A SpOoKtAcuLaR Day!

Halloween was especially fun this year.  It happened on a Thursday, which was a preschool day, which meant way more fun.  The boys had a fun morning at daycare.  They dressed up, played all sorts of games, and exchanged candies.  After lunch, Alex took off for daycare where he spent the rest of the afternoon doing much of the same things.  Aiden took a nap.  I picked them up and headed home to get ready for the evening.  This year was especially fun since my cousin, Cassie, came to help us trick-or-treat.  Daycare was closed Friday, so she stayed to watch the boys.

She brought each of the boys their own Halloween buckets full of goodies.  She is a great Aunty.  When Andy came home, we went outside to take pictures with our pumpkins and show Cassie the one we made for her.  I think she was surprised by Andy's pumpkin carving talent.

Aiden picked a 'John Deere' theme for his pumpkin while Alex picked a 'MN Wild' theme.

We all then went with the Hoppe's to a local farmers house to trick-or-treat and then back down to our neighborhood to do the ten houses in the area.  Alex is starting to like the whole trick-or treating thing.  It's fun to see the excitement in his eyes.

At about 6 o'clock, we went over to my parents to trick-or-treat.  We went to their neighbors' homes.  Aiden went to about 20 houses, while Alex went to about 35.  Totally guessing, but a great time.  My brothers also came to my parents and came to pick us up when it was "done" time for the boys.  

We went back to my parent's house to separate the candy and see everything they got.  My mom also made a delicious dinner of chili.  It was fun to have everyone around and I can't help but thank God for all the wonderful people in our lives that are constantly there for my family and my children.  They are lucky boys that are loved by such special people.  Moving into November, I am definitely thankful for many blessings in our lives.  

 

At this point, they were ready for bed.

Pumpkins!

So, we grew our own pumpkins and they were huge.  I will admit I wasn't looking forward to carving them.  I love the tradition of carving them, I hate the mess.  I am not a messy girl.  But, I have two boys and they are both into organized mess.  Does that sound funny?  What I mean is that Alex hates the unorganized mess.  He doesn't like it when things are out of place.  He's a little more like his mother than he (or his father) would probably like to admit.

I think the reason I wasn't looking forward to the carving was because the pumpkins were huge and I thought that meant more seeds and gunk.  But, it really wasn't too bad.  They were mostly hollow with just the seeds and gunk on the sides.  We used ice cream scoops to scoop out all the ideas.  We had 4-five gallon buckets full of gunk and seeds.  I was really surprised how well the boys did cleaning them out.  No complaining and very picky about getting everything out.  Their perfectionist behaviors make their momma happy. 

When it came to carving, we each claimed one pumpkin as our own, one for both the boys and one for Cassie (Benji), picked out our own designs and that was it.  Andy went at it and they turned out ahhhmazing! 

We love trying to put the boys in the pumpkins each year.  We have done it since Aiden was a baby.  This year was no different.  Neither of them wanted to do it, the both cried while we stuck them in there and the only thing to get them to smile was Andy putting a pile of gunk and seeds on top of my head while I took some pictures.  Needless to say, after pictures it was time for showers and bed.  

But, a fun night nevertheless.  

The Early Spooks

Halloween is Alex's favorite holiday and I kind of love it too.  I love the excitement of getting all dressed up in make believe characters and showing a love for creativity.  

For the first time ever, my mom and I took the boys to the Zoo for their Halloween event the weekend before Halloween.  I was so impressed.  The boys dressed up and we were ready to walk around and visit the animals eating pumpkins.  We even got to see the bear eating at the cage.  Only the second time to see that.  So much fun!  

The Zoo had treat bags for all the kids attending and they set up "treat stations" throughout the zoo.  The boys got so much more than treats too.  They got some toys, puzzles, stickers and socks.  Although that shouldn't be what it is about, it is kind of fun.

  

There were even craft stations with two different crafts the kids could make.  The boys chose to make the bats, although my boys could have stayed at this station all day long...

They were very tuckered out after the day full of fun.  Lots of walking (first time without a stroller and we went all the way out to the farm).  We even ran into some family friends who have kids Alex and Aiden's age as well.  It was so much fun seeing all the other costumes.  The boys were really excited about seeing Curious George with the Man in the Yellow Hat.  

I definitely think we will go back another year if it fits in the schedule.  A fun family outing!

For the fourth year in a row now, we attended the New Prague Annual Halloween Party at the CEC.  It is run through ECFE, but the local girl scouts volunteer their time also to run the games.  The kids get to go from station to station playing the different games.  After each game they get a sticker to add to their Halloween Sheets.  They also have a story time where some of the ECFE teachers sing songs and read stories.  Each child gets a Halloween bag when leaving.  It is always a lot of fun for the kids.  I will be sad when this is an event we don't qualify for anymore...

