Halloween 2011 & Apples...

This year we kicked off our Halloween festivities with a party at Grandma Jill's (my Mom) house. The entire day was full of  "Mommmm, is it time to go yet?" and "MOM, can I put my costume on yet?" with a few "Mom, are we going to get candy there??" and a WHOLE lot of  "WHY do I have to take a nap first??" Finally,  I packed some smokin' hot cornbread a batch of pb chocolate chip cookies and the makings for some super spoooky mummy dogs into the trunk of the car and much to my children's delight, we were on our way!

Most of the adults dressed up to, I pretended that I purposely wore a shirt with a ruffle on it and called myself a pirate.  Mom was a mastercard advertisement and Lindsay was Cinderella. But leave it to my brother and his wife to arrive as Thing 1 and Thing 2... they've only been married a couple months and it's fun to have a reminder of what early married life was like... sometimes I forget.  They are pretty cute and REALLY corny hehehe...

 The kids Great Grandma Kris was a... ummmmm, I'm not really sure actually... I think she just pulled some fun things out of the closet and put em on. I thought it was really cool that she used my great aunt Kathrine's gold 20's flapper purse as her accessory...

 Kahner came to me very concerned about Grandpa Dales costume, "Mom," he said, "Grandpa Dale was lying. He said he was bleeding, but he's not, it's just paint. We shouldn't lie huh Mom?" We then had a brief discussion on joking and teasing vs. lying and cheating. Things are so black and white with kids, it's a great reminder of how important it is to set a good example to them at all times... even when I think they aren't looking, that's when they are paying the most attention it seems...

 Group shots are always tricky with so many kids hopped up on candy...

 Cute Lindsay just got her new braces.

 My handsome Ollie made for an adorable Super Man...

 And poor Ava was not too happy about being in costume at all... she lasted all of 20 minutes in her costume... but that's ok, we got pictures.  Not to mention the fact that I didn't dress her appropriately with a solid shirt so she looks like a cute pink psychedelic monster... 

 I promised my Aunt Denise and Cousin Ricky that I wouldn't post these pic's on Facebook... I'm not, technically... hehehe. They were dressed as Penny and Sheldon from Big Bang Theory, funny girls...

 And what party would be complete without a cake walk, or in this case, candy walk. Let the Candy scarfing begin!

 The night was filled with good food, tons of sweets & great company which made for three sleeping children in the back seat when I pulled into the garage late that night.  I carted them all off to bed stealing my nightly kiss from each one.  It was a great way to start off the string of holiday events that will fill the next few months.

The next morning I had three happy smiling children, begging for candy.  If you look at the picture below you can see what Ava looks like when you ask if she would like some candy.  It's one of the downfalls of having two older siblings. I'm pretty sure Kahner never had candy as early as Ava.  She isn't even two yet and she can already say the word candy.  But having two big brothers has also made her tough so I guess it's all balanced in the end...

 Next we had a little Halloween get together with my Grandma, the kids Great Grandma Wilma. She likes getting out of the house and it's always fun for her to see the kiddos dressed up. The kids were super excited to play at the Arctic Circle Playland while we visited.

Super Ollie rids the playground of any evil doing...

 I think we should have a tube slide installed in our next house. Ava was the happiest baby ever, once she got her costume off, going in circles up and down the slide...

 Kahner decided Halloween morning that he wanted to be a Vampire instead of Buzz Lightyear... ugh. I put together a costume as best I could. It consisted of a black shirt, which had a graphic to we turned it around, a black batman cape, which he decided would work since vampires turn into bats, and a vampire hair-do.

 My cute Grandma Wilma (My Dad's Mom). I am trying to make it a point to have pictures with my kids and their/my Grandparents so they have something to look back on. I have very few pictures (if any) with any of my Great Grandparents, but the ones I do have I treasure. I want my kids to have those same treasures.

Then it was off to run some errands before heading home to have dinner and get ready for trick-or-treating.  I made spicy baked fries (so much healthier but every bit as yummy as fried... honestly!) and Kahner helped me make more spooky mummy dogs...

 Then it was off to collect some candy loot, Duc had to take Ava up to the first few doors but once she got the idea she was all over going up to strangers for candy... funny, we teach our kids their whole lives not to take candy from strangers... yet we promote it on Halloween... no wonder kids get confused with rules! (Notice her death grip on her candy bucket)

 Kahner decided to go back to his original Buzz costume for the candy collecting...

 Once we got going it was proof of just how many kids we have in our neighborhood (a TON) the streets were swarming with candy crazed costumed kiddos!

 She's go the hang of it now...

 This looked like a real person dressed up but was totally automated and SUPER CREEPY! Ava took some candy from him/her/it but Ollie wouldn't go near it (and I don't really blame him) we thought it was pretty funny that Ava wasn't going to allow some creep deny her candy...

After we got home, shortly after dark, we quickly ran out of candy and I shuffled the kids off to bed before they could inhale too much candy.  But in this neighborhood, you've got to make it known when you're out of candy... turning off the porch lights isn't quite enough round these parts. So Duc made a sign for the door... and those of you who know my husband will know this sign is pretty characteristic of him...

And here we are the day after a very mild and pleasant Halloween, having to pull out the old galoshes. Snow and rain, sleet and wind... would I be a huge complainer if I said I was done with winter already?  Yeah, I would be... but I'm gonna say it anyway.  

The plus side?  The kids are eating their meals without a single complaint, because they know their chances of getting a piece of candy if they eat well is pretty high for the time being. 

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Now, onto the apples. Those apples, they have a way of not falling too  far from the tree.  I am reminded of this fact daily. My Mom loves to remind me of how much Ava is like me when I was young. She looks like me, she act's like me and let's just hope and pray and pray and hope she isn't as accident prone as me.

The area that she is most like me, however, is in the climbing department. I often hear recounts of the time I climbed onto the conveyor belt at the grocery store or the time I climbed the stack of drawers to retrieve something off the counter, or the time I climbed into the sink for a little bath...

This is probably my earliest memory as a kid. I was about 2 and a half and my Mom was in the hospital because she had just given birth to my little brother Austin. My Dad said he turned his back for two minutes to talk to my Mom on the phone and when he turned back around, I was no longer washing dishes, I was bathing in the nasty, dirty dish water.  I remember thinking how warm the water was and how nice it felt on my hands as I sloshed the dishes around... just like bathwater... right?  Yeah. 


I have yet to capture Ava on camera, I usually panic and grab her down before I think to take a picture, but just so she can be reminded one day when she has a little girl of her own that is making her crazy, here are some of the crazy places I've found you my little monkey girl:


-On the kitchen counter eating spoonfuls of honey-butter
-On a chair at the back shelf feeding Lola the entire bag of dog treats
-On top of your crib rail (of a crib that was made to have an extra high rail)
-Teetering on the edge of the counter of your play kitchen
-On the (counter height) kitchen table squishing up bananas & again to get my wallet and empty it out.
-In the booster seat attached to the tall kitchen chair, trying the buckle yourself in.


I'm sure this list will grow, as the years do, but even though she is a monkey and she raises my blood pressure sometimes, I love her sweet little personality and her cuddly nature. I am so glad I was blessed with such an ambitious little girl, if she's going to be small her whole life I guess it pays to be a bit feisty and know what you want and how to get it. 


I love you Avie!!