Fall Fun...Finally

Now, that fall has come and almost gone, (and my laptop is all better, thanks Brandon, Tony, HP, and Circuit City) I thought it would be fun to show all the fun this fall brought.

First, there was the trek down to Apple Annie's in Wilcox. Yes, we drove 3 hours to get some apples and pumpkins. Seriously, how much fun for the kids to pick apples right off the tree? And to cut your pumpkin right out of a real live pumpkin patch?

Well, it wasn't so much fun when there was not even one freaking apple on the trees. I mean, really? So not cool. So my mom bought an apple pie and some fudge, and off we went to the pumpkins.

(Who ever made fudge with M&M's and that sign is a freaking genius!)

Did I mention that it was quite chilly and rather cloudy?

Andy, Khayle, Laycee, and my mom set out to find the perfect pumpkins.

Holy crap, the patch went on and on. Like a sea of pumpkins.

Oh, we learned many things. Things like there are some prickers on the vines which LOVE to prick you, that some pumpkins have pimples (awesome!), and that there is only one pumpkin out in the patch meant for you.

Khayle and Mom found theirs right away.

Not too much longer, and Andy had his magic pumpkin.

Then there is our Laycee...she searched high and low,

and looked to and fro,

and just about touched every single pumpkin in the patch,

until finally, FINALLY she found her pumpkin!

We also had fun picking food that we didn't really plan on eating.



And those clouds? Of course they opened right up and poured on us! (YAY! for muddy shoes and soaking wet clothes!)

Next year we are so going to Walmart for the pumpkins and apples! And of course fall brings the exciting pagan holiday of Halloween. For years, I was strong enough and did not give in to the peer pressure from Tony to let them participate. (I was THAT mother at school that teachers dread.) Well, a few years ago I gave up the fight and now they celebrate this evil day.

Costumes are such a waste of money, and I hate, hate, hate spending lots of money on something they wear once!

So, Andy decided to be an old fashioned ghost made out of an old white sheet.

Khayle has developed a new obsession with HoBo's, so she dressed accordingly.

Then there's Lace . . . she wants to be Jasmine, Ariel, a clown, an angel, a devil, anything that crossed her beautiful mind. We tried the clown route, but the hair was awful! Since she had her beautiful wedding dress from Ash's wedding, we decided to get one more wear out of it and let her be an angel.But Lace does not act like an angel, so I thought it would be kinda cute to have a little devil tail peeking out the back of the dress. We ended up calling her costume "The Devil In Disguise" and it matched perfectly with her multiple personalities!

And because the girls go to Hermosa Vista, which was started by Longfellow's old staff, there is the sweet Halloween Parade. (Oh Goodie!) Laycee was so excited! It was the first time I have ever been to this parade since my days at Longfellow.

We saw a cute little boy dressed up as Abu,

and then we saw her. . .

. . . The principal! Dressed as Minnie Mouse!

I kid you not! I was going to do a whole blog just on her, but instead I'll just add it in here. My first thought was "Oh My Gosh! Does anyone have a mouse trap that big?" Enough said.
(I tried to get Tony to get a better, closer picture of the rodent, but he was just too chicken!)

Finally, there was trick-or-treating. And yes, Tony was working.

His wonderful saint of an aunt came over and went with me and the girls.

This was my last time, EVER! Laycee whined the entire time! And Khayle is apparently a die hard republican, because she would not trick-or-treat at any house that had a Barack Obama sign. She made that known loud and clear, while I silently prayed that Aunt Nancy wasn't a democrat.

Grandpa,

Gramma,

and Uncle Gary had some fun with the girls, too.

My nephew Derek was asked by the Albertson's he works at to dress up as Shrek. Man, he is a GREAT Shreak! He's HUGE!

Purdy, my parents goofy dog enjoyed getting in the middle of all the Halloween excitement.

Finally, with fall time comes my best 'homemaker' skill ever!! Making my front door, that never get used, look pretty!

Even though I grumbled through most of the fall, I loved seeing the kids carve their pumpkins, dress up, and just have so much fun. It was also extra special this year because Mom has her hair back, and she got to enjoy fall too this year! Now we're praying really hard she'll be here for next fall too!

HARRIET, Oh Harr-i-ett!

Khayle has the most amazing teacher! She had them read a biography then they held a Wax Museum in their class. So, guess who K chose to be? None other than the late, great Harriet Tubman, Conductor of the Underground Railroad! How awesome is that?

So, K had to become Harriet for the museum. That's so awesome! But, have you ever seen Miss Tubman? How about my daughter? Notice anything? Yep, that's right! Khayle is just about as white as you can get! The only thing these two have in common is the brown eyes!

This is the real Harriet Tubman, and the inspiration for Khayle's costume.

How freaking awesome is that? Harriet Tubman, bleached! She did a fabulous job! The entire class did amazing! There was Elvis, Aubrey Hepburn, Lewis & Clark, the Wright Brothers, and so many others.

I love Mrs. Barcia and I totally think that she needs a raise!