Halloween Hoopla

Halloween Week 2009

Who knew Halloween was a week-long celebration? We haven't even hit the 31st and we've had four events! It's been so fun watching the kids get into the spirit and enjoy all the festivities. Kennedy has been supremely out of sorts this week, so who knows how much fun she's had but Carter has loved every minute of it. Well, almost every minute...he is not a fan of anything spooky or scary. He's definitely a G rated Halloween-er at this point. I can't say that I blame him, as I've never enjoyed the scary, gory side of the holiday. I realize now that I should have made individual posts for each of these, so please forgive the mass quantity of photos.

Sunday
We kicked off the week of fun at our neighbors wonderfully done annual Punk-o-Rama pumpkin carving party. We came prepared and Kyle carved an amazing Chicago Bears helmet onto our orange gourd. We didn't win any top prizes, but Kyle was proud and I was super impressed at his free handed, mad carving skills. He even worked up a sweat...how's that for dedication? Carter enjoyed running around and playing with friends and eating a dinner that consisted of candy, chips and cookies. He had a blast!

He helped carve for about 2 minutes. He wanted no part of cleaning out the pumpkin, either. There were much more fun things to do, like raid the candy dish and play with Nathan's trains.

The finished product on display

Tuesday

On Tuesday, Carter had his "harvest" party at school. He was sporting his cowboy costume from last year (as you'll see in later pictures, this is just his first costume of the week!).

I was lucky enough to be a parent helper for the party and had a fun time watching Carter and his friends enjoy the party.

All lined up and ready for trick or treating down the hall.

(Grace, Brooks, Carter, Hailey, CJ, Ally, Sophie)

His class is so sweet.

An attempt at a class photo with their teacher, Miss Laura. Carter greeted her with a "howdy partner" when he arrived in class.

Carter and his buddy Brooks - Carter informed me that he had to stand next to Brooks in line, because he loves him. They're so cute!

Carter, Brooks and Grace getting their pumpkins at the end of the party

Wednesday

Costume #2

All Carter has been talking about is being a super hero for Halloween. He wasn't specific about which super hero but with a little imagination, we came up with Super Carter-Man! It's a little ghetto, but he absolutely adores it, so I'm trying to get over the fact that's it's not a perfectly put together costume. He's worn it every day since Wednesday.

SUPER CARTER!

Trick-or-treating at the Boo Bash in downtown Camas with the Pikes. It was totally chaotic and crowded but the kids had a great time and got some yummy treats.

Carter and Brevin

One of the few smiles that she's given this week. Oh how I love it when she's happy.

Outside with the pumpkins

Friday

This morning we headed over to Henry's for a Halloween party. Jess went way overboard and created such a wonderful party for all the kids. Carter had a great time and once I got Kennedy out of her costume, she was much happier too. Her she is with Kelton the giraffe.

One of the few shots I've gotten of the two of them.

An attempt at a group shot (minus Henry the host and Kelton): Carter, Cooper, Tommy, Kennedy and Annalise

Bobbing for apples

He got one!

Fall Football

Saturday was the perfect day for catching a college football game. The air was crisp, the sun was shining and the Cats were taking on Willamette for the last game of the season. Linfield is ranked 7th in the nation, so beating the Bearcats was a must. Kyle and Papa took Carter down to Salem and baptized him into the world of football. He had a great time and enjoyed the atmosphere. (He also enjoyed the yummy snacks - popcorn and hot chocolate) Kyle said he was about done after 3 quarters, but it was a close game so they toughed it out 'til the end. Linfield won and the boys had a great time together.

A future Wildcat perhaps?

Carter and his Papa

yummy

We happened upon candy apples in a Halloween book that we'd been reading and Carter was excited to make them on his own. I think the idea was better than the end result but we had a wonderful time making them together.

I'm glad I had some helpers unwrapping the entire bag of caramels!

My little sous chef

Nana was here to help, as well, and both kids got in on the action...

