Halloween IV

Halloween was a lot of fun this year, mostly because Lilly started getting excited about it several weeks in advance. It was also the first year that she was able to choose her own costume. She started with wanting to be a ballerina, then a princess, then she saw a pair of wings and wanted to be a butterfly, then moved along to fairy, and back to ballerina. She paused briefly to consider a pumpkin, then wanted to be a rainbow. It was around this time that I regretted telling her in advance that Halloween was coming up. After several other ideas Lilly finally settled on a Rainbow Butterfly Ballerina Princess Fairy. I had her sign a contract agreeing to this. Then, after having it notarized I started work on the costume.
Jack didn't care what his costume was so I decided that he should be a dragon. When I went to get the dragon costume I saw this adorable monkey costume...and it was on sale. That was a lot easier than the Rainbow Butterfly Ballerina Princess Fairy.
On the Wednesday before Halloween we took the kids to Boone Village for the annual Halloween Party and Trick or Treat event sponsored by local businesses. Lilly entered the costume contest and won second place in her age group. We didn't enter Jack because his costume wasn't homemade and I didn't think that was fair, but later regretted it when the winners for his age group were all store bought costumes and our little monkey was much cuter. Lilly was very proud of her trophy and was reluctant to let me carry it so that she could finish trick or treating. Which didn't seem right to me...since it was kind of my trophy...cause I'm the one that actually made that costume...

On the following weekend in a rare twist of events I was invited out with some friends for an adult Halloween night out. Clearly, we dressed up as famous

characters from cereal boxes. We had Corn Pops, Lucky Charms, Tony the Tiger, Shredded Mini Wheat, Count Chocula, Toucan Sam, and the Cheerios Bee. Our plans for the actual day of Halloween were a little bit like last year's plans. Instead of driving around from house to house, we just invited everyone over to our house. So, Lilly and I thought it would be nice to make some Halloween cupcakes for everyone. Jack wanted to help too. He thought we might need some Tupperware to put the cupcakes in after they were finished. We didn't, but I had to wash it all anyway.

Lilly stirring the cupcake batter, even though the mixer already did it.

After a refreshing rest Lilly decorated the cupcakes with some festive sprinkles.

Lilly's wings and bun. She was equally proud of both.

Jack the monkey. We don't know if he liked his costume or not. This is the only facial expression that he ever really makes. But, most people agreed, he's pretty cute.

Lilly finally dropped the 'princess fairy' part of her costume. So, here's the monkey and the Rainbow Butterfly Ballerina together right before we headed out into the neighborhood.

The whole family. Crazy.

Lilly and her friend Georgie...I mean Woody.

Lilly and Avery. Lilly appears to actually be taking flight in this picture while Rapunzel poses with her friend Pascal.

Wes, Kristy, and Samantha the butterfly joined us for a little trick or treating. Samantha was disappointed when she realized that no one was handing out Enfamil.

At the end of the evening Lilly was worn out and ready to ride in the wagon. As we headed home we passed by a house with the porch light on and a friendly neighbor sitting out front. When Bryan asked her if she wanted to climb out of the wagon to go to the door she said, "No, can you just go get my candy for me?" We continued on home.

While we trick or treated my dad handed out candy at our house and my mom went for pizza. Mark, Debbie and Mandy DeWeese joined us for a mini Halloween party with dinner, treats and even delivered treat bags for Lilly, Jack and Samantha. Thanks everyone for all of the fun!

Walking the Plank

That's right, I said "walking". He doesn't go too far, but Jack is getting braver and braver and takes a few more steps every day. He seems pretty proud of himself after he has walked a few steps and is trying to do it more before dropping down to crawl at top speed.
Jack kind of has a crazy little gate. He lets go of whatever he is holding onto, takes a couple of normal steps, then a couple of little quick ones and then hurries, trying not to fall forward.Oh yeah, and he has pirate jammies.
Complete with a skull.

Clearly Jack isn't walking in this picture, but the rest of us were about to go for a walk. I just thought Wes's and my matching baby carriers were kind of cute.

Chili Supper

Last weekend AppleHammer Events hosted another great event at our family cabin in Parke County. Please see the May 3, 2011 blog for more details on the cabin. This weekend was all about the first Chili Supper and Lilly's first overnight at the cabin. The plan was for my Uncle Chris and my brother Wes to each make a pot of chili, everyone would bring something to share and that's about it. We'd sit around the fire, maybe ride the four wheelers and clear a couple of trails. Bryan and I thought this family friendly event might be a good time for Lilly to test out her new sleeping bag. As it turns out she didn't need it because she slept in Bryan's...with him.
There aren't many pictures, because as I mentioned, only Bryan and Lilly (and Papaw, Mark, Wes, Kristy and Samantha) spent the night on Friday night. I wasn't there to act as paparazzi.
Papaw and Lilly by the fire relaxing before bed. Lilly was very excited to camp and quite specific about what she wanted on her list: hot dogs and marshmallows. Obviously, I sent a few other things, but she cooked her own dinner over the fire and later sat in some marshmallows.
Rehashing the night's events with Daddy. From what I hear Lilly eagerly went to bed on her own cot, in her own sleeping bag. Then, took a couple trips to the potty, requested a few drinks of water, and later decided that she'd like to sleep in Bryan's sleeping bag with him.
Nothing beats coffee, or hot chocolate, by the fire in the morning when you are camping.
Too bad about the lack of pictures because there could have been some good ones. As always, just being at the cabin was a good time and we can't wait to do it again.

