Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Both Lydia and Rebekah have been planning their costumes since last Halloween. 

(No, I'm not kidding.)

But Lydia changed her mind at the last second and went from being Lucy from the Chronicles of Narnia to Maid Marian from Robin Hood. 

I think she makes a really cute Maid Marian. 

Rebekah stuck to her guns and worked out her costume to be a newsy from the musical, Newsies. 

She even worked it out to coordinate her outfit with her friend, Lauren. 

After some goofing off at home, we headed over to Thompson's Station Church for their Fall Festival.

It was raining and they were predicting tornadoes for later in the evening.  Definitely NOT a night to be out trick or treating.

So, we went to TSC and played two games. And got two handfuls of candy.

No, I am not even kidding.

It was THAT packed.

Because everyone else in Thompson's Station/Spring Hill decided that they didn't want to be out in the rain either. But on the bright side, we ran into lots of friends.

Here, we've got Lydia as Maid Marian, Olivia as a cat, Emma as Dr. Who, Stephanie as Riversong (Dr. Who's wife), and Lauren and Bekah as newsies.

They both love musicals and were so excited to pose together.

We ran into the Nieveses as well.  Cassidy was a flapper. And Lydia even ran into a girl with the exact same costume!!

Bekah was beyond excited to see her friend from church dressed up as Dr. Who (complete with Sonic Screwdriver), and Lydia found her friend who was dressed up as Cleopatra.

After promising the kids I would buy them candy myself if we could just leave we headed out for dinner (where we were also joined by friends).

So, although this Halloween was a bit of a bust, at least the kiddos got to show off their costumes, right?

Carving Pumpkins

This week, we finally found some time to carve our pumpkins.  (And not any too soon, I might add.) 

Instead of David doing all the work this year, David showed the girls all the tricks to carving the pumpkins. 

He showed them how to notch the top of the pumpkin. He showed them how to remove the guts and sort out the seeds.

We even found one of the seeds had sprouted inside the pumpkin!!

All this teaching meant that our pumpkin carving took place over two nights instead of our usual one. But that's okay.  We had a lot of fun. And the girls learned about the hard work of scraping out the inside of the pumpkin enough to carve cool patterns into it.

Bekah chose a Dr. Who pattern.  Well, Bekah chose Dr. Who and then had me come up with a pattern and draw it on her pumpkin. And then David showed her how to use the carving tools.

Bekah and I kind of tag teamed on the pumpkin.  She did the tough sawing and I did the more intricate work with the exacto knife.

Bekah may have had to tell me to back off a time or two. But in the end, her pumpkin turned out so great!

She was so incredibly pleased!!

And in case her pumpkin makes no sense to you, this is a picture of Dr. Who, in his fez and bow tie.

So, can you see it now?  There's a fez, crazy hair, and a bow tie (all Dr. Who trademark looks).

Lydia, always my efficient one, didn't want to mess with the intricate designs.  She just wanted to get her pumpkin carved! She drew the face she wanted and then set to work.

David showed her how to use the tools. Only, in her efficientness (is that word?) she didn't scrape out the inside of the pumpkin so that it was thin enough to carve.

So, carving out the face took a bit longer than she had anticipated.  But the end result turned out a pretty, cute, traditional jack-o-lantern.

And she was quite pleased with it.

So there you have it.

 

This was super fun, and I can't wait to see them on the porch!

Killing for the Crown - Lauren's Birthday Party

 Rebekah had a fancy party to go to Friday night.  And I got to go with her!  (Yea!!)

 Bekah's best friend, Lauren, was having a murder mystery birthday party. The theme of this who-done-it was a Miss Teen Beauty Pageant.

 Rebekah was one of the contestants (Flora Florida).  Shelley, our lovely hostess, and mother of the birthday girl, asked me to help out.  (And play a role: I was Patty Pageant, pageant coordinator.)

The girls (and guys) at the party dressed up so beautifully! Shelley said it was like a Goodwill Prom!!  (Because, you know, that's where everyone got their dresses...ha ha!)

 Here's the whole group.

In the back are Amy Arizona (Lauren) and Tanya Teen (Summer).

In the middle are Candy California (Stephanie), Daddy Big Bucks (Bryan-dad to the birthday girl), Judge Jasmine (Caiden), Allison Alaska, Wendy Wisconsin, Judge Julie (Paola), Anna Alabama (Maddy), Patty Pageant (me), and Flora Florida (Rebekah).

In the front were P.I. Pete (Connor), Natalie New Mexico (Olivia) and Tina Texas (Emma).

 With their invitations, the girls were given a character name and description. Then, at the party, they were given envelopes with more guidance about their characters, as well as "mystery money" that they could use to bribe, blackmail, and pay people off while they fought their way to the crown.

 The kids did a great job scheming and conniving. 

 We took a break from all the blackmail and drama to have a fancy dinner. And then it was time for champagne (sparkling apple cider).

The kids were so excited about their "champagne."

 Later, when all of the pageant members' secrets were revealed, it came out that Bekah's character, Flora Florida, was actually only 14 years old and not old enough for the competition.  (Gasp!!)

Bekah quipped "Well, I'm not old enough to drink champagne either!!"  The whole group roared with laughter.  =)

 But this crazy thing happened after the champagne was poured.  Judge Jasmine gave a toast.  And when she raised her glass, the lights went out.   When the lights came back on, Tina Texas was dead.  She had been murdered!!

 Her body was taped off, and there was an investigation.  It turns out that Tina had been bribing the judges.  But so had some other contestants.  There was a lot more conniving and speculation as the guests opened their second envelope and carried out their parts...trying to figure out who the killer was.

 Turns out, it was Amy Arizona (the birthday girl, and sister to Tina Texas)!!

 The funny thing was that all of the envelopes were sealed and when Shelley handed out all the parts, she had no idea that her two daughters were getting the roles of murderer and victim.  Ha!

Bekah had an absolutely FABULOUS time with her friends.  It was so great watching her dress up and be fancy with all of her friends.

She's really got a great group of friends, for which I'm really thankful.  So, happy birthday to Lauren!  It was a great birthday party!