Halloween... seriously.

Found fun pictures I didn't want to forget...

The annual Pumpkin patch trip is always a highlight for us. The mud this year added an interesting aspect.

I think every kid likes getting one "just my size".

Trip to "Little Spooks" at This is the Place. Very fun, and even with cousins and Mimi this year!

Carving those pumpkins was fun and messy. I did my usual copying of a pattern from a book I bought 7 years ago (so creative), Jack (and Jeff) gave his a nose like Voldemort, and our 3rd was done by our special guest. His FIRST pumpkin carving experience ever!

Crazy cousin time at Mimi and Papa's.

Cousins at Grandma and Grandpa's who have apparently been all "fun"ed out. Maybe we should have done pictures FIRST?

And, the kids on "the big night". No trunk-or-treats this year, so we did it the old fashioned way, and I loved it. Nice weather, walking around, seeing friends and neighbors, FUN! Alice went MUCH further than expected, and Jane got too tired of asking at every house "do they have a dog?" and ran home to pass out candy with Daddy.

The girls pretty much changed their costumes THAT day, so thank goodness for good dress ups! Jane decided she wasn't ONLY a princess (until this dress was hand-me-downed to her by a dear neighbor friend, she was going to be a witch), she had to be a short-haired Rapunzel. Frying pan and all. Jack wasn't great with his timing, but the expression would have been about right.

Alice fell in love when our neighbor opened the door in THIS. I felt like we were in Disneyland! It was a challenge to get her off the porch!

Having kids has made Halloween one of my favorite holidays ever. And next year... we'll have ONE more kid to enjoy it! Baby is coming in MAY!

Pinewood Derby

As far as I can tell, the Pinewood Derby is the height of the Scouting calendar. It did NOT disappoint!

Jack and Jeff worked on his car for several evenings spanning the weeks prior, and Jack was beside himself.

This picture was after a couple of races. He wasn't all smiles as he watched his car though, which made me wonder if he realized that he was winning each heat. He told me later he knew he was winning, but didn't dare hope to actually WIN.

We think Jane was his lucky charm. She quietly went to the kid's corner and made this sign for him. She's the best sister ever.

When WE realized that Jack might actually take the cake, we realized we'd only prepared him to be a good loser, not a gracious winner. (We'd heard too many stories of disappointment and tears!). Jeff ran over to brief him, and he was fine. I guess we need to have a little more faith next time. We knew he'd spent a lot of time and effort, but you just never know! There were some REALLY fast cars!

Jack was glowing all evening, and we were so happy that all his afternoons of sanding had paid off!

Jane is 6

Or, turned six in September. It's been a while, but I didn't want it to go undocumented...

Here's Jane with her poster from her Kindergarten class. She LOVED this. They obviously asked her great questions because everything they wrote down was absolutely accurate!

The morning of her birthday, I don't know what she liked more: her treasure hunt with presents in obscure places, or the actual presents!

She'd been begging for a Rapunzel cake. This was the best I could do. It was fun, but stressful to decide how to do it. I ended up copying it almost exactly off of a blog I found. Someday she'll realize I am not creative... what will I do then?

Jeff took a half day and we went to the city pool, one of Jane's favorite activities. We swam for hours. It was a fun and tiring afternoon. Jane was in heaven!

The week after her birthday, our big 6 year old performed in her first violin recital with her new teacher. Jack had a small accident with some scissors while making a birthday present for Jane that didn't allow him to participate, so she was the big star of the night. She did GREAT!

We only got these two pictures, because we videoed the actual performance. Wish we could do both at once!