Happy Halloween!

We have a little tradition at Halloween to go to Grammy & Grandpa's house first to trick or treat, then it's back to the neighborhood to pillage for candy.

This year, Mom was particularly proud of her striped tights. She pointed it out. Several Times.

"Did you see my tights??"

Yes! They're cute.

"Pretty cute, huh??"

Yes! Really cute!

"I thought they were pretty cute."

Adorable!

The kids love going over there, and it was really fun this year to see Celeste and Olivia all dressed up. And I got a good picture of Mom, Emily and I.

I was surprised that Adison chose Super Girl, although her first choice was a Duck. Maybe next year I'll think about making her costume. The best part about Cole wanting to be a hockey player, is that we had all the gear. Talk about an easy costume.

I have to admit...I found myself pushing the kids to go to "one more street?" when we were in the neighborhood. They still haven't figured out that we loot their candy supply after they got bed. Although Cole may be getting a whiff of it...

Opening Night!

Kevin and I haven't missed an Opening Night for the Carolina Hurricanes since they played their first game in Raleigh. This year, it looked like it just wasn't going to happen. At the last minute, though, we decided we could not break tradition and got tickets in the nosebleeds just to be there.

Well, you get what you pay for. We were in the very last row. You can't get any higher. Adison just isn't into hockey, and she did as well as she could for as long as she could. But the we all a great time, despite a loss to the Capitals...

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

The Preschool has a fundraiser every year where the kids make some art and then it's put on anything you can think of (totes, notebooks, flags, tiles...) for you to order. Typically I don't love these. The teachers usually do most of it themselves and then put the kids handprint on it. It's too perfect. So this year I forgot about it until the last day and wasn't planning on even looking at her art. On a whim I went and looked at it and I'm so glad I did. All the other kids smiling faces are propped on too of their little bodies. But not Adison. I love this look. I don't know the story behind it but it seems as if on this particular day, smiling was not on the agenda.

Supper Club Costume Party

Kevin and I joined a supper club this year with 6 other couples. As soon as sign ups went around, I knew I wanted October. I have been trying for years. YEARS. to get Kevin host a costume party here at the house around Halloween. Kevin isn't keen on dressing up, so I never got the green light. Until this year.

By far, the hardest part of hosting a costume party with you and 12 of your closest friends is this: choosing your couples costume.

We went through several drafts, and there were some tense moments. In the end, we went with Sonny & Cher. Predictable? Yes. But I found an authentic Hawaiian Mumu at the Goodwill, shortened it, and a couples costume was born.

I love to think about putting a party together, specifically the decor. I wanted to go even over the top with decorations, but time didn't really permit. Overall, I was really happy with the way it turned out. On of my favorite parts was these hanging walls of lights we got at Ikea. We used them outside on the deck and it put off a nice glow.

Every couple had such fun costumes on, it was a great night. I'm hoping I can do it again next year. But I need to start thinking costumes now......

Pumpkin Carving

Kevin is the Master Carver. Every year he finds a design online and prints it out. Usually some intricate and chock-full of effort. Things I typically shy away from...

Here are he and the kids working on their pumpkins. They turned out great, as usual.