Madison Halloween Book

Here are some pages from a halloween book that I made up 

for Reece's mom and sister. While looking through

all their family albums I noticed all the pictures of their themed

halloween costumes were all collected in the same place. I just

jumped on that, got into my craft mood (which Im in most of the time)

and created a book full of all the spooky memories.

Princess & Frog Prince

High School Prom Dates (amazing. Im totally going to do this one with Reece sometime)

Robinhood & The Crocodile 

Bride & Groom (Reece sure makes a handsome groom...I would know)

Reece still talks about his pirate stage where he would watch pirates of penzance everyday and how he and his mom searched for days for all the proper pirate costume essentials. The earring was the hardest to find. 

The Pumpkin Events

This owl is one of my favorite pumpkins I carved this year. I carved it while I was supposed to be "helping" my niece carve her pumpkin but then she mysteriously disappeared just long enough for me to do all the heavy carving. She reappeared just as I finished the last touches on the owls feathers and then wanted share in the basking of the compliments on "her" owl pumpkin. Oh well.... I guess I cant say that I didnt do that myself when I was a little tike. Just as long as there is a cool pumpkin in the end right?   

Here is me with MY ghoul pumpkin.... but shortly after I finished this one I started (and finished) the work on my other niece's pumpkin. It was the skull and cross bones.... I absolutely loved that out of all the patterns there were, that was the one that she picked. I love her quirky little personality. That pumpkin turned out alright as well. But, man those teeth were hard.
Here they are displayed on my sisters porch. I whipped out some light painting to try to get them to look their spookiest.

Check out the leaves on my sisters trees in her front yard. I think they are the coolest. All the best colors all at one time.

On actual halloween it was a little harder to have a good time. Its definitely different handing out the candy instead of being the one getting it... there was always just long enough a pause in between each doorbell ring for me to think that there were no more and I could start to watch a movie.....but no although the rain slowed the flow the kiddies still kept coming. But after awhile my hubby started answering the door with me to see all the little kids costumes, we had a whole bunch more trick or treaters this year as all the million little tikes in our growing neighborhood are getting older, and we started keeping track of how many storm troopers and tinkerbells we saw. Finally the doorbell stopped and we got to cuddle up on our couch next to the fire to eat old fashioned donuts and drink rootbeer and watch movies.    

Family Halloween Bash

We had our annual Family Halloween Bash at my sister Jenny's house. A Costume was required to get in the door. We all brought an activity to do to add to the fun. I was in charge of the table center pieces, I've always loved flower arrangements in vases made from hollowed out pumpkins so I cut the tops off of fake pumpkins and then inserted small glass cylinder vases inside to hold the flowers and water, I got the flowers and berry fillers at Costco like usual. The flower arrangements, fall leaf and berry garlands, bronze glass pumpkins, glittery gold chargers and napkins, black table cloths and napkin rings, cream sodas and apples all made for a lovely spread.  


I was impressed with everybody's creativity in their costumes: Kate (CSI Las Vagas Sarah Sidle, I wanted to be her with a full body jumpsuit but kitch beet me to it....I love that I got her hooked, now I know I will always have someone to watch my guilty pleasure CSI with), Jenny (Snow White), Evy (orange kitty), Mike (Woody from Toy Story), Pops (a hippie clown), Mom (a frilly lady from the 20's), Nora (Mini Mouse), Me (Supper Woman), Reece (The Flash).

After doing a scrapbook project for Reece's mom where I made a memories book of all thier halloweens throughout the years, I have fallen in love with the "themed couple costume" idea. So this year I let Reece choose the theme and I wasn't surprised when he chose super heros (that is what he has been for the last three halloweens we have been married). Next year I have a great idea for a theme I cant wait to compile our awesome costumes, get excited to see them next year. The Griffen's had a great "Disney" theme, which is perfect for them (they absolutely love Disneyland and go annually).

The food was adorable and extremely yummy. Jenny had made pigs in a blanket "spider-style", with a catsup and ranch web dipping sauce, creamy potato soup, green salad with orange vinigarette, and crackers with little cheese pumpkins on them. Jenny also helped Nora make all the crafty paper decor for the cupboards. 

