A Spook-tacular Night

Since we were in Kansas City for Ella's soccer tournament, that is where we went trick or treating.  After her last game the kids put on their costumes and headed to Scott and Becky's house.  AC and Al brought pizza for dinner, the kids were so anxious to trick or treat though I am not sure they ate that much.  All four of them headed out at first to trick or treat on Emma and Aiden's block.  Then they came back to the house where AC and I went back out with Ella and Aiden while Emma and Sam went trick or treating on their own with some of Emma's friends.  
The neighborhood was packed with kids and many adults had televisions set up outside or in their garages to watch the Royals World Series game while they handed out candy.  Ella and Aiden did a lot of trick or treating. Their favorite house was on a quiet cul-de-sac that not many kids were taking the time to visit.  They had a lot of games set up and many chances to get candy.  Ella and Aiden played all the games and I think would have liked to stay there even longer.  Sam and Emma got back to the house about a half an hour after we did.  Sam had urged the girls to come home, I think they wore him out.  Then it was back to Grandma and Grandpa's to watch the end of Royals game and sort candy.  Both kids got a lot of wonderful treats, the Royals won game four and we all had a fun evening.  

Ella as Anger

Colonel Sanders! 

Carving Creations

We were going to Kansas City for Halloween so our jack o' lanterns would not be on display Halloween night, but we wanted to make them anyway.  We decided we would just display ours a night early.  It is nice that the kids are old enough now to clean the pumpkins themselves.  That is definitely the worst part of the job.  
Sam did his pumpkin all on his own this year.  He decided to make a Minecraft inspired jack o' lantern and I think it turned out well.  He took his time making the design and then cutting it all out carefully.  Ella and I worked on her pumpkin together.  She and Sam found a soccer ball design on line and that is what we used to make her jack o'lantern.  It was my first time doing some scraping and I think it made the soccer ball look great!  We were all pleased with our creations and really enjoyed making them.  

Mummy Mayhem

Ella's class had a mummy theme for their fall party this year.  My friend Christi was the party planner and she did an amazing job.  Everyone is always excited when she is in charge of parties because they are always so fun and well done.  Christi was also in charge of her daughter Whitney's fifth grade party though so that left me to run the mummy party.  
We ate mummy themed snacks, made mummy chocolate bars, played mummy bowling and wrapped the kids up like mummies.  Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the theme!  I would say wrapping everyone up in toilet paper was probably the class favorite. I enjoyed getting to spend the time with Ella, her classmates, her teacher and other parents.  

Picking the Perfect Pumpkin

We had our annual trip to the Suburban Pumpkin Patch a few weekends ago.  The weather was cooperative and this time Brian, Lauren and Savannah joined us to look for pumpkins.  Emma, Sam, Ella and Aiden are old pros at the trip.  They went straight to the popcorn for a snack and then to the face painting station.  Ella got a pumpkin this year and Sam went for a KC monogram for the Royals.  
After everyone was painted it was time to head out to the pumpkin patch.  We loaded up in the firetruck and away we went.  The kids paused for a few pictures on the hay bales then headed out to pick their pumpkins.  My kids are getting quicker at this process.  They already have in mind the shape of pumpkin they want and are able to choose quickly.  We enjoyed holding Savannah and watching her get her picture taken with all the pumpkins while everyone else looked for just the right pumpkin.  Then it was time to head back to the store.  Ella and Aiden played on the equipment while others were mum shopping and Emma and Sam just hung out inside.  
We switched the order of the pumpkin patch and lunch this year so Savannah could have her nap.  So while they headed home for her nap time the rest of us headed to Winstead's for lunch.  It was yummy and fun as always.  Another successful trip is in the books! 

Heading to the pumpkin patch. 

Look at all this cuteness! 

Three out of five sort of looking at me isn't too bad??

We loved the puppy hay bale this year! 

Trick or Treat!

The kids had a great time on Halloween.  Ella started the celebration with her Halloween party at school where she had a good time.  Then it was home to eat dinner and get on their costumes.  Ella was a Mizzou Golden Girl this year.  She looked adorable in her outfit and enjoyed curling her hair and getting to put on a little make-up.  Sam dressed as KayCee the W Guy in celebration of the Royals great season.  His costume took a little more work but I enjoyed making it.  He wanted to wear something different when the Royals lost the World Series earlier in the week but luckily we were able to talk him into still wearing it, since they played so great all year long.  
Sam decided this year to go trick or treating with a friend instead of Ella and me.  They hit up a lot of houses and Sam came home with enough candy to fill a large bowl.  We ran into him once in the neighborhood and he looked like he was having a great time. 
Ella and I started her trick or treating by visiting her teacher, Mrs. Howard, at her house. She makes special treats for all of her students and likes to get a picture of them in their costumes.  Ella was excited to go and visit.  Then we headed back to our neighborhood.  Ella's friend was going to come trick or treat with us later but until then we trick or treated with other friends and had a great time.  Our neighborhood was packed with kids and it was fun for all the adults to be out and socializing too.  Her friend Jesse met up with us for our last big block of trick or treating and the girls had a great time together.  By 8:00, Ella's feet were hurting and her bag was full of candy so we headed home.  John had given out most of our candy and saw some of our other friends who stopped by to trick or treat.  It was a fun Halloween!

