halloween 2008: the elephant and the knight

As usual, we tried to pack as much as we could into Halloween night--probably too much stuff. (Sometimes I wonder if Jed and I get more excited than the kids even!)  We took the boys trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, stopped by the church for the trunk-or-treat, then went to a party with some friends.  Even with permission to scream "trick-or-treat!" at the neighbors, Isaac was uber polite, saying "trick-or-treat please" in a sing-songy soft little voice.  Lincoln quickly got into the action, shuffling from one house to the next, knocking down the doors, clutching the candy and gnawing on it, wrapper and all.  Ah, being a kid.

pumpkin gazin'

Gotta love pumpkin carving!  The two we sliced up this year are funny to me because they're representative of our personalities.  I always like to stick to the traditional (yawn) while Jed does something off-the-wall, creative, and stinkin hilarious.  Can you guess which is whose? 

Goofy hick with zits and boring pumpkin (probably wishing he could have been a pie instead)

Of course the boys didn't care either way!  Isaac had fun helping Dad draw the design.

a very happy unbirthday

So, you probably know that Ikey's birthday is two days before Christmas.  Yeah.  Youch!  It's such a shame to overload a child with pleasure and gifts galore only once a year, only for them to have to wait in grim anticipation for another 363 days.  As such, Jed and I determined to hold Isaac's "party" at any other time of year--half birthday, or, as in this case, any other random day hand-picked from the calendar.  We let him choose, and he thought a Halloween Unbirthday party sounded pretty neat.  (Mind you, he's also at the age when in February he asked people, even adults, what they are going to be for Halloween.)  The purpose of the party is not for gifts (the kids were specifically instructed not to bring them), but just for him to enjoy the planning, anticipation, and sheer childlike joy that comes with a party just for them.  

I didn't get overly creative, but I did make these "witches broomsticks" from pretzels and fruit by the foot.

Apple "bites"

Skull cupcakes Isaac helped me decorate.  

Lincoln got a hold of one of the cupcakes before the party!  Little stinker.

Hailey, Makadie, and Syriana

Makadie, Kelsey, and CJ playing the mummy game

Noah, Hailey, and Meredith

my guitar hero

And here's what Isaac got for his unbirthday from Mom and Dad!  If you saw the earlier post of him "playing" a badminton racket, you'll guess that he was (and is) pretty stoked.  He loves jamming with Daddy, and being like Daddy for that matter.

By the next day, he had already learned the "G" chord and "Are You Sleeping."  Oh, man.  We're in for it now!