Halloween

THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BE WAITING FOR! 

Here are Lance and Jude in their Halloween costumes:

Lance wanted to be a baneling for Halloween.

For reference, here is a picture of a baneling from the game StarCraft II:

After many hours of trying to figure out how to make Lance into the character he wanted to be, this is what I came up with:

Lance is being "in character".

Back pack, ball, bowls, stuffing, fake leather, clay and a glue gun. Voila!

He's stinkin' cute, even if he is some giant bug monster that is full of green acid and explodes to take out enemy bases. Yeah...

And here is Jude! He asked to be a crocodile and after scouring the internet for costumes and coming up empty-handed, I made him his own as well.

I made the hat out of a baseball hat, covered it in foam and then glue-gunned the scales on.

I made the teeth out of clay you bake and I even made the eyes. They are pretty cool because they "track" you. If you look in all the pictures of Jude, it will always look like the crocodile is staring you down.

I thought they both turned out way cute and better than expected. Although I can't hold a candle to Amy's amazing creations she's made for Halloween, I was pretty darn proud of myself and thought I earned some big Mom points this year.

Our first Trick or Treating experience was The Lawn with some friends of ours.

First we had to catch the bus:

On our way to the bus stop.

Oh, George dressed as PSY from "Gangnam Style". I thought he pulled off the look very well.

And Cole was an EM Doctor. (Lance and Jude both wore this same costume for their first Halloween, too.)

On the bus.

It's always a fun experience to ride the bus.

Cole loved Jude's hat.

Lance found a seat way in the back. Can you see his little face peeking out?

We finally made it to the Lawn and fought our way through the crowds to do a little trick or treating. Lining The Lawn are apartments (Edgar Allen Poe lived in one while he attended UVa) and different groups provide each one with candy for the kids.

I was supposed to be Steve Erwin (you know, the Crocodile Hunter), hence the short shorts and the khaki shirt, but most people thought I was on a safari or something. Whatever. Close enough.

Family shot. Love it! Apparently Cole liked Lance's hat, too.

The boys only lasted about a quarter of the way down one side before they decided it wasn't worth the candy to wait in the long lines. We made our way back to the bus stop with our friends, but stopped first to let the kids bounce in a little bounce house they had set up.

Hot.

Poor Lance got a balloon puppy and on his way up these steps he tripped and his balloon popped. We were already behind, so we were not able to go back and get another one. Lance cried all the way home on the bus and then ran inside and drew a picture of "Puppy White" so he could always remember his little balloon animal. Broke my heart.

Our Halloween festivities were not over yet! We got home, had a snack and then drove to the Elmer's house. The Smiths were there, too (BoBo and Lucy). The Elmers treated us to dinner and then we all went trick or treating in their cute neighborhood.

Jude was so thrilled. This was the first time he remembers doing this. He did a great job saying "Happy Halloween" and "Thank you!"

Much of our group. Lance thought it was so fun to be with Killian and Kendall.

This neighborhood was great because most of the houses were decorated and there were tons of little families walking around.

The best house had a graveyard in the front. Jude couldn't stop looking at all the "scary" things, not even to snap a picture.

Lance was trying to be scary in this picture... I was freezing.

Cole was a great sport and toughed it out in the stroller the whole way.  (Side note: Kendall is a zombie, her eyes are not bruised!)

It was a perfect end to a fun Halloween. The boys had plenty of candy and got to hang out with all their best friends.

Jude found someone else who he thought needed some love. :)

My two doctors:

 

Besides playing with these friends...

...my boys LOVED playing with this little friend:

Even this little stinker had to get some Hershel action.

Love, love.

It was a great Halloween!

You know what Cole thought was even greater than trick or treating?

Getting his first taste of a lollipop.

I think we may have an addict on our hands. :)

Hallow's Eve--"painting" cookies and carving pumpkins

As is tradition in our home, we decorate Halloween cookies each year, or "paint" them, as Jude likes to say. The day before Halloween was a teacher work day at school, so Lance was off! We had some friends over and let the kids "paint" to their hearts' content.

I put the icing in little squeeze bottles that work perfectly for little hands. They had a great time!

Jude takes his cookie painting very seriously. (Don't you love the frosting on his face...and hands, and arm? Clearly he has a "paint and eat" method.)

Lance isn't too fond of little kid antics and prefers to hide in the computer room while they are here, but did make an appearance long enough to decorate one very cute little ghost cookie. I love that he's so meticulous about his decorating. He went slow and did a great job.

Lucy and Caroline also took their decorating seriously and each left with a plate of amazing cookies they had worked on.

That night we finally carved our pumpkin. We had been meaning to do it for a while, but with Lance gone on the weekend and George's schedule, we just couldn't make it happen earlier.

Cole was very excited about the pumpkin. I think he knows he's supposed to smile at the camera because ever time I get it out he breaks into these cute grins. It won't last...

Cutting off the top:

We had two knives so Lance manned one and I manned the other.

See what I mean about the smiling?

Jude wanted to try, too, and kept getting frustrated that he needed help. He tries so hard to be so grown up.

And yes! He is in underwear! We've been potty-training this past month and he's got it down!

See that green thing hanging on the chair in the background? That's Jude's crocodile hat about 1/10th of the way finished. It was going to be a long, long night for me.

I broke out the video camera and Cole thought it was awesome.

Apparently he had much to say on the matter.

Still carving just the top. At this point, I knew we were not going to be able to make a cool design in it like last year before it was time for bed. Bummer.

George stepped in and we finally got the top off and started hollowing out the pumpkin.

We stripped the boys down to their undies for this since inevitably everyone will play in the "guts".

See? They are irresistible.

So many boys in this picture.

Cole kept trying to eat it. :)

I put George in charge of carving a face on it.

Waiting for inspiration...

Of course the boys wanted to help.

It may not be a bomb bird, a Transformers icon, or even Bowser like in years past, but I thought it turned out perfect.

All ready for Halloween!

(Except me, who stayed up until 3 a.m. working on Jude's costume. One day I'll learn to not procrastinate.)