Proud

We had Carter's open house at preschool last week and it was so wonderful to see an abbreviated example of his daily activities at school. But best of all was the confidence that he showed in the classroom. He wasn't shy about answering questions, he participated in singing the songs and basically hammed it up. He is certainly not shy! The other parents got a good chuckle and Kyle and I were just so proud, not only of his knowledge but of his enjoyment of school. He informed us on the way home that he loves school. What more can a parent ask for?

Here's his 1st school picture. Dang cute.

His class

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday was the most beautiful fall day, just right for hunting for the perfect pumpkin. We made the trek out to Bi-Zi Farms and spent the afternoon riding tractors, traipsing through pumpkin fields, conquering a 6 acre corn maze and petting a wide assortment of smelly farm animals. One thing can certainly be said for me, it was obvious that I was not raised on a farm. I could never have stood all that dirt! But the few hours that we spent getting dirty really was fun for us all. The kids loved it and Carter was excited to see and do everything. He chose his "perfect" pumpkins and LOVED riding the tractor out to the patch. We came home four pumpkins heavier, covered in a thick layer of dirt, tuckered out and very happy!

Our first stop was the hay ride out to the patch. I've realized that getting a family picture where all four of us are smiling and looking at the camera may just be impossible. I'm getting over it.

My precious kiddos

Waiting in line for the tractor ride

Carter and Nana at the duck races

Kennedy was absolutely enamoured with the pumpkins. She entertained herself the entire time Carter was out hunting for the perfect one.

My little punkin'

Carter in the patch with the first of our 4 pumpkins - 2 big ones and 2 small ones

She was too cute, I just couldn't stop taking her picture!

Kennedy and Nana

Family photo attempt #212 - getting better

Taking a rest as we wait for the tractor to take us back to the main farm area

Carter at the petting zoo - not a huge fan of the animals, a little apprehensive to stick his hands through the fence (can't say that I really blame him)

Carter and Daddy at the pumpkin launch - we took 2 shots and just missed winning a prize

Riding along on the little tricycle-tractor things. Kind of hard to do on gravel

Of course, Kennedy got in on the action

In the hay maze

We made it through the corn maze in no time - it helped that Kyle thought it wise to follow the path that was the most worn down, figuring the way that most people went would lead to the exit.

Kennedy enjoyed some of my hot chocolate, which lead to a funny story. I took the lid off to share my drink, which in turn got all over her face (I'm not one for dirty faces, so I sought out some napkins), ran over to get some napkins, Kennedy followed, a big man jumped to miss stepping on her and knocked into me, spilling hot chocolate everywhere. It was pretty funny and at least my crunchy hair smelled yummy :)

Celebrating Bennett!

This past weekend was full of family time as we celebrated Bennett's 1st birthday. Stacy and B were up for a week and Justin flew in on Friday night. So we packed up the kids and spent the weekend out in Hillsboro - it was a full house but we all had so much fun! It was wonderful to see the kids playing together and it was nice not to have to worry about getting home for naps, meals, bed time, etc. I find it hard to believe that Bennett is already a year old...time flies! He is such a sweet, happy and fun little guy. He definitely has a mellow disposition and just seems to smile and enjoy the world around him. He's a doll and we couldn't love him any more.

How can he be related? He didn't even like Grandma's 3 layer cake! Maybe next year, B.

The big wheel was a huge hit with the kids. The weather was perfect for lots of play time outside.

Bennett and Kennedy doing some fixin' with Papa's tools. Carter's probably supervising.

B going for a ride on the big wheel. What a smile he has!

Just chillin'

Carter and Kennedy with their Uncle J - Carter has a very special place in his heart for Justin, it's so cute, he loves him very much

Kyle and Bennett

We decided that this is what it would be like to have twins. They're just 2 1/2 months apart. I found myself running a zone defense at times - they would go in opposite directions, getting into something. This was at a point when Kennedy was trying to eat Bennett's carrot right out of his hands!

Not to be forgotten with all the attention on the "babies". Carter asked that I please take his picture, too :) Love you, bud.