Pumpkin Carving and Trick or Treating

We look forward to carving pumpkins every year (unfortunately last year, the days got away from us and we ran out of time)!  The kids and I went to pick out some perfect pumpkins for carving.  Em got a white pumpkin (which was more difficult to clean out), but looks pretty cool.  Landon picked out one and then I got one more.  Matt wondered why I hadn't gotten 4 pumpkins so we each could carve one. :)  

Emerson, who's 50% girly and 50% outdoorsy, loved sticking her hands in the "guts" and carving.  Landon wanted me to dig out all his insides because it was too messy! :)  Love how different my kiddos are!  

Halloween was on a Saturday this year, which is nice and not so busy, but of course it rained all day.  That didn't matter too much to us because we hit about 4 houses and are done for the night.  Landon went as a Bears football player and Emerson went as Queen Elsa.  It was really nice because they both had the costumes already, so we saved a lot of money there.

Pumpkins and Halloween

The kiddos really got into Halloween this year.  It was totally Landon's idea to decorate the whole house spooky.  So we got out the tub of decorations I had and he went to each room and put at least one "spooky" item in it.  (Thankfully he was just as helpful removing all those items later :))

On the Saturday before Halloween, we decided to carve pumpkins.  I suggested all kinds of cute characters or things we could carve and they each just wanted a face.  I guess I'll have to get my own pumpkin next year to carve!

Landon absolutely HATES getting out the insides, but he was a good sport!

Em dug right in and wanted to do it all herself.

 Then I had to get pictures of the finished products.  Landon is not a great picture taker.  #1 He struggles with smiling.  #2 He doesn't even look at the camera.

This is Emerson's solution to Landon's picture taking problems! :)

YEAH!!

On Halloween, we went trick or treating at a few houses, mostly relatives.  The kids had a ball and loved showing off their costumes.  After shopping at several stores for costumes, he was set on being a ghost with a sheet over his head.  He couldn't see out of the eyes and kept tripping all night, but he was happy!  Emerson found a Barbie princess costume and I let her wear REAL make-up so she was also thrilled.  I forgot the camera, so here's the best picture I got!

Fall Fun: jack-o-lanterns, trick or treating, birthday, and more!

We took advantage of a warmer day in October to carve some pumpkins.  Emerson was all into the digging of the "guts" while Landon preferred playing in the grass!  But they turned out pretty cute!  

I also got to celebrate my 34th birthday this week!  I got surprised at school with a bouquet of flowers and had homemade beef and noodles with mom and dad.  The next night, I had a surprise dinner at the Chubby Trout with the fam and a night of "sparkly" presents.  Because, according to the kids, "Mommy likes sparkly clothes."  Where they got that idea, I don't know! :) 

 

Our little trick-or-treaters

We had two fall parties (on a very cold Sunday, as you can see!).  We went to Trunk or Treat at the Davis' church.  This was our first time at the event and we'd definitely go back.  The kids had a great time playing the games and trying to find their way through the John Davis corn maze.  We arrived at the same time as the Frye's, so we got to enjoy the afternoon with them.  Then, we went to our Sunday School party at the Schmucker's.  We had a great time decorating pumpkins, on a hayride, and terrorizing the cats! :)

And one more picture of a cozy time watching the Bears game!

Halloween Fun 2011

Last week we had a beautiful Sunday afternoon, so we decided to go outside and carve jack-o-lanterns.  Emmy LOVED helping carry the insides on her scooper and throwing them into the woods.  I think Landon just did it because we asked him too.  He doesn't really like getting messy! :)

The kids with the finished jack-o-lantern, Bears pumpkin, cat and spider pumpkin, and the tiny pumpkin we grew.

 We took the kids trick or treating on Friday last week.  We went over to the grandparents, Great Grandpa Vantine, and my aunt and uncle's house.  They loved getting dressed up and saying, "Trick or Treat."

Best picture of Landon as Lightning McQueen

Best picture of Emmy as a princess

We tried really hard, but couldn't get a good one of both of them smiling and looking at the camera!  Maybe next year.
As you can see, there are no pictures from our Halloween Party. :(  We had some people cancel a few days before, so we decided to not decorate/dress up because there would only be 6 people total.  But we did have a great night hanging out with the Fryes and Bergers!! :)

Happy Halloween!!

Thistleberry Farm

Yesterday, despite the cool temps and blowing wind, Matt and I took the kids to the Thistleberry Pumpkin Farm with the Shaw family (Bart, Brooke, Bryce, and Cam).  The kids had a fabulous time, although we didn't really look at any pumpkins! :)  They were too busy doing everything else.  They had lots of different kinds of bikes to ride, a cow train, corn box, jumping pillow, huge slide, and more. 

The kids were too small to ride the bikes, so Matt and I had to push them.  We had a hard time convincing Landon to try anything else after he saw the bikes.

The kids rode the cow train (pulled by a tractor) all by themselves without tears!

Emmy LOVED the huge jumping pillow.  Landon wanted to get off right away!

The corn box was like a sand box, except filled with corn.  They had a lot of corn in their shoes and shirts when they were done!

Enjoying chips and cheese for lunch

Mommy and Emmy ready to race Daddy and Landon on the "four wheelers" as Landon called them.

Although we did meet the Shaws there, I realized I didn't get any pictures of them, except from the back! :)  We had great family time and made some wonderful memories.