Posing with Koorny the scarecrow, Sleeping Beauty, FiFi the pink Poodle, Venom (not black Spiderman, don’t make that mistake), a dragon, and a Ninja. What a crazy family.

Candy grants the dragon the ability to fly off porches!

Waiting politely for candy(see Matea’s head?)

And taking a bite of it immediately.

Mom says she’s tired so I’ll just sit here and eat candy.

Still going strong and RUNNING between the houses (just watching made me tired).10 minutes later . . . one pooped candy collector.

Fall Fun - GFS Trick or Treating!

One of the annual highlights of fall is the time when we can go trick-or-treating at Jon's work. Eli really looks forward to it and was beyond excited when it was time to go there this year. Matea went last year but was only 4 months old, so it was all new to her this year. She spotted candy to grab almost immediately, and then loved getting candy in her bucket. It took her a while to catch on that you got candy, went to the next spot, got more candy etc. She wanted to just play with the candy she got at first. Eli knew to keep going and get more loot, so Daddy and Eli went ahead a little while I coached Matea on the procedure. :)

Shortly after that Matea realized what was going on and then was very in to it. She loved seeing the big blow-up Scooby Doo that one of the offices puts up, and really wanted to stay by him. Mommy finally had to pick her up so we could catch up to Daddy and Eli because she wouldn't leave Scooby! When we were done and walking back to the break area for cider and donuts Matea kept reaching towards every candy bowl she saw and protesting as we kept walking by. And once back at Daddy's desk she kept trying to make a break for it back to the hallway where the candy started. Once she had the hang of it she didn't want to stop!

Eli was happy that he got to pick out his candy from the bowls this year. He picked all sugar/gummy kind of stuff though so Mommy and Daddy are mooching off of Matea's loot (the chocolate that we picked and stuffed in her bucket). Some of the offices are decorated over the top, but Eli was brave enough to head on in right away this year. The promise of candy overcame any fear. :)

We had another great year at GFS - whoever thought of this tradition should get a raise! We love it and the kids love it!

Matea found the first bowl of treats and grabbed a bunch of them.

This place is big, whoah.

Look what I found in my bucket, Mommy!

What is this kind of candy?!

Heading in to one of the spooky offices.

Posing with a pumpkin decorated to look like a GFS truck!

Visiting Scooby Doo, a GFS trick or treating tradition (bonus: they have really good candy back in this office too).

Fall Fun - Pumpkin Carving!

We've had an extremely busy fall this year, and I've had to let some things go to maintain my sanity. Things like pumpkin carving (which I love). I always get ambitious and want to do these amazing patterns and special things, but that went to the bottom of the list this year. So, only a few nights before Halloween, Jon was instructed to "carve those things" with Eli. :) He looked at me, said, "Are you sure? And you really don't care what is on them?" (he knows me so well) It was a sign of my busyness that nope, this year I really didn't care what was on them. As long as Eli liked them I was fine.

So Eli and Daddy sat down and made up some drawings of prospective faces for our pumpkins and then chose the final designs. Eli chose a "scary mad" face, and for balance Jon chose a happy pumpkin. They turned out pretty close to the drawings, and Eli was happy. So pumpkin carving was a success! Eli wanted nothing to do with the actual process of getting the pumpkin ready, but loved watching the pumpkins after they were lit. We even had to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner the next day with the pumpkins still on the table and lit for us. We roasted the pumpkin seeds for the first time ever this year, and have been snacking on them ever since. Yummy! Maybe next year I'll be back to my more active role in pumpkin carving, but maybe not. The boys seemed to do pretty well on their own (and that was a lot less stress for me!). :)

Here are the drawings Eli did, and his choice for his pumpkin.

Pretty close, Daddy!

Eli's pleased with the job Daddy did!

Eli showing me the face he wanted for his pumpkin. They match!

Here's Daddy's pumpkin, and Eli's matching face. :)

All lit up!

Fall Fun - Trunk or Treat

We added a new activity for this fall and headed out a few weekends ago to go "trunk or treating."  The event is held at a park nearby, and local businesses set up in the parking lot and hand out candy from the trunks of cars/vans etc. We got a ton of candy, plus coupons for local places, and it was a beautiful day (rare this fall) to be outside. The tumble bus and the fire truck were there as well, which were an extra treat for the kids to see. Matea wasn't so sure about the whole thing, but learned that she liked Smarties when she nabbed some off a table and took a bite (wrapper and all). Eli liked the whole deal right away of course, the minute the first candy hit the bottom of his bucket. :) We'll definitely be trunk or treating again next year!

Eli's ready to start getting candy! Our tiny dragon was dancing around he was so excited.

A daddy, a dragon, and a poodle went to a park . . .

Matea's first candy ever. A moment to make her dentist shudder.

I thought my kids just looked so stinkin' cute walking around.

If poodles were as cute and non-allergic as this one I'm sure we'd have a dog by now.

We found the perfect stump for climbing, and for pictures.

 

Fall Fun - Koetsier's!

Another fall fun activity that we did this year was go to Koetsier's greenhouse during their fall festival days. Jon and I took Eli last year, sans Matea, and this year I met up with my cousin Catherine to have a morning of fun with Joshua and Matthew (and Matea got to come along this year too). :)

The kids had a great time and really enjoyed themselves. Catherine and I got to gab (though not as much as I would liked as Matea was off and going every which way). Matea loved the corn sandbox, mostly because she kept bringing me corn kernels one by one and then tried to eat them.  I ventured pumpkin painting with her this year, and she did get some paint on the pumpkin. And almost as much paint on her face since she tried to eat the paint with every brush dip.  She just enjoys being around the other kids and discovering new things, so she had a lot of fun.

Eli was all excited to do pumpkin bowling (though we had quite the discussion on whether you bowled with the pumpkin or with a ball). And though at first I had to push to get him in to the inflatable train, once he went through with Joshua once he was hooked. Eli loves mazes and the little straw maze leading in to the "haunted" and dark section was another favorite of his. And the "free" popcorn was a hit too (he thought it was free since it's included with the admission price, but that's not the case!). Koetsier's is becoming a fall tradition, especially since it is indoors. What a great way to enjoy some fall fun even when the fall has been rainy and wet like this year!

Here's some corn from the box, Mom.

The pumpkins match my outfit!

Bowling (with a pumpkin as the ball, Mommy was right!).

Matea "bowled" too. Well, more threw than bowled (the pumpkin is still airborne!).

Peek-a-boo!

Intently painting.

Two boys hard at work creating masterpieces.

Matea actually painting on the pumpkin!

I don't think eating paint will help you gain weight, Matea.

The finished products!