Happy Halloween!

We spent Halloween this year like we do most years--on The Lawn. It really is the best. It's light, you can see all kinds of really neat costumes, the kids get tons of candy, and by the time we're done and home, the kids are ready to call it a night. Perfect!

Lance went as Link from Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I sewed his tunic and designed his belts, but purchased the rest of the outfit. He wasn't a huge fan of the wig, and to be honest, it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. Oh well. He did, however, LOVE the sword!

Jude went as Sans, a character from the computer game Undertale. We were lucky enough that his mask arrived the day before Halloween! Thank goodness--I wasn't too excited about trying to paint his face again!

Lexi was our little butterfly. Even though she was skeptical at first, she did a great job keeping her wings on.

Cole was having a hard time when we first got there and didn't want to wear his mask for his costume. This was our attempt at a family picture. Eh.

Waiting for the trick or treating to start...

Lily originally wanted to go as a "zombie ladybug" and I was all on board and excited to try and make that costume, but she changed her mind at the last minute and wanted to be a "rainbow beetle".

Yes! The line is moving!

Lexi wasn't too sure what to make of all the people, but when she saw candy was involved, she really got on board.

You can kind of see Lily's beetle back in this picture.

Cole went as Pichu, a pokemon pre-evolution form of Pikachu. While we were in line, we found someone dressed at Pikachu and Cole was so excited he wanted a picture. This was the first time today he wore his mask. I think he's super cute!

The guy was super nice about taking a picture with Cole.

We made it down one side of the Lawn before the kids decided they were done.

Enjoying their spoils.

Family picture! George was the photographer, so this may be the only picture he was even in. Oops!

Once we made it home, George got dinner ready while I set up our Trick or Treating decorations. I of course had to bring out my huge spider I made. I'm a little disappointed I couldn't get it to stand up on it's own, but the hay bales made for a decent prop.

This is Cole's pumpkin. He carved it all by himself! (It's a cat.) He was super proud.

The kids all decided they were done trick or treating, so George stayed inside with them while I passed out candy. Lance did run out for about 30 minutes with a little friend from the bus stop, but the rest of the kids were content to hang out at home. Works for me!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Trunk-or-Treat and carving pumpkins

Jude's mask still hadn't come in the mail in time for our ward's Trunk-or-treat, so Dad to the rescue with some face-paint!

I made this spider to be a lawn decoration, but thought it would look super cool coming out of the back of our car. The kids all thought it was neat and spooky. Win!

Cole had a fun time running around in his Pichu costume. I ended up just getting a pair of yellow pants and a shirt and tacking on some black highlights. It wasn't as "put together" as I would have liked, but it worked.

And it wouldn't be Halloween without some jack-o-lanterns!

Cole wanted to carve his all by himself. After getting some help with the lid and cleaning it out, he did a really good job!

Here is Lexi's! She was happy to just play in the seeds and watch what everyone else was doing.

Cole working hard on his cat design:

Jude designed and cut his face! I think it turned out great!

Here is Lance's all finished. Its Gaster from the game Undertale.

Jude's

Lexi's

George's and Lily's

Cole's

Great Country Farms

Our favorite pumpkin patch is up in Northern Virginia. We have gone almost every year since I was a teenager and most years we can get a big group of family together to go. With Mom and Glenn moved, Amy working, Laura busy with a newborn and Stephen working in the school system, this year's trip turned into a private affair. I was sad we didn't get to spend the time with cousins, but I'll admit it was nice to relax and just enjoy the day together on our own schedule.

First stop: pig races!

This farm has a great petting zoo area with lots of different animals on display. Lexi thought these pigs were pretty neat.

They have several different birds, including this cool peacock. The girls really liked him.

Baby goat!

Next was the giant pumpkin bounce! Cole spotted a playground with a wooden train and made a beeline for it with George while I kept the girls and Jude at the bounce. Lily LOVED it!

While Lily was jumping and Cole was playing on the playground, Jude ran off and found a group of friends to play with. This kid makes friends wherever he goes.

Do the dab!

Lexi didn't want to be on top of the bounce, but rather had a fun time playing in the sand around it.

Geese! 

Next was the cow train ride! We had to wait for about 20 minutes for it to run, so Lexi hung out in the cow of her choice while the other kids found fun things to do nearby.

They had a shed with three or four old tractors. 

The kids had fun pretending to drive them.

Cole was even visited by this friendly chicken who seemed to think the tractor belonged to it.

Waiting...

It's time!

A tractor pulled us all over the farm and zoo area. It lasted a good 5-10 minutes--not too bad for 2 dollars! 

Our last stop before grabbing our pumpkins was the big slides! We LOVE these!

Finally, it was time to pick our pumpkins! We came pretty late in the season, so I wasn't sure we'd find anything great.

Lily taking a rest on the ride over:

"It's too big!" Lexi had missed her nap, can you tell? She was sad she couldn't pick this pumpkin up.

Jude found a caterpillar.

Cole was very particular when it came to picking. This kid was out there frantically searching for the perfect pumpkin until the last minute. I was worried he wouldn't find anything before the wagon came back to get us.

I have no idea what these tall things were. I'm sure they are a type of squash, but I don't know what you'd do with them. Eat them?

Still looking...

They also had these cool pumpkins that looked kinda like a brain. They had growths all over the outside that made them bumpy and strange.

Lily found hers!

Still looking...

Jude found a great one, too!

Cole managed to find one just in the nick of time! The kids also picked out a pumpkin for Lance who was with his dad this day.

And of course our attempt at a family picture. The farm was closing and we weren't able to nab someone, so George caught these pictures of me and the kiddos.

It had been a perfect day! The only thing that could have made it better was if Lance was there with us!