Ella making a spider at her Halloween party. 

 

Carving Some of our Favorites!

The kids wanted to carve pumpkins that went with their costume themes.  SInce Ella was dressing as a Golden Girl her pumpkin would be Mizzou themed and Sam's would have a Royals' theme for his KayCee the W Guy costume.  I always work on Ella's pumpkin with her and John and Sam work on his.  This pumpkin was definitely the most challenging pumpkin Ella and I have tried but it yielded great results.  We received many compliments on our pumpkin from trick or treaters.  John and Sam produced another great pumpkin.  John's perfectionist ways always yield great results and even had him touching up Ella's pumpkin when we had finished.  

Here are the final results: 

Hoyt's Halloween Bash!

Our friends Dan and Megan host a pumpkin carving party every year that is spectacular!  We were so excited to attend again and catch up with friends we don't see often enough.  The kids had fun playing in bouncy house, carving their jack o' lanterns, eating treats, getting face paint and just enjoying the beautiful day.  

Sam guessing how many candy corns are in the jar. 

Our friend Lisa painting Ella's face. 

The final result, she requested a scary mummy with a small purple butterfly.  

Photo booth! 

Sam showing off his and Ella's jack o' lanterns. 

In Search of the Great Pumpkin!

On the first weekend of October we headed to Kansas City to visit the pumpkin patch.  It has started to become part of our tradition to start with lunch at Winsteads so we headed there first.  After filling our bellies it was time to head over to Suburban and the pumpkin patch.  My kids started with the face painting so they are showing off their  pirate faces for all of the pictures.  Then, it was aboard the hayride to head out and choose our pumpkins.  They enjoyed the painted hay bales and the younger ones enjoyed the houses and of course they spent some time choosing the just right pumpkin for carving.  Then after a ride on the military vehicle it was time to ride golf carts and play on the playground while I got to do a little flower shopping.  The weather was pretty good this year and they enjoyed their time together as much as the activities.  

Yummy lunch at Winsteads! 

ARRRR!

On the hay ride headed to the pumpkin patch. 

Kylie playing in one of the houses.

Sam with the Angry Birds hay bale. 

Smiling with the minion.  

A Spooktacular Time

We had a good time this Halloween!  It started with the parties at school.  I am Sam's room mother this year so I was in charge of his party.  We did a minute to win it theme and the kids really got into it.  They were excited and I was so glad they enjoyed their party.  Ella had fun at her party too.  Our friend Christi did her party which was a camping theme.  They had a pretend fire set up that the kids sat around and ate s'mores and told stories.  I was a little jealous I could not attend too.  

Then it was home and time to do a few things before getting dressed in our costumes.  Ella wanted to be Saige, the American Girl doll this year.  Her costume was really easy since they sell outfits just like the dolls at the store.  So with a pair of boots, a look a like hair do and some drawn on freckles she was good to go.  Sam decided to be Uncle Si from the television show Duck Dynasty.  We raided John's closet for some boots and camouflage and a blue t-shirt (I still can not believe that he and John wear the same shoe size).  I went on line and found a pair of fake glasses, a beard and a hat and Sam already had a tea cup so we were ready.  I think they both turned out really well. 

Sam's class doing one of the Minute to Win It challenges. 

Sam having fun at his party. 

The campfire at Ella's class party.

Ella enjoying herself. 

Ella and Saige

Ella, Saige and some of the ghost lanterns we made.

Sam as Uncle Si

Out trick-or-treating

The kids and I headed out trick-or-treating a little after six o'clock.  We just walked some of the streets in our neighborhood.  They trick-or-treated for a little over an hour when they decided to head home.  About that time John texted and said we were almost out of the seven bags of candy I had bought that week.   I couldn't believe it!  I thought we would have left overs for sure.  Luckily, the trick or treaters were slowing down and we just turned off our light a little before eight when it was mostly the teen agers.  It was a fun night and the kids have plenty of candy to eat in the upcoming months! 

Carving New Memories

The pumpkin carving at our house took place the night before Halloween.  This year Ella decided she did not want to make her pumpkin with me she wanted to carve with her dad.  Sam of course, wanted to carve with John too because that is the tradition.  So, I got relegated to searching the internet to help both kids search for patterns that would eventually become their jack-o'-lanterns.  The good news is they both basically cleaned their own pumpkins so we did not have to help much in that area except to clean up the mess they made on the table in the process.  
Ella wanted something spooky but I wasn't quite ready for the creepy pumpkin and I managed to talk her into a bat that I thought was pretty cute.  Sam took forever to decide on his pumpkin.  He wanted a Duck Dynasty jack o lantern at first but the patterns were all too difficult, then he wanted a sports theme but couldn't find one he liked so we eventually went back to the Halloween theme and picked out a mummy.  I think they turned out really well.  

The finished products; Ella's jack o' lantern she did herself, the bat she did with Daddy and Sam's mummy.