Scenes From Halloween
November 4, 2008
Yes, most of those costumes probably look familiar. The little kids shop for their costumes in this great store called The Attic.
This costume has been worn every year since it was bought. In 1972. Or maybe it just feels like I have been looking at that long.
We discovered a few years ago that the easiest way to carve a pumpkin is to use a Skill saw. Honestly, if you don’t own one you should go out and buy one solely for your Jack o’ Lantern carving needs. This year the skill saw torch was mostly handed off to my oldest son.
He carved the pumpkins of the little kids to their specifications. He is such a good big brother.
I love how they all did more traditional jack o’lanterns this year.
This is the first year that no one has used the book of pumpkin carving templates, opting instead to do their own.
Miles decided at the last minute that he had to be Mickey Mouse. This is a costume he wore TWO years ago. I believe it is a size 24 months. It was stretched so tight that I could barely get the hood up onto his head. And after trick-or-treating was over he had a dent on his forehead where the elastic was pulled so tightly.
My daughter also picked out a too small costume. You can’t tell in this photo but the legs of the costume ended at her knees like knickers.
This was the first year that I didn’t drag a stroller around the neighborhood. Instead I dragged a three year old. A three year old who acted at times like he was on a forced death march rather than a casual stroll where he received candy every 30 feet. Oh, such torture.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
I love how your oldest is not dressed up…growing up…
November 4th, 2008 at 8:46 amWell, I have a suggestion for the death march, but it involves stepping out of your element. Down here, we get lawn chairs and ice chests full of beer put them on a flat bed tralier and get pulled around the neighborhood in luxury. Oh we slow to an almost stop, push the kids off and tell them to go get some candy. Of course, this would mean that you would have to embrace that little bit of redneck that is in all of us.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:00 amSo cute. My kids also shop for costumes from the attic, lol. But the whole “twin thing” causes a problem when both little ones want to wear the same outfit. So I bought two pirate costumes from Family Dollar this year for them.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:05 amThey all looked great! You’re so lucky to have a son old enough to carve with the little kids.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:26 amMy 2 (but looks like he’s 4) year old insisted on being carried. Fortunately that meant that he got very little candy because we only made it about 4 houses. He’s HEAVY!
Glad y’all had some good spooky fun!
November 4th, 2008 at 9:31 amThe torture indeed! Haha! Love the pictures. We did the stencil carvings - never again. Next year I’m all about the triangle eyes, etc. Good idea about the saw… note to self. lol!
November 4th, 2008 at 9:53 amIt looks like everyone had a great time. I might just send my kids to your house next year!
Your kids look like they had a fun time. I love your daughter’s face as your oldest is attacking that pumpkin. But what is that table Miles is at drinking water? Is that a “Halloween Night Parent Rest-stop”?
November 4th, 2008 at 10:21 amLOL! I had to give away two way too small dinosaur costumes this year before my daughters tried to wear them, again.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:21 amGreat costumes!
November 4th, 2008 at 10:24 amMy three year old didn’t want to walk to get the candy either. His daddy had to carry him! needless to say they didn’t get very far!
Great pictures! That’s hearty stock you’ve got there with the bare feet…
November 4th, 2008 at 10:31 amThanks! I love seeing your kids in their costumes. Looks like they had a great Halloween!
November 4th, 2008 at 10:40 amI notice the table of water bottles set up, is that for parents? A neighbor here was giving out beer for the parents. My dh was in heaven!
November 4th, 2008 at 10:48 amNo Indiana Jones?
I am amazed.
My 2 year old was sleeping in the carrier after about an hour. I cant wait till I can drag him along next year. You make it sound so fun.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:51 amI always come here for the pictures.
I love them.
Your kids are adorable.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:13 amI KNEW someone would comment on the bare feet - love that they are, bare - but my husband is positively anal, er I mean old world about such things.
They are adorable!!
November 4th, 2008 at 11:49 amGreat pics. My 3 yr old didn’t quite get the concept of hitting more houses means more candy. My kids shop for their costumes out of the “costume closet”. I finally got rid of an Old Navy elephant costume after 3 good years and 2 children’s worth of use. The trunk stuck straight up off the head, like a……. a trunk. It really bugged my sis. So instead of passing it on to her child or saving it for my newborn, we sold it. We have that Mickey Mouse costume too. It has been worn at least twice, but was skipped over this year. It will be saved for another year though.
I don’t know why, but my childless sister thinks it’s not fair to not get them new costumes every year. My daughter was a witch, again, purely her choice.
November 4th, 2008 at 12:06 pmHey, SoMo, I’m in the Northeast and we do that too! That way my kid could opt out of hitting each house and just ride on the trailer, nobody had to carry her.
