Halloween 2012

This year I had no say in what Ethan was going to be for Halloween. Ethan had decided that he was going to be Thomas the train and there was nothing I could do to change his mind. I took him shopping to look at other costumes, but you would have thought I was torturing him by merely suggesting that he be a pirate or even Mr. Incredible. So Thomas it was. The way his eyes lit up at the sight of his Thomas costume was hilarious and adorable. He was obsessed and refused to take the costume off for an entire week. And this kid hates hats, but all Halloween week he kept begging me to wear his conductor hat. I think he may have even slept in it a few nights. We had one happy Thomas on our hands.

We did all of our usual Halloween activities. We went to the Children's museum, we went trick or treating on Metro state campus, we went to the ward trunk or treat, and this year we even added a new activity to our list… we went actual trick or treating- although that may not have lasted very long. Second house in a kid answered the door in a scary costume thus making Ethan terrified to go to any other door unless being carried by Aaron.

Annabel, of course, was also along for the festivities wearing the resident baby costume- the giraffe.

Pumpkin Patch 2012

We hit up the local pumpkin patch on Saturday.

We made our way through the hay bale maze.

Pet rabbits in the petting zoo.

We raced ducks. This was Ethan’s favorite part of the day.

Ready, Set, Go… “Catch it!” Ethan would yell as he chased the ducks down.

Ethan became king of the hay hill.

And then jumped his way down it.

We buried Ethan in piles of corn. (Oh the things people do for entertainment. I can’t imagine that this was very sanitary :)

We took a hay ride.

We picked out pumpkins.

Ethan pretended to be a scarecrow.

Even Annabel had a great time :)

Jack-O-Launch

Last Saturday I needed to get out! I didn't even care that it was below freezing and snowing outside. I didn't care that the time it took me to prepare to leave my house would be longer than the time I could actually be away from my house. It didn't matter, nothing mattered I was getting out!

So I got online and did some research. What could be going on in Denver? I wondered. Then I came across the 10th annual Jack-O-Launch! An actual competition where people spend hours and days and maybe months to create contraptions just for the sake of shooting pumpkins out of them. I thought this sounded quite hilarious. Aaron thought this sounded seriously cool.

Here is how it went:









It was cold... but it was fun!

The catapults came in all shapes and sizes... air compressed cannons, traditional trebuchets, and some sort of motor driven tower that was surprisingly powerful. Distances ranged from 20 feet to over 2000 feet... seriously. One of the air compressed cannons was so powerful that if you blinked, you missed it. Teams received different awards for style, distance, and creativity... not that we stayed for the awards. Between being weak and it snowing, we couldn't stay long.

Besides the main event Jack-o-launch there were traditional fall festival events like a pumpkin patch, scarecrow making, brewing apple cider, etc. Even a live country band to liven up the atmosphere (although with the weather there were about 3 people dancing to it). It really would have been a great event if the weather had cooperated. There's always next year, - we'll see you at Aurora's next Jack-o-launch.

The Princess and The Crazy!!!

One of my favorite Fall/Halloween activities is carving pumpkins!!! Last year Aaron and I paid tribute to our fabulous Colorado Rockies for making it to the World Series. This year we were not so fortunate so we had to take another route.

We debated about doing an Obama face. Not that means we our for him, you just can't live in our neighborhood and not be an Obama supporter. So if a McCain pumpkin was left on the front porch, I'm not so sure it would last too long. There was also talk about a Dwight face but both were just too complicated.

vs.

Well after a few days we had finaly decided on what we were going to do! First, we started this years pumpkin festivities by making a few caramel apples. Yum!

Then we got our our carving kit...
and we set off on another carving adventure.

Of course I have to save the pumpkin seeds! This is one of my favorite parts about it all!


After about an hour of gutting, scooping, cutting and shaving finished off with cramped hands, these are the finished products! I chose a Disney princess in light of our upcoming Disneyland vacation. I would have done Belle but I couldn't find a decent stencil.

There you have it... The Princess and The Crazy!!!