Halloween 2011

Halloween is one of those holidays that last several days.  At least it seems that way.  We had our ward Trunk-or-Treat on Thursday the 27th of October.  Ella wore her costume for the first time.  It was the same costume Mia wore at her age, which was so nice to see.  They kids enjoyed the carnival games and the hamburger dinner.  But their favorite part is the trunk-or-treat in the parking lot.

Carlee loves Ella so much and is always trying to take care of her, whether Ella wants her to or not.

Best Buddies, Luke and Ammon.

The kids paraded around the gym in their costumes.

 The next morning we drove up to St. George for our annual trip to Staheli Farms Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze.   This was the first time Drew could come along for the trip, which was wonderful.

I can't even begin to explain how much Ella loves animals.  I've never been much of an animal person, but my daughter is obsessed.

Nothing brings as much joy to her little face as seeing or petting animals.

This year they added a new attraction.  A big bouncy ball built in the ground.  The kids went crazy jumping on it.  So I had to make sure Ella had a turn.

You can just see the excitement on her face.

After the pumpkin patch we decided to take Luke out to dinner to celebrate his birthday, which was really on Saturday.  The Stuarts joined us and we took him to Texas Roadhouse where he got to sit on the saddle while everyone yelled "YeeHaw".  He LOVED IT!

That night we stayed at the Lodge in Zions National Park.  Talk about amazing.  It was really breath-taking.  Then in the morning, after breakfast, we packed our backpacks and went for a hike.  There's nothing quite like hiking up a beautiful mountain, enjoying the wonders on nature, only to realize halfway up the trail that your camera battery is dead, and you have to lug that huge thing in your pack for nothin!!!  I did get a couple of pictures on my phone that was almost dead as well.  Next time I will plan a little better.  

Anyway, we hiked up to the lower and upper emerald pools.  Then we walked back down the trail to the Grotto stop on the shuttle for a picnic lunch.  We were hoping to meet up with our group of friends that were also hiking that day, but our paths never crossed, unfortunately.  But we made the most of it and took the shuttle to the top of the park where we hiked up to the narrows trails.  It was beautiful, but a little too crowded for my taste, and most of the time I was carrying Luke who complained his feet hurt.  It's about all my little kiddos could do, but it was still fun, and I really look forward to a trip with just Drew, where we can really challenge ourselves.  

We headed home on Saturday night (Luke's big day) and enjoyed the rest of the long weekend in our relaxing home.  Monday was Halloween and this is what I made for dinner.  Instead of the traditional dinner in a pumpkin, we decided to do something a little more fun.  Mummy dogs.

 With Ghost Potatoes.

 And spooky Salad (Salad not really spooky - but the servers were)

 And beignets for dessert!

 Oh, and here's a photo of the kids jack-o-lanterns this year.  Luke's is on the left, Cole's in the middle, and Mia's on the right.

Mia trick-or-treated ALONE with her friends Aspen and Addison (and a parent shadow following a few houses behind).

 Miss Ella stayed home with Daddy and turned in early.  Cole was the first one to get exhausted and headed home early with a pumpkin full and candy and a broken pumpkin bucket handle.  Mia was really exhausted by the time she finished the neighborhood, but Luke was still full of energy by the end.  Probably because he was sampling his loot throughout the night.  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Kid Halloween Party

I know, I know.  Another Halloween Party.  The Swasey's must love to party, I guess.  It was more like a spontaneous party.  My good friend Jen told me Tuesday night that her daughter Aspen was thinking about having a halloween party that Friday the 28th.  I thought Mia would love it, but we were planning on going out of town that weekend, and so was her other good friend Katelyn.  Their last day of school that week was Wednesday, and there was no way Jen could throw the party that night, so I offered to have it at my house instead.  Aspen would provide all the games, I just needed to have the house.  It worked out perfectly because my house was already decorated for Luke's party and Drew was busy that night, so everything fell into place.  We quickly called a few friends and once the kids got home from school, they helped me get ready for it.

Cole didn't want to miss out on any fun, so I told him he could invite his two best friends over for their own "Wii" party, so long as they included Luke.

So at 5:30 all the kids showed up.   We made the house REALLY spooky!

They enjoyed chili and breadsticks for dinner, along with yummy apple cider.  

 They bobbed for apples

Some of the girls really got into it.  

 They were drenched by the end and some of them had to borrow some of Mia's clothes.

 They had a few extra apples, so Cole and Michael were able to have a turn.  Jake wasn't so interested.

Jen loved the mummy wrap game from Luke's birthday party, so she got the supplies for the older girls to play.  But this time they were out for quality, not speed.  The best wrapped mummy wins.

 Everyone fought to have petite Sara as their partner.  The easiest to wrap, for sure.

 Ella loved playing with the crepe paper.

 Then they switched places, so each girl had a turn to be a mummy.

They also played a balloon popping game, then sat down to watch "Corpse Bride" with Popcorn and M&Ms.  Jake and Michael put on two of the halloween masks and scared the girls.  It was a lot of fun.  We might have to make this a tradition.