Halloween 2013 (A Coke Can + The Phillie Phanatic)

Harris knew early on that he wanted to be the Phillie Phanatic (the Phillies mascot) and my Mom rose to the occasion with a really cute costume that Harris absolutely loved. 

Grace had a harder time deciding what she wanted to be for Halloween.  I believe that she is getting to that age where she doesn't want to be too cute or sweet but she also doesn't want to go gory and scarey.  Since she loves Coca-Cola I suggested she be a Coke can and she went for it.  We got a red trash can, cut arm and neck holes and, using silver metallic paint and Sharpie marker, wrote in words and the iconic Coca-Cola logo.  We also added a poster board and red duct tape straw!

 

The cousins: a Coke can, Hans Solo and The Phillie Phanatic

Carving Pumpkins + Pumpkin Bread Bowls

One of our traditions around Halloween is to go pumpkin picking and then carve them one evening.  We got our pumpkins a week ago, but didn't carve them (with the exception of the Airstream carving) until Wednesday night.  As the children have gotten older they have gotten quite adept and comfortable at handling the carving tools (though Grace did get a small cut) and they enjoy designing their pumpkin's face.

 

 

I've also always made an effort to have something for dinner that involves pumpkins and this year I tried Pumpkin Bread Bowls again (I tried them several years ago and they were a complete failure).  They turned out darling and were really easy.  I served pumpkin soup in them, but would probably go with Butternut Squash Soup next time as it was just ok and not delicious.  I used this recipe for the bread bowls and only made 5 bowls instead of the 12 the recipe called for so that they would be entree size and not too small.  I added food coloring during the mixing stage and set a side a bit of dough to color and attach the stems.  

A Pumpkin Airstream + Truck

While we were camping we took along some pumpkins to carve.  I had seen some darling pumpkins that resembled a trailer and car and thought it would be fun to carve some pumpkins to resemble the Airstream and truck!

Bryce's rendition of the Airstream is very accurate I'd say!

 They looked very festive all lit up at night!

Of course, we roasted the pumpkin seeds over the fire and they were delicious!

Grace Hosts a Halloween Party

Grace has wanted to plan and host a family Halloween party ever since last year.   She made it happen this weekend and I couldn't be more proud of the job she did!  It turns out that my girl is quite the party planner!  She was organized and well prepared by the time the party got here (which I cannot always say about myself!), and though she handled the majority of the planning and preparing herself, I so enjoyed spending this time with her as we shopped, cooked and prepped together.

Invitations

She made the invitations herself.

The Food

Grace chose the menu with minimal help from me.  She also made the food with the exception of the main course.

Moldy Cheese Plate

Mini Mummies and Eyeball salad

Rotten Pumpkin and Squid In Pasta with Bone Breadsticks

Ghostly Cake

The Drinks

Grace made ice cubes with worms and critters to serve with Sprite at dinner.  

To serve with the Ghostly Cake she painted the inside of glasses with melted chocolate and then poured milk in them.

We also had a few adult drinks but Grace didn't plan those!

Activities

Grace also planned several party activities.  Using various candies, our candy bin came in handy, they made Halloween monsters.  This was a super fun activity and the monsters turned out darling super scary!

We also played Halloween Bingo!

Favors and Thank You

As the party wrapped up, Grace gave everyone party favors and a thank you note!

Halloween Costumes 2012 (A Hamburger and The Hamburglar)

Once again my Mom has created adorable and beautiful costumes for the children.  She really does an outstanding job with the costumes, and I hope that the children realize how blessed they are to have a Grandma who is willing and able to put that much time and effort into their costumes!  Thank you Mom!

We had a little bit of a hard time coming up with costume ideas this year.  Once Grace decided to be a hamburger we brainstormed ideas for Harris (hotdog, french fries, etc.) but Harris wasn't excited about any of them.  He was even unsure about being the Hamburglar until we showed him a picture.  Once he saw the Hamburglar, he decided that wearing a cape, mask and being a "criminal" was a rather fun idea!

It's pretty funny how Harris "gets in character" as soon as he puts on the costume! He had a great time hamming it up for these pictures!

Eyeballs in a Tree!

Do you ever see something and just know that you must recreate it?  That was the case when I happened upon an image on Pinterest of a tree with giant beach ball eyes!  I just knew that our favorite tree would be perfect for a little Halloween decorating!

I bought two 24" beach balls and colored in eyes with a sharpie.  I used one of my bowls as the outline for the iris.  We happened to have a large tip Sharpie marker that really helped the project move along quickly.

Bryce popped them in the tree with a little bit of twine to keep them from blowing away in a storm.  I just adore how they turned out!  It's unbelievable to me how much personality the eyeballs gave the tree!

P.S.  I bought the beach balls online at D&L Toys and would definitely recommend using them.  The original cost of shipping for the balls was rather high, but since I couldn't fine them any where else I went ahead and ordered them.  Without my asking (or complaining) the company refunded $4 of my shipping.  Apparently, they adjust according to actual shipping charges.  Any company that refunds money without being asked is topnotch in my book!