October and Halloween

GENERAL CONFERENCE WEEKEND

Mila and Emmitt watching Conference together under an umbrella.

 Something about Elder Hales' talk sent the children in to fits of joyful dancing. I don't know why Mila doesn't have any pants on.

Between sessions we went to the pumpkin patch with the Hobbys. It was fun, but 83 degrees was way too hot for such a fall activity.

Cambria and Mila on the hay ride out to the pumpkins.

 Poor Nathan, all Emmitt wanted to do was tackle him.

 This farm also had some rides and food vendors. We let the kids pick one ride each. Emmitt chose the cars and Mila wanted the obstacle course leading to the giant slide.

HALLOWEEN

Mila missed all the festivities at school because she had strep throat, but luckily we were well enough to enjoy everything else.

We went trick-or-treating with the Coopers and Hobbys on beggar's night, which was sadly on the 25th.

Jake, the Neverland Pirate, and Snow White.

 Jake and the Neverland Pirates is a cartoon on Disney Jr. that just came out in the last few years so only one person actually guessed who Emmitt was. Emmitt likes the show, but we also borrowed the costume from our neighbor so it was free.

Understandably, most people guessed that he was a rock star.

 Cambria and Mila.

Mila and some of the other cute girls at Trunk-or-Treat the next day.

 Practicing her princess wave.

 Emmitt spent all of the chili cook-off dinner and trunk-or-treat glued to Sam because another boy wore an alien mask and scared him to death.

We carved our pumpkins the day before Halloween. Things had just been too busy to get it done before that. It was fun to have something to do closer to Halloween since everything was done by the 26th.

Sam working on the 37 pound beast we got from the pumpkin patch.

 Emmitt would not leave the little carving knives alone. It was driving me crazy. Carving pumpkins is tough with little kids since there is so much of it they can't do. It was great just coloring them last year.

 Mila jumped right in to help clean out the pumpkin goop.

 It took Emmitt a long time to touch it. He kept saying it was too yucky.

He changed his mind so he could help collect pumpkin seeds for roasting.

We made half of them plain roasted with salt and the other half kettle seeds with a sugar glaze. They were delicious! The kids loved them and they were totally gone by lunch the next day.

 The finished products.

Mila picked the Grim Reaper design for the pumpkin (from a pattern book), and we made the gourd into a fairy house.

She even decorated the inside and saved some of the seeds for fairy food. 

 A couple of Sundays ago a woman at church gave me a pumpkin baby hat for next year, and Emmitt has been wearing it constantly even though it doesn't fit. Just details for a three-year-old. On Halloween I peeked in on Emmitt in his bed and he was wearing it while he was sleeping. Sadly, that was about the most Halloween thing about the 31st. Otherwise, it was a fun and very busy October.