Could it be the last?

We have a middle schooler.
Dressing in costume to get candy from strangers is no longer acceptable behavior.
But he wanted copious amounts of candy.
So what does any self-respecting middle schooler do?
Well, you wear a costume that only a middle school gamer would love.

Can anyone guess who or what he is?
[crickets chirping]
Well, my uninformed friends and family, he is a Minecraft creeper.
Because I am such a cheapskate I scoured the internet for a like minded mother who blogs and found one.  Mama Needs a Hobby set me up.  That, a free cardboard box and a coworker with an awesome color printer and my middle schooler was ready to pillage the neighborhood.

My second grader had grander plans.
And I loved them.
We had found an gnome costume for Mr. Ollie Wienerkins.  Oh the universal shame for dogs on Halloween.  But we gloriously joined in the night of shame and dressed our dachshund like a gnome.  Anna decided he was Gnomeo to her Juliet.

So I was in charge of making her look like Juliet.  And, to be quite honest, because I am not full of vim and vigor these days, it didn't take too long to put it all together.  Here's the whole gang on Halloween night.



This years Halloween Party brought lots of little ones with their 'rents.  We kept it low key this time and I didn't go crazy on cooking and baking.  Gotta love warehouse shopping in situations such as this.  Plus friends who bring yummy food to share.

Here is my one easy but fun thing I did for food this year thanks to my obsession with Pinterest:



After all, who can resist jack-o-lantern vomit?

That and fake mustaches and you've got yourself a party!
I came across stick-on mustaches somewhere before the party and snatched 'em up! (I love the verb "snatch"...hmmm, but I digress).  And just as I thought, they were a hit at the party.  I love that a picture can tell it better than me.

There were all sorts of secret personalities that came out at the party that night!  Loved it!!

Before all the trick or treaters ran off to pillage we gathered them around the Magnolia tree for the traditonal Halloween picture.


The gaggle of goblins did not disappoint.

And while we out trick or treating we were serenaded by a mad accordianist.

Note: his mustache is real.

We all had a great time and I'm sure next year we'll do it again.  But maybe the creeper will stay home and hand out candy. Who knows...maybe he has another Halloween in him...we can hope.

Until then, here's hoping your Jack-O-Laterns light up the night so you can find your way home.

It's Fall...you know what that means, right?

It's time to decorate for Halloween and head to the pumpkin patch for some over priced pumpkins!

First we've gotta dig the graves...


Then the graveyard inspectors must determine the gravestones are installed properly

Then the witch gets on her broom and flies away!

The graveyard is ready to be spooked!


Now for the inside of the house...
Every spooky house needs some blackbirds perched on a old jar of arsenic.


And a mantle dedicated to skulls and general creepiness.


I think the spirits here were musically talented.


Once the house had been creepified it was onto the pumpkin patch.

I'd like to say the experience matches the pics you see here.  But basically it was a lot of yelling and complaining.  So we may for go the pumpkin patch experience next fall.  There oughta be an age limit for that kinda of thing.  Instead of charging you for how much the pumpkins weigh they should charge you for how much your kid weighs.  Would eliminate a lot of pumpkin patch grief in my family, I tell you.

So here they are all jack-o-laterned up...lovingly cleaned and carved by moi...once again an overrated childhood experience.  Both kids totally grossed out by the cleaning.  And even though they chose what we all thought were simple designs, they both shut down and begged me to finish it.

But we are ready now to spook and be spooked.