Halloween 2010

Painting pumpkins is always the easier, less messy option. Even if it does look like plastic. Except when the bottom of the pumpkin rots out two days later.  A few of us carved, but they collapsed even faster from the rot.  I say we got gipped this year!  I guess I got what I paid for:)

I have warmed up to the whole Halloween song and dance... I even made a cute little 'boo' Halloween craft which I didn't take a picture of.  But I think what I don't like about it is that Halloween isn't just ONE EVENT like say... Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter.  The crazy doesn't just happen for one night.  To some, that's the beauty in it.  For others like me....not so much.  We have our church trunk-or-treat, friend parties, and then Halloween night.  When you have six kids that need makeup and a 'do' each time there's a Halloween celebration, it becomes annoying.  For the Mom, that is.   The kids think it's the greatest concept ever.

This year was simple... we just used what we already had in our costume collection.  I think Izzie really loves her inner-witch... this may be the 3rd year in a row she's wanted to express herself as the 'good witch.'  Viviana is adorable no matter what she chooses... and Ms. Soc Hop fit this hand-me-down perfectly down to her darling glasses.

I don't even remember what Monson was... vampire who really likes dum dums?

McKenzie was the biggest BYU fan ever, and Brayden, well.... was himself.  Curt got in on the fun as the biggest Steeler's fan, and I'm of course, always the photographer, a witch as well... complete with even a lovely Halloween shirt and hat.

gettin' a little crazy with photoshop effects

A Trick and Lots of Treats

Cute pumpkins, Cute costumes, Cute kiddos

Do my witches look familiar? below: 2008, above: 2009

home by 7:30 ... Happy Momma

funny story... (The Trick) Brayden stayed home to 'man' the house and hand out candy. He decided to dress all spooky and try to scare the kids. So he gets under my car in the driveway (he has this grand plan in his head). It backfired with his first trick-or-treaters. A whole bunch of teenagers came and he tried to scare them--but then couldn't get out from under the car fast enough as they took the WHOLE big 5 lb. bowl of 'the good' candy and dumped it ALL into their bags. Bad teenagers. Nice, plan, Bray..nice. So all we had left inside to hand out was the sucky lollipops. Where is the humanity with teens? Seriously. I'm sure they laughed about the boy under the car all night long.

Pumpkin Picking at the 'Farm'acy...?

I have a lot of grand ideas that just never pan out. This year's pumpkin patch / apple picking trip was another one of those. Big surprise. So we visited our local farm in wine country--which was a step or two above the makeshift farm on the corner of the busiest street in town...

at least for a photo op!

We got there to find that a pumpkin no bigger than a cantaloupe was $6, and a good size plump pumpkin waiting to become mr. jack-o-lantern cost $20!

Total rip.

We can go to Peltzer Farms to see the pigs race or watch others pay $5 to enter the the petting zoo, walk through the corn maize, or see the horse's walk in a circle. And the kids' favorite part-- watching them 'pee like a horse.' According to them, that was the most exciting part.

But I will not spend 100 big ones on pumpkins that will most certainly still be sitting on my porch and rotting in about a month! Nope, Peltzer...I'm not a suck-a! But thanks for the fun photos!

I remembered seeing a $3.99 sign in front of the pumpkin bins at our local CVS pharmacy...yup, the stinkin' pharmacy. So off to CVS we went. And we loaded up six giant plump and beautiful pumpkins into a grocery cart instead of a cute wagon or wheelbarrow & got out of there for less than $25! What a deal. CVS, who knew.

...and then they were all happy as little larks & the begging began... to actually carve these plump pharmacy pumpkins. Stay tuned... maybe these beauties will be jack-o-lanterns this year. Maybe.