November 4th, 2008 at 12:24 pmI love your photos - and what a great post!
November 4th, 2008 at 12:59 pmGlad to know everyone survived! I can so relate!
We only carved one pumpkin this year. I’m getting lazy - we bought a pumpkin decorating kit from the Hearthsong catalogue that consists of “face” pieces on wooden dowels that you can shove into the pumpkins. I think they’re fantastic. Boy, am I one lazy mother.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:10 pmSuch good, clean fun! We had to stop my 2 year old form going back to the same houses for more. He was so excited to chase after his older brother with his little bucket.
I’ll have to remember the skill saw for pumpkins. This year we bought them, set them on the porch to carve over the weekend, and the squirrels ate them. So I guess even easier than the saw is letting the squirrels do it for you, but they’re not as nice looking.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:32 pmWho designed the jack o with the litte bitty eyes and big mouth?
November 4th, 2008 at 2:19 pmIs it strange that I was drawn to your renovated kitchen in the second photo, and not your son’s costume??
November 4th, 2008 at 2:48 pmHehe great pics… kids are so funny aren’t they? Ian loved his costume wanted to wear it every day til Halloween then wanted nothing to do with it and had to be bribed to wear it.
November 4th, 2008 at 3:44 pmIt thrills me to no end to see a ghost! A real, honest-to-goodness, old fashioned ghost!!! Love it!
November 4th, 2008 at 4:28 pmSeriously, I’m a freakin’ woodworker and hadn’t thought of the Skil Saw Pumpkin Carving idea! BRILLIANT! Thank you!
November 4th, 2008 at 4:37 pmAt about our 6th house, a dog got loose and barked at my children, who are very timid around dogs anyway. My 6 year old didn’t want to go any more. I love the death march analogy. That describes him to a T after the dog experience. Since it was just me with our two other boys, I didn’t want to drag them all the way back home. But it wasn’t our most fun experience.
November 4th, 2008 at 4:43 pmOoky - Spooky Fun!
Wow, a skill saw - I never thought of that.
Love the pictures especially little Mickey Mouse drinking punch.
Thanks for sharing!
November 4th, 2008 at 7:12 pmI like that your oldest is not in costume in stark contrast to pumpkins and other kids in costumes. Halloween is such a great kid holiday. So much fun.
We had two of our kids trick-or-treat at friend’s houses. Not sure I like the idea, but I relented this year. My son liked getting all the attention from his dad.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:38 pmI just love the “squished” Mickey Mouse!!
November 4th, 2008 at 9:55 pmSkill saw! Great idea!
November 4th, 2008 at 10:09 pmI love the picture of your daughter screaming while your son saws the pumpkin
November 4th, 2008 at 11:43 pmI love that you had two children opt for costumes that were way too small. At least they’re a lot cuter than those fat women who wear clothes that are way too small …
November 5th, 2008 at 12:28 amOkay, I know this is a nerdy comment from someone who has learned too much about tools in the last two years, but that looks like a jigsaw. Usually, Skilsaw (although a brand) usually seems to refer to circular saws.
And for the record both of them scare me although I’ve gotten over my fear of most power tools. A non-powered option (also from the home renovator’s tool box) that works well is a jab saw — either drywall or metal cutting blades have been used around here.
Chris says: You know I always use those two terms interchangeably. But you are right!
November 5th, 2008 at 10:17 amMy 4 1/2 yr old son just saw the photo of your son wearing the skeleton mask and said, “whoa! he’s scarier than me!” In Joseph speak, that is a COMPLIMENT
November 5th, 2008 at 1:03 pmCool homeschooling family, coolest on the block I’m sure. Nice tablecloth (and lighting!)
November 5th, 2008 at 6:00 pmThe History Channel has an awesome series on The Presidents, all day today. They group them together, like 5 at a time. And here’s a link to use every four years, to track the states’ electoral votes. Sorry I didn’t get it to you sooner.
Use with this.
November 5th, 2008 at 6:11 pmOooh! A SKIL SAW! How smart! Next year, we’re doing that!
Your kids are delicious.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:50 pmI’m late chiming in (per usual as with everything!) but love your Halloween pics.
November 7th, 2008 at 12:19 pmWhat are your rates for renting out the eldest? This pumpkin carving thing is MUCH harder than I remember from when I was little! (When my mom was doing all the hard work.) It gets exponentially harder when you’re sawing the pumpkin, trying to keep track of where your own fingers are located, and watching your little ones - precariously balanced on chairs, leaning on the same table you’re using, with SHARPIES, drawing on the table (and hopefully not anything else). I didn’t have enough eyeballs for all of that! Not to mention hands for catching people, pumpkins, things, severed body parts…
November 10th, 2008 at 1:17 pm