Falling for Fall

As I have said before, Fall is my favorite season, but it is not Bryan's. He sees Fall as the beginning of the end. He hates cold weather and thinks of Fall as the start of winter. Luckily for him it was 80 degrees this weekend and we had outdoor Fall activities planned for both days.
Day 1: Saturday. We planned on walking to a nearby Pumpkin Festival and meeting some friends there. But, they got there first and reported back that the Pumpkin "Festival" was nothing more than a couple of folding tables and a pumpkin or two. So, we altered our plan and went to Trader's Point Creamery Organic Pumpkin Festival. And, like anything that begins with the word 'organic' it was ridiculously expensive. We paid $10 a person to get in. Then, ate a lunch of hot dogs and potato salad: $30. Yes, you read that right. I thought I was going to have to pull Bryan off of the guy at the register. He double checked the math, threw 30 tickets at the guy and stormed to our table, where he consumed every last bit of the 100% organic outrageously priced meal. After that, he bought an equally overpriced beer, that seemed to calm him down and he made the best of the rest of the day. We were already there, after all, and into the day 50 bucks. Everything else was included so we trudged on.
Lilly and Avery picked out a pumpkin for each of the kids (another $4) and then the three that were capable painted their pumpkins. Pictured here are Lilly with her pumpkin and Bryan with his beer. The beer was expensive, but he was much less likely to assault an organic creamery worker if he had a nice cold one in his hand.
Because lunch was so expensive Jack had to eat his pumpkin. Just kidding. Actually, the best deal of the day was the $4 (half) soft pretzel that I bought for Jack. He ate the whole thing, throughout the course of two hours. But, he actually ate it. Crazy.

I know this is strange, but this is a mother...caught on camera. (Gasp!) Of course, the picture was taken by another mother. Tania and Dylan painting his pumpkin. The painting was messy so Dylan took off his shirt. Luckily Tania could be trusted to use the paint carefully.

Face painting. Surprisingly enough TPC can't seem to afford professional face painters so they have teenage volunteers doing the painting (with organic paint I'm sure). Unfortunately the volunteers were some of the least artistic people I've every met. Lilly's rainbow wasn't too bad, but Avery's heart was either anatomically correct or just a crooked circle with a smudge. Dylan's football was enough that Tania, a rather talented artist, want to grab the brush and siege a hostel take over of the face painting booth. She even considered charging as a way to earn back what we spent on lunch.

Despite discontent amongst the adults, the girls...and even Jack and Dylan, had a good time and mostly just enjoyed each other's company. Also, pictured here is Avery's good heart. It was the one on the other cheek that was messed up.

We later went on the free hayride, visited the farmer's market and then made a speedy exit. Bryan and I spent $70, left in bad moods and decided that next time we'd just have a play date with the Framptons and bring our own pumpkins.

Day 2: Sunday. We picked my dad up and met Wes, Kristy and Samantha at The Dump (or, The Country Market rather). Their Pumpkin Fest is the best in town...or just north of town. Its reasonable to get in, kids get a free pumpkin, there is live music and everything is included except for the pony rides. And, if you can find a better deal than a two lap pony ride for $3 then I'd like to know about it.

After a reasonably priced lunch of pork tenderloins, a hot dog and some french fries for $16, Lilly started her day off with a little calf roping.

Donkey petting.

The donkeys and Jack had a little bit of a stare down.

The best way to travel at a pumpkin festival when is 80 degrees? On someone else's shoulders.

Papaw and Lilly on the big slide. Lilly can actually go down the slide by herself, but she gets a little bit more speed with Papaw or Daddy riding shotgun.

Daddy and Jack on the slide. Jack probably couldn't go down the slide by himself. He didn't seem to like it, or dislike it. Like most things he just accepted it without even changing his facial expression. Lilly didn't seem to enjoy the barrel train ride as much as in previous years. No, it wasn't going that fast and no, clinging desperately to her seat was not out of necessity.

There is a track there with lots of big wheels and peddle cars. Lilly needed a little help with hers.

Jack's favorite part of the day was picking out his pumpkin. Well, I guess he didn't even get to pick out his pumpkin. Lilly chose it for him, along with her own, but Jack spent a long time just hanging out with the little pumpkins and playing.

Lilly slowed down just long enough for me to get a picture of the two of them together. Then, she noticed the sign behind them and was up and running again. Ok, so she probably noticed the actual ponies and not the sign, but she headed that way anyway.

While Lilly and I waited in the pony riding line Daddy and Jack practiced walking in the pumpkins.

Watching Lilly the cowgirl ride the pony.

Lilly riding said pony.

Getting a boost from Daddy to see the ponies. Maybe next time he will want to ride too.

Crazy...another picture of a mother. Proof that I also was at the Pumpkin Fest.

Bryan thinks he's funny. Strangely enough, I do not agree.

But, I think this is funny. Lilly, Jack and Papaw think they're pretty funny too. Bryan and Wes pose with the babies. Samantha had so much fun at the festival that she passed out and slept through pumpkin picking, the corn maze a most of the picture taking.

One of the best parts of the Pumpkin Fest is the corn box. It is very much like a sandbox, but with corn instead. This means no sand in the hair, no sand in the diaper, no sand in the shoes, etc. The only problem is that Jack thinks the corn is there for a snack.

After watching a little boy bury himself in the sand, Lilly insisted that she be buried too. She loved it.

Jack, not so much.

More (and much, much better) face painting.

The corn maze was pretty easy, just following the beaten path. But, Lilly has never been a follower and she wandered off...right into a dead end. She even lead Papaw astray.

After all the fun Lilly picked out a couple of carvers, loaded them into her wagon, realized it was way to heavy, asked Daddy to take one, and then headed to the car.

It was a great day and we followed it up with a family dinner at our house. Now its Monday and we're all worn out. Bryan has the day off and I have plans to go shopping with my mom. To top it off Bryan just informed me that he'd like to take both kids to the zoo...alone...all by himself. This will be the first time he has every taken both kids anywhere without another adult. That may end up being a whole other blog....