Happy Halloween!

We started out the evening with our traditional "pumpkin" pizza.

I also roasted pumpkin seeds this year. I was surprised that Nicole likes them. I have no idea why I made brownie "bites." As if we weren't going to have enough sweets tonight!

Halloween cards from Papa and Grandma Sedenko.

This is the home of our next door neighbor. It was one of the first houses we visited and I actually got Allyson to say, "Trick or Treat." I would spend the rest of the night trying to get an encore but it wouldn't happen. Fortunately I got this on video. This was also the night Allyson used a three-word sentence! We were in the car getting ready to go our church party and she said something like, "want candy too." Britt and I just looked at each other and said, "Wow. She's really talking now!"

Before Trick or Treating we went to our church's 10-31 party. They had bounce houses, kettle corn and cider, tons of candy, a shipwreck dance party and a cute pirate-themed play about the keys to life: Love God and Love Others.

Here Nicole gets into the dance party.

This is the pirate/mermaid limbo!

Allyson was pretty shy during most of the dancing.

I was able to coax her up at the very end but she still wasn't dancing.

Suddenly she got her groove on!

This is our neighbor across the street. They ran out of candy but had saved some for us.

This is Kim and her daughter, Hope. Hope is our primary babysitter. She's been babysitting for us since before Allyson was born. They are from Bakersfield and we love their family dearly!

I don't know if you can see this or not but this family in a cul de sac near our house had a projector and was playing "The Addams Family" on his garage door! Britt and I now want a projector for Christmas. :) We thought this was so cool.

We originally were going to have the girls both be Ariel. But Allyson hated walking in her costume and threw a fit. So I bought a Sebastian costume. Well, she didn't like the head/hat. She made peace with the mermaid costume by hiking it up a little, giving her freedom to run as fast as she pleased.

Unfortunately, she went a little too fast, landing flat on her face...more than once.

And she decided to run right past the people handing out candy and check out their houses. You can see she made it all the way up the stairs in this place. There's just a little glimpse of her at the top of the stairs on the left.

The family, thankfully was laughing hysterically.

My flash wasn't working but this is Allyson being led back to her family.

This was another house she decided to let herself in to visit.

Daddy and his little mermaids.

Now, in this house, she was invited in to meet R2D2.

This is the walkway to our house. The leaves are back. Again.

Britt's pumpkin. Didn't it turn out great?

I did an ode to the leaves in my life.

Checking out our loot!

So thankful for these!!

So, I look over to the side and see this little pile of Kit Kats. I asked where they came from and Britt just smiles and says he heard Kit Kats weren't good for kids. He's just looking out for their best interests.

To be fair, I had already been looking out for their best interests, too.

Don't miss the post about our Halloween party last night. We've sure had a blast this year!

Halloween Party

Nicole has a little friend in her class named Esther or "Essie" for short. Esther was the first friend Nicole talked about when she started school. We had only briefly met Essie and her mom one time but when we received an invitation to a Halloween party at Essie's grandparent's home we thought it was a perfect opportunity to get to know them more.

Because it was going to be a bonfire type of party I knew the mermaid costumes weren't going to work. So Nicole was excited to wear her Dorothy costume which we purchased to wear for next year. I also found Nicole's old "flower" costume for Allyson. She seemed pretty happy with it. It's a good thing we did this because when we got to Essie's grandparent's house there was a HUGE pile of leaves the kids were jumping in... one of Nicole's favorite activities!

These people literally pulled out all the stops. They had an unbelievable spread of food and some of the best chili we've ever tasted. There were hot dogs, chicken salad, macaroni and cheese, juice boxes, chips, and on and on. For dessert there was pumpkin pie and cupcakes. This was a big hit with our kids!

Essie is next to Nicole picking out a cupcake.

There were stories by the campfire, a costume contest where everyone got a prize. I don't remember Nicole's "title" but I heard them say Allyson got the "prettiest flower." Nicole picked out this pony for her prize. Britt helped Allyson pick a football. (They've been playing football in the house. It's his little way of getting to watch the game while spending time with the girls. Thankfully, it's a nerf ball!)

There was also a bonfire and the kids got to roast marshmallows for smores!

There was also a pinata. In one swing Nicole whacked the thing straight to the ground. (I wish I had it on video!) It didn't open, though, and a couple of the guys had quite a time tying it back up.

Essie is the one in the tutu and skeleton shirt. Quite a combination, lol!

Finally it broke and the kids went crazy for all the candy.

One of the most amazing things about this night was when I went inside the house and noticed a picture of one of my college professor's on the wall. Thinking they must know him I went outside and asked. Turns out Dr. Nunnally is Essie's grandfather! He was the one tying up the pinata and telling campfire stories. I hadn't even recognized his voice. (Of course, it's been 11 years since I graduated.) Dr. Nunnally is the one standing with the flashlight.

Here he is telling a campfire story.

Nicole decided she had a story to tell. Or at least she thought she did.

The kids (and parents) were so exhausted but had such a great time. Wow, do these people know how to throw a party!