Halloween...THE end!

Will the late posts ever end? I was looking at pictures today and found a whole bunch that never made it to my blog and must be included since if they're not on my blog they won't make it into my book. Uggg, the responsibility!

So for posterity sake...here is more of our Halloween 2009!

Mmmm! Pumpkin seeds! I think I got enough to last more than a month! (that's a lot because I LOVE them and eat a lot of them) Will was gone helping a friend during this fun, messy, rather stinky activity, but it's gotten better throughout the years because the kids are older and can do most of it themselves - minus the cutting part - I still don't entirely trust the kids with sharp knives and thick, hard to cut pumpkin. I think that's more of a mom fear than one of my neurotic traits.

Grrr...blurry picture of Jay with GUTS! It's odd that my girls don't mind reaching their hands inside the pumpkin and pulling out all the slimy, stringy stuff but Jay...won't touch it. The ladle is his weapon and he'll show a brave face...but has no brave pumpkin carving skills! Honestly...not one time did he touch the inside of his pumpkin!

Lauren...no problem!

Katie Jane...no problem!

Emma...No problem!
In fact, Emma is my dare-to-touch-anything kid. Worms, live fish (ewww) gerbils (double ewww!)

Since Beckie's family got sick, we had an impromptu Halloween Party at gma and grumpa's house. Chili and soup on a not so chilly day. I realized after I looked at all these pictures, that I didn't get a single picture of Katie Jane in her costume...she was Mother Nature.

My mom always has big plans for her and my dad's costume. They've been ketchup and mustard, ghooly ghosts with flashing eyes, she made my dad dress up like white trash, complete with a mullet hairstyle and cut off t-shirt with some rock band or something on it and I think my mom has had him be the Tooth Fairy. Yeah...it WAS funny.

This year, my mom was Captain America and my dad was...

Nacho Libre. He didn't even know who Nacho was. We had to tell him how to pose! He's a good sport. And Nacho's been working out, or at least on a diet so that belly is Nacho (not so) big! My dad's used to the teasing from us kids. Until he stops wearing black socks and sandals riding on his Harley...we won't stop!

Batman had all kinds of flying, swooping and running skills! All things that Jackson is really good at too!

Tyler has been growing his hair out for MONTHS in anticipation for what he wanted to be for Halloween. A mad scientist doesn't have manicured cheveux. He's got to have MAD hair! Watch out! He's gone MAAAADDD!

Love him. Trevin can transform into any character...with only facial expressions! And watch out, he's got a fast draw!

Ballerina Emma refused to go "trunk-or-treating" so she handed out the candy, and me (I was Raggedy Ann) and Will (he was...whatever we found in the costume container) went around to all the other "trunks" and saw how creative people are.

I'm not really a good Halloween mom. I'm always trying to throw something together at the last second without spending any money. Can't we just eat the candy without dressing up? I'm kind of a poor sport...not even kind of...I AM a poor sport!

Case in point. Lauren was an Afghani girl- something that is very really in our home. She's learned that mom's not going to buy costumes and so she works with what she's got. AND she loves the outfit Will brought back for her from Afghanistan. She likes to wear it at any and every opportunity! Especially if I let her wear make-up...that's what she wants to be.

I'm so glad I took pictures of the kids' pumpkins, because about 1 hour after returning home and putting them on the front porch all lit up and in great Halloween tradition...some brats came by and took them off of our front porch and splattered them all over the road and filled the streets with ours and several other neighbor's pumpkins.

It's times like that, that I wished that either the Great Pumpkin from Charlie Brown was real - except really, mean and attacked kids that destroy others property and/or that we could hire the Headless Horseman to scare those disrespectful brats to death!

But I've got Will instead...that's going to be fun to watch next year!