Happy Halloween!!!

This year for Halloween Megan chose a Gothic Witch costume. This took much deliberation in the costume aisle. She had about 3 different ones that she really liked. I'm now sure she gets her decision making skills from me. I think we could have been there for an hour or more. It took Jeff and Andrew's prompting to go for the final decision to be made. While I was helping Megan Jeff took Andrew to the boy section. He came up with this Haunted Skeleton costume. I think he had it picked within 10 minutes. He said he wanted something scary and he like it so we went with it.

Our first stop this weekend was the Street of Screams. I had gotten an email of this free event for kids 12 and under. It had trick or treating as well as games. I thought it was worth us going to check it out. It started a bit earlier than Jeff could get home so I was flying solo, it was just the 2 kids and myself. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at the set up. The trick or treating was all in a row of cardboard houses and they handed out healthy snacks like granola bars and organic cookies. The kids weren't too excited with their loot but I thought it was fun to see something different. There was face painting, games, a rock wall, cupcake walk, and a bounce house. The event was very well attended and the kids had a great time.

Our next event was this morning with a little ward trunk or treat. It was scheduled for 10am and we arrived on time. It was a nice little turn out considering that when we arrived it began to drizzle and only increased during our whole trick or treating. It's kind of fun to see what people bring to hand out. We of course had a variety of candy but in addition we had some unique items. There was hot chocolate, donuts, and popcorn all handed out of the trunks of vehicles. Something different from the norm and I thought it was fun.

Our last stop was Pumpkin Pallooza in the downtown area. There was a whole variety of stuff going on but among them was a carnival and trick or treating to businesses. Again it was a steady stream of rain but it certainly didn't stop my family from enjoying the outing. The kids enjoyed all the activity going on around us and just wanted to take it all in. Megan got a little sad when she couldn't do everything she wanted. We had to set a few limits and it had already been a long day. As she began to unravel we knew it was time to head home and put a close to our fun.

The kids ended up with a few buckets full of candy and were super happy for everything that they got to do. I don't remember ever getting as much as they did. We are lucky to live in an area that always seems to have a variety of stuff going on at any given time. It keeps us going and we look forward to the next event we will be able to join in. Happy Halloween to one and all.

Carve 'em

So my kids have be dying to carve pumpkins ever since we went to the pumpkin patch. Andrew has asked several times and talks non-stop about pumpkins this and pumpkins that. I knew I had to carve out some time to just get it done. We ended up with 2 pumpkins almost the same size. We had one that was about an inch bigger than the other and of course as you would imagine this caused a bit of a ruckus in this house as to who would get the bigger pumpkin. Jeff decided to be nice and fair and solve it with a coin toss. He was telling the kids we'll do heads a tails and Megan gets to call it. To this Andrew sternly let Jeff know that it is not called heads or tails but in fact is called "man or bird" This got a laugh from us but we proceeded with "man or bird" Andrew won the toss and got the slightly bigger pumpkin.

After much disappointment and learning to be fair Megan finally got comfortable with the whole idea of having a smaller pumpkin. I told her a smaller pumpkin means less gook to clean out and smaller sometimes ends up being perfect. Once we got to the actual carving she liked her pick very much.

Andrew refused to help clean out the pumpkin. I think the above shot might be the only time he stuck his hand in. He said he didn't want to get his hands yucky and Daddy could do it. This didn't thrill Daddy but he did it anyway and probably did the best clean out I've ever seen.

At first the kids wanted these elaborate carvings but when we told them with something simple they could do most of the carving. This was a much better idea so Jeff hand drew on faces per their instructions and they cut them out. Both wanted something similar yet scary and fun.

After a bit of drama we finally got it all done and pumpkin carving is done for the year. Now it is off for some other Halloween adventures. There are a few events around town this year on Saturday which we will hit up since Halloween falls on Sunday. The kids can't wait!

Pumpkin Patch Thrills

As the weather turns crisp and the leaves begin to change the kids start to get excited for the start of the holidays to come. This month of course is Halloween and we headed out to the pumpkin patch with Ken and MarGene.

We went to the same patch as last year but this time I'd say it was almost double as crowded. We had the sun peaking out of the clouds and a crisp air about. People were everywhere and both kids were just trying to take in all in.

Once Ken & MarGene arrived we headed over to the petting zoo to check out the cute little animals. Megan loved the little baby goats and visited them a few times. They had some feed vending machines so you could buy some food. Megan of course went with Grandma VoFo to feed the little goats. Andrew went with Jeff to feed the little pigs but got scared and would dump the feed on the ground before the poor pig got to eat. That was when Jeff had to take over so the little guys could get some food. Both kids LOVED the little kittens. Those poor kittens were so scared I think both kids felt the claws but didn't care cuz they were just too cute.



Next we headed off to the ever so popular corn maze. It is fun to find the clues and solve the puzzle. This year the map showed the maze shaped as a farmer and tractor. It was a bit confusing to figure out the map and where you were but somehow we didn't get too lost. You had a list of questions and would find check points to answer your questions. I think MarGene said we got all but 3 answers.


We then ended our pumpkin patch time with a little corn rockets. Andrew was super excited for this and was nice and patient for his turn. We had something like 10 tries and most all rotated through for their chance to hit a bucket out in the field. No one made it but Jeff came so close once.

We left the patch and headed for a little McD's lunch. It was fun to get out and spend an afternoon out with family. I really enjoyed our time and can't wait to carve up some pumpkins. I know both kids can't wait as they've been asking for it ever since. Hopefully we'll get around to it this weekend. I truly love family fun like this.

Fright Fest

During the month of October Wild Waves opens back up for a Fright Fest in the evenings. They have it all decorated in the spirit of Halloween. We were excited to go and check it out.

We spend a few hours checking out all the cool new things for Halloween that had been added to the park. We hit up some of our favorite rides and checked out the new stuff. Our first stop was boo-ville in the kiddie section. They gave the kids each their own bag of candy and they had some fun little activities.

Then it was off for more exploring and rides of course. There weren't very many people there and half the rides were working so some of our choices were limited. Jeff, Andrew, and Megan went on the kiddie coaster seriously like ten times in a row since there was no line. Poor Jeff looked like he was living a nightmare going around and around. The kids loved it.

Most of the employees are dressed up in costume so it made it fun to check them out. They even have a haunted house set up. I was too chicken to go but Jeff and the kids went. I was super worried that maybe they were too young to go but Jeff insisted that it would be fine. I waited at the exit for them to come out. First comes Megan with a long sad face. She said she didn't like it at all. Then came Andrew who was smiling and thought it was funny. Then bringing up the rear was Jeff and said it was okay. It was typical haunted scenes and people would jump out at you to scare you.

We hit up more rides to kill some time waiting for a show to begin. They had a few different things to entertain you through out the park but only a few showings, so we would just kill time in other areas.

We ended the night with the Zombie performance. We missed a few minutes of the beginning but got to enjoy the rest. They sang popular zombie music and danced. The kids enjoyed watching them while munching on some of their goodies that they had collected.

It was a pretty fun little adventures and the kids really enjoyed it. It helped us getting in the Halloween spirit. It was something different that we haven't experienced before so it makes it all the more fun. Can't wait for more adventures.