All of this and it wasn't even Halloween yet...

Halloween Fun

I know I have said it before, but getting ready for the holidays is one of my favorite things to do.  The anticipation and excitement are like an adrenaline rush.  We had a lot of orange things to do in preparation for Halloween.  We already made a visit to the corn maze and picked our own pumpkins.  Next on the docket was visiting the local pumpkin patch, Barten Pumpkins. We have been going to this pumpkin patch since Alex was a baby. It is nice because it is local, family owned and run, and close.  

We picked a day over MEA vacation to visit, which turned out really nice as no one else was hardly there.  We picked a wagon for the boys to ride in/set the pumpkins in.  We had already grown our own pumpkins, so they were just picking out smaller pumpkins to paint at home.  

We also enjoy looking at all the crafty things they have there.  They had a little wooden table and chairs, lots of fall decorations, hay stacks, wagons, and other fall games to play such as bean bag toss.  

We went home and the boys were so excited to paint their pumpkins that Aiden accidentally broke his stem off his pumpkin.  I thought he was going to get so upset, but when Alex and I started laughing, he joined right in and thought it was funny that the pumpkin was "bald".  Phew, crisis averted.

You know he is concentrating when his tongue is out.

We also did a little baking of pumpkin/ghost/bat cookies.  One of our favorite things to do together is bake and cook.  The boys hop right up on the stools at the counter and they each get a part.  This is a time when I know I can count on them to listen because they don't want to risk not being able to help me.  

Of course their favorite part is the decorating.  They both do a wonderful job of trying to limit their sugars, but sometimes too much falls out by accident.  They have good intentions.

What do you think that expression says?

Ta-Da!

Both Grandmas gave the boys a little treat this year for Halloween.  When they were staying with Grandma (and Grandpa) Guse for a couple of days, Grandma gave them a "Frankie" for one of the pumpkins they worked so hard to grow.  They loved Frankie and would check on him every day when we got home from school.  "I go see Frankie" was a phrase I heard often when getting out of the van.  My amazing mom made the boys some more shirts for Halloween also.  Frankie was the theme this year with both Grandmas!  The boys loved them and I don't think they could get any cuter!

We stayed in our Jammies all day this day.

Sever's Corn Maze

Every year we have taken the boys out to Emma Krumbees to see the scarecrows.  While I really enjoy the experience, it is always fun to switch things up.  Especially since I feel like we pay a lot of money to look at a few scarecrows and then leave.  It is getting difficult to justify.  This year we decided to do something different with our friends, the Hoppe's, suggest we go to Sever's Corn Maze in Shakopee.  I have always heard wonderful things about this place and have seen quite a few pictures of what I could only assume to be the hugest corn pit ever.  

We were not disappointed.

We went on a breezy afternoon in October. It was actually very nice out, looking back as I am freezing right now.  There was a cost to get into the activities, but it seemed reasonable at the time.  They even had printable coupons online.  

We took some time to walk around in the beginning and play on the big tires and look at some of the scarecrows. We watched some pumpkins being chucked and headed on down toward the corn maze.

They had two big pits of corn.  Everyone took their socks off (some their wedding bands) and jumped right in.  I love it when the activity is both fun for the kids and for the adults.  They had a few pieces of playground equipment to climb on and Sam & Eva raced through the corn pit.  The boys enjoyed the feeling of the corn and the amount of effort it took to get through the corn.  

After the corn pit, we headed down to the petting zoo.  You could buy some food to feed the animals.  They had giraffes, lamas, and other animals. One of the animals ripped the spoon right out of Alex's hand.  I am glad that he eventually let go of the spoon.  We were all laughing while Alex was laughing and bordering on tears.  

The corn maze was fun too.  It was cut into the shape of MN.  We didn't go too far into the maze, but the kids thought we did.  They had fun chasing us and running in and out trying to scare us.  Little did they know they were already scaring me by accidentally walking into a number of mud puddles.  Geez, Mom, relax. 

The kids played on a playground, went through the kids maze, listened to some music, walked by all the food, and went through the toy train before finally, finally, finding one of the best "events" they had...the giant trampolines.  The people working managed them so there were not too many people on them at one time.  Eva and I took the kids up to the top of the "Kid" one.  Alex did really well on his own, jumping around, falling down, and climbing back up again. Aiden was quite wobbly.  He needed help to reach the top and then couldn't seem to find a balance.  I think we were all laughing almost the entire time. The Dad's were "too cool" for this one...

After leaving, we headed out for dinner at Chili's where the kids each were given their own electronic game (the restaurant has them) to play with.  It was a peaceful dinner and a wonderful family filled day.