Jenny created a collage wall of all our families old halloween pictures from when our parents were young, we were young, when our husbands were young, and now the grandkids. It was so fun to reminisce. If you look closely you will can see me as a cowgirl, a japanese geisha, an angle, a cheerleader, a plethora of baby animals, and Captain America's 1920's girlfriend.

My mom brought a witch hat decorating craft. We sewed on feather boas around the rim and then glued on various sparkly trinkets from spiders to letters, to flowers. 


I then had to try to take an artistic photo to capture how magical our hats turned out.

Kitch brought all the ingredients for yummy carmel apples. We learned from our mistakes at the last halloween bash that we needed to add a couple tablespoons of water to the carmel while we were melting it (otherwise the carmel dries on the apples rock-tooth-breaking hard). We had a carmel layer, a chocolate layer, and then a toppings layer. Our toppings consisted of mini m&m's, oreos, graham cracker crumbs, and cinnamon sugar. I did a dark chocolate and oreo combo but the family's pick was the "apple pie" recipe. Carmel and white chocolate with graham cracker and cinnamon topping.

I found these gingerbread house decorating kits almost a month before and since I knew that we wouldn't be eating the candy I got them for my activity for the party. I tried to decorate mine to look like the one on the box. But I wish I had thought of adding trees like my friend who ended up doing the same activity. Dang it. Ill save that idea for the future.

I thought Mike's was perfect. The back was a dracula face with a beauty mark and on the side was a CSI's crime scene complete with caution tape and cones. Amazing.

It was the perfect halloween celebration. Yummy food, fun activities, and most of all.... amazing people.

Corn Maze

Just some more autumn fun. We had a fall feast with our buds Josh and Crystal. I cooked lemon and rosemary encrusted chicken, stuffing balls, mashed sweet potatoes, homemade rolls, and red bell pepper soup. Crystal brought yummy cider to wash it all down with. I love setting my table for fall dinners as my mustard and cream square plates look great together with the tweedy placemats and napkins that I have.  I had a fall flower arrangement in one of my painted ginger jars from Rhodes (picture to follow I love these jars) and a bowl full of freshly picked apples from my neighbors tree. Sorry I dont have pictures of the whole dinner affair I just got all caught up in cooking (something that I really love doing but I need lots of practice in to be as gourmet as I want to be).

Then after the feast we went to the cornmaze down at thanksgiving point. (yes the one that was in the shape of david archuleta..... dont judge.) I have never successfully navigated a corn maze and was determined to push through. We chose the harder of the two routes and selected the  "history" question guide (a way to be guided to check point to check point by answering the questions). But after about 15 min we had given up on the history guide and was wondering aimlessly through the dried corn stalks all the while our noses getting redder with the cold. 

We didn't know a general direction to journey to find the exit.... so we  trekked to all four corners of the maze to just end up exiting the way we went in. It was still fun though. It was hilarious to watch Josh try to scare the other people in the maze. He could be pretty scary as a huge dark silhouette popping out from behind the walls of corn. 

Outside the maze there was this amazing tower of professionally carved (fake) pumpkins. This is what I have in mind when I set out to carve pumpkins..... but usually not what the other people that Im with have in mind. Someday I will create my carved masterpiece. 

There was also this blown up creature that you could walk through to get scared. Crystal and I both allowed ourselves to get pretty scared while we were walking in the pitch black feeling the inside walls of the creature trying to find a way out. The creepiest thing was the fake dead person that was made to appear to have curled up and died having never found a way out. In all it was totally a fall fun filled evening. 

Aren't We Lucky?

 

Aren't we lucky? we get to tend these adorable tikes every monday night through tuesday morning. We tend them for a lady in our ward who works graveyard shifts as a nurse and whose husband is deployed in Afghanistan. She is an amazing example to us on how to push on through challenges. We learn so much from her. We also totally look forward to playing with the boys every week. Every tuesday morning we like to go fun places that we need to have kids with us to visit. We like to go to Cabellas to get hotdogs, look at the fish, and learn about different animals. We loved farm country at Thanksgiving Point. Picnics in the park and building sand castles in the sandbox was a must while the weather was warm. And we most recently went to Cornbellies for hay rides and fall activities. Sam is 1 and Thomas is 3.

The boys also live in one of our dream houses that I thought I would never get to see the inside of and just admire from afar, but now we get to sleep over there every monday night.