A Haunted Halloween

I told everyone this year that if they wore the Mary Poppins costumes to the two parties that we went to, they could choose what to be on Halloween (I know, so generous of me, right?).  After my unsuccessful attempts to get Phoenix to be a tiger and Audrey to be a revolutionary soldier (even I will admit, it was a lame idea, but the costume was ready to go), I relented and Phoenix got to be a zombie and Audrey got to be a vampire.  I whipped Audrey's vampire costume up quickly (yay for no major drawbacks!), and she was SO happy with how it came out!  When I did Phoenix's makeup, I wouldn't let him peek until it was done.  It was his idea to have the blood coming out of is eye.  When he looked in the mirror he didn't say anything, so I asked him if he liked it.  He said, "I LOVE it!"

In case you can't tell, the kids had a lot of fun with their little photo shoot!  Audrey helped pick out the material for her dress, and she found the owl pin herself.  She was SO happy with her outfit and her makeup.  I am kinda jealous of her costume, especially the cape.  I think we should bring capes back!  Who's with me?  Anybody?  

I refused to buy fangs for Audrey because they never stay in, but she was SO excited when she got a pair of fangs from our friend.  

Nothing weird going on here...just some skeletons eating dinner outside, by candlelight.   

Meet my husband.  You may have seen him on America's Most Wanted.  He looks creepy, but trust me, he's harmless.  

I threw together my old zombie cheerleader look.  By this point, a lot of our makeup had worn off. 

This was my most favorite Halloween yet.  We had fun/cute family costumes, and then we got to go all scary for Halloween.  The best of both worlds.  I really love doing creepy makeup, and I learned a few new tips this year.  We will be eating candy all day every day, until it's gone!

Great Wolf Lodge

We have been wanting to take our kids to Great Wolf Lodge for almost two years now, and we finally made it happen last weekend.  We told the kids that we were going on a drive.  They complained once in a while, and were a bit annoyed. And then we got to GWL and they forgot all of that.  I checked in, dumped our stuff in our cool room, got our suits on and hit the waterpark.  I wore a full wet suit, I was a little worried that I would feel out of place, but I was SO warm and comfortable that I didn't care what anyone else thought.  I get extremely cold very quickly in cooler (as in under 95 degrees) water, and there is no way I would have enjoyed myself without my wet suit.  So if you are on the fence, and have cold-water issues like myself, bring your wet suit.  For most people, 82-84 degrees is fine.  

When we first got there, the kids got these headbands.  They wore them every second that they weren't in the water.    

It took a little persuading to get the kids to go on the water slides, but they did, and they loved them!  We didn't have quite enough time there (we got there late in the afternoon, and left close to 11 the next day).  Next time we will get there earlier.  I already want to go back!

After GWL, we hit up the new American Girl store in Charlotte.  It was my first time being in one.  Life changing.  I was touching something on display and I turned around and jumped because an employee was looking at me.  She told me it was OK to with the items.  And play I did.  Even Travis is impressed with the quality of the stuff.  If an AG store opened up in Raleigh, I think I would HAVE to work there.  

Mary Poppins

I like to have us do family costumes for Halloween, it is so much fun!  This year we did Mary Poppins.  Can you guess who were Jane and Michael Banks?

I made Audrey's dress, and I dyed Phoenix's socks.  It was a series of trials and errors, but they look pretty close to the tie color.  Score!

I had been scouring thrift stores for weeks trying to find a vest for Trav to wear.  The day before we had our first party, I found this vest hanging right at the end of an aisle.  If that's not fate, I don't know what is!

My hat is actually a crushed fedora from the baby section in Old Navy.  Audrey found that, and she picked out the perfect peach material for her dress.  Travis found my shoes.

I must say, these are my favorite Halloween costumes yet.  My skirt, hat and Audrey's dress turned out really well (and I think after the beast of a project that Audrey's baptism dress was, these simpler projects were a breeze).  Travis only agreed to be Bert with the promise that he could wear a wig on Halloween.  Travis really likes to wear wigs.  He mentioned that he needed to get some more wigs.  His beloved mullet wig is on the outs, so if you are trying to find a good Christmas present for him...

Carving Pumpkins

Me and Travis have a system for carving pumpkins:  I scoop, he carves.  I hate carving, and he hates cleaning out the pumpkins, so it works well.  This year, we had the kids draw out what they wanted their pumpkins to look like, then Travis made it happen.  

We enjoyed some delicious, roasted pumpkin seeds the next day.  The kids had a great time working with their daddy.

A Busy Day

When Audrey told me that she wanted to do soccer this season, I wasn't thrilled.  Soccer is a big commitment, 2 practices and 1 game every week.  After asking her at least 10 times if she was sure, I signed her up.  This was her best season yet.  Her team was all girls, and her coach was awesome!!  Audrey actually kicked the ball during the games (in previous seasons she would run slowly towards the ball and stop before getting too close).  It was a great experience for Audrey, and I am glad that we did it.  Funnily enough, there are 4 girls from Audrey's soccer team that are also in her dance class.  I love living in a small town!

After Audrey's last soccer game of the season, we went to the kid's last ice skating class of the session.  I had them take several sessions of roller skating lessons and they both transitioned really well to the ice.  

Phoenix is the one eating the ice...from the ground...that skates have been all over.  Awesome.

After ice skating, we ate lunch at Steak "n" Shake, which is one of our favorite places to eat at as a family (and they are located close to the ice skating rink...1/2 hr from our house).  We got the idea to hit up the pumpkin farm while we were already out that way.  It worked out really well.  I still prefer going to the farm on a weekday, it is way less crowded, but it wasn't too bad.

It got dark really fast.  It was totally black when we went on the hayride to get our pumpkins.  The tractor drive turned off his lights and Phoenix got scared, so Audrey held his hand.  

By the way, Phoenix can officially pump!!!  After years of pushing him on the swing, this is a pretty major accomplishment!  There was a DJ that was playing country music, and me and my hunny tried to remember some of our old moves from our country dancin days.  It was a lot of fun, and the perfect ending to a very fun day.