Halloween Parties and Playtime

We enjoyed several Halloween gatherings this year.
Thursday night my kids went to a friend's birthday costume party. On Friday, the twins and I went to a party for preschoolers at church while Rylee wore her costume to school. And, Sunday the kids dressed up for the third time to attend a local "Fall Festival" and to go trick-or-treating.
Last week I searched the internet and came up with a list of a dozen costumes I could make/put together. The kids picked their favorites. Rylee was going to be a butterfly, Asa a robot, and Jenna a bag of jellybeans. None of them wore the same outfit for all three events!Rylee didn't really like the way her wings were turning out on Thursday (me either!). So, she opted to wear some of her ballerina clothing. She stuck with it for the Friday and Sunday events.
Asa wore Spiderman (from his dress-up box, thanks to Grandma and Granddaddy 2 years ago!) for the Thursday night party because Daddy hadn't made his robot suit yet. He came home and tried it on and decided to stick with Spiderman since the robot was a lot less comfortable. (and the baby was a basketball and I was a hoop/backboard)
Jenna wore her dress-up Tinkerbell costume on Thursday since the jellybean suit wasn't yet ready. But, she was very excited to don her plastic bag filled with balloons for Friday and Sunday!The kids bobbed for apples, decorated cookies, and played outside for the preschool party. On Sunday we went to a local carnival that was not exactly what we had in mind. Everything was expensive and absolutely nothing was free. If you know me well, you know I'm all about free! I really don't enjoy things as much if I've had to pay what I think is too high a price.
We managed to get rid of the tickets we bought at the festival as the kids enjoyed the petting zoo and a very long obstacle course. Then, we decided to just return to our neighborhood for good old fashioned trick-or-treating. Yep, it's the most simple and the best!
I absolutely LOVED watching my three kids giggle in excitement as they ran from house to house getting their bags filled with candy! How much fun! Now...how much are we going to actually let them eat?!

Carving Pumpkins

We invited some friends over for dessert on Saturday and decided to carve pumpkins!
I started out carving one, but decided to give our friend, Matt, the knife instead.
Before we started carving, I read the book The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs. It tells the story of a farmer planting pumpkin seeds, him waiting patiently for them to grow, how each pumpkin has it's own special shape and design, and how he carves them to display God's glory. (The parable explains that God takes away our sin--the yuck and gunk like inside the pumpkin, He changes us--giving us a new face, and then He shines His light through our lives!)
Jenna was all about the gross mess on the inside of the pumpkin. Asa, on the other hand, wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. He really dislikes getting sticky! (messy, he doesn't mind, but sticky or slimy...no sirree!)
Rylee liked pulling out the pumpkin guts. I think she understood the symbolism best.
Matt was showing his oldest daughter the insides. She wasn't so thrilled with the idea of reaching her hand inside either.One rule around our house at Halloween-time--nothing scary. We don't want to focus on the scary stuff. No ghosts, witches, goblins, skeletons, or blood and guts. We don't think it's healthy for the age of our kids and we don't think it honors the Lord. But, we do talk about death. It's a reality. And, for those of us who have placed our hope in Christ, it shouldn't be something that's scary!
After Jenna carved her happy-faced pumpkin, she insisted on kissing it! She was pretty silly the entire night, which is typical if you know Jenna.

Orange You Glad It's Fall

A few weeks ago the twins and I went to a local pumpkin patch for a picnic and some fun. The best part...it's free!
They have some things for sale, like snow cones and pumpkins. But, those of us who are cheap can enjoy all the fun for free.
They have a horse you can pet and tons of cut-outs all over the place. Jenna found her favorites and posed for me.(she LOVES Strawberry Shortcake!)
Asa even found some he liked. (who are these characters? I have no clue.)
They have a hay maze, hay ride, and bounce houses. They absolutely loved the bounce houses. There was an obstacle course, a slide, a 2-sided climbing wall, and 2 regular bouncers.
They also have a little pumpkin house. It was cute.
Then, last week I went with Rylee's class on a field trip to the arboretum. I have been hearing about the Dallas Arboretum for the past two years, but have never before been.
They had the place decked out in pumpkins. I have decided I really, really like pumpkins! What other things do we decorate with that are orange? And, doesn't orange get the shaft when it comes to colors? I mean, really, not many people say orange is their favorite color. But, it's so vibrant and fun. It can be so rich when paired with browns and golds. I like orange.

I was assigned to watch Rylee and another little girl and two boys. They were all very good and had lots of fun.
They really enjoyed this cute village of little houses called "Texas Town", but we went there just after lunch and I was too tired to take pictures. I just let them run.
They let me snap individual shots when we stopped atop a little hill to sit in a gazebo. They were cute as they posed.
The kids began their day with a class on plants. They learned about the different parts of seeds and each got to plant some for future growth at home.
There are fun fountains - 4 frogs - that shoot water. I let the kids take off their socks and shoes and roll up their pants and splash around. I imagine they would have enjoyed getting completely soaked, but it wasn't all that warm out and they were in school clothes. I also imagine I would have heard lots of complaints about being soaked as we walked the rest of the day.
Fall field trips are the best - with your family or your classmates!

*I didn't include pictures of the other kids here since I don't know their parents. So, you just get an overdose on Rylee with a few shots with friends.