Halloween 2011

This year we went with a woodland theme with our costumes. And by "we" I mean, me. But since Halloween is all about me, our boys generously agreed. Originally Mason wanted to be Batman, but I told him that fox's get the most candy because they are so fast and that sold him (however, in all honesty, it appears that owls actually get the most loot. But maybe that was only because Char shamelessly grabbed fist-fulls of candy at every doorstep and he was so cute that our kind neighbors only encouraged it).  In fact, even our little fireball Charlie ended up surprising us by wearing his costume all night long while we tramped around collecting our loot. It was a wonderful, warm, and happy night. A happy reprieve from holing up in the house for a week straight while the boys recovered from mean flu bug. Thank goodness they got better right in the nick of time....or else they would have had to go trick-or-treating sick! :)

 McCabey Baby was a little sad when we first headed out, but once we snuggled him in his stroller seat, he peacefully watched his brothers for several hours straight.

Charlie didn't catch on to the whole trick-or-treating thing for the first fifteen minutes. He just wanted to drive his tractor up the street. Mason ,on the other hand, was thrilled at the thought of getting free candy!

 One of our nice neighbors. We love where we live.

 A blurry shot of our family out on the prowl

When we got home, the boys dumped out their goods and stuffed their faces before bedtime. McCabe hasn't ever had candy (that we know of) but he went hog wild, sucking on every wrapped candy he could find! Fortunately, enough nice people gave us fruit snacks so we let him feast on those (even though I am sure they aren't that much different than the real stuff). 

 Look at Char's spoil! That boy knows what he is doing!

 McCabe reminds me of Gus Gus in all of these shots with his tight shirt creeping up his round belly. At ten months, he is finally starting to round out! Charlie wore his costume longer than everyone else. All of that worry for nothing.

Mason couldn't be more pleased with his night.

Happy Halloween!

Me and Lindsay, Halloween 1999

Here is a picture of one of my worst costume choices ever. I was going for Smurfette, but ended up being mistaken for a dead nurse. Add that to the fact that I couldn't make any physical contact with a soul without getting my blue paint all over them and I would say it was a big bust!

I was talking with my friend, Mehgan, the other day on the phone and she reminded me of another particularly bad Halloween costume that I put together in 2004. The young single adults in the area were meeting in the Valley for a little Halloween party/ Family Home Evening and even though I didn't know anyone who was going, I thought I would don a costume and celebrate with the best of them! Since I had a fractured leg (or foot. I can't remember) at the time, and had to use a crutch, I decided to make the most of it by being Tiny Tim. So I found a little hat, wore fingerless gloves, made up an old-english-styled boy's outfit, and even smudged my face with coal. Then I headed off with hopes of having a good time. When I got to my destination, there weren't too many cars there so I called up my trusty friend, Meggie, and killed time before I made my grand entrance.  As we talked, more people arrived but very few of them were in costume. After a while, I decided to get it over with and headed in. When I hobbled through the doors, I heard pounding music coming from the cultural hall and realized that this was no ordinary Family Home Evening singles activity. It was a full-blown Halloween dance! I was horrified! There I stood, dressed like a boy with my little crutch and smudged face while the more successful daters danced around wooing each other. After a good ten minutes, I concluded that as much fun as it was to bee-bop by myself and my crutch in the corner (looking like a dorky little lame boy), it was time to accept my defeat and call it a night. It really is a wonder I was able to stay single for so long.

Pumpkin Carving 2011

First off, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I hacked poor Char's hair in a miserable way. I can't even blame him for it since he actually was excited for me to cut his hair and held amazingly still. I don't really know what happened besides that clippers on bangs are a bad idea. D'oh! At least he has brothers that I can blame it on in public. :)

The good news is that we carved our pumpkins already! Last year we did it Halloween night AFTER going trick-or-treating so this is really impressive. At any rate, we had a ball doing it!

Mason, meticulously drawing out his face/design

McCabe, Dapper-Dan from church still.

Char LOVES carving pumpkins. He doesn't even mind the slimy feeling that accompanies it.

Like I said, he really likes carving pumpkins

McCabe was a little freaked out by how spooky his pumpkin was. :)

Mason was pleased as punch at how his fancy pumpkin turned out.

In case you are wondering what all the details are

Charlie was rather smitten by his.

Our men with their jack-o-lanterns

OOn a side note, I finished McCabe's costume! I have pictures of it on my other blog if you are interested. Now I just have two more to finish up and we are all set for the big day!

Why I haven't been posting much....

Char getting fitted for Halloween. Mason looks thrilled that it isn't him....yet. James thought this was all good comedy.

 I have been in Halloween costume mode for the last little while. Last year I didn't have Char's costume done until Halloween day and that was cutting it entirely too close for comfort! This year, I sneak off to my craft room whenever I get the chance (not nearly enough) to work on our big night. 

As you can see, Char really appreciate my efforts:

 This little owl needs a beak....and some personality.

As mad as my little owl friend was in these pictures, I really don't feel any sort of guilt since, isn't this why I have children anyway? I figure that looking cute on Halloween is their way of saying thank you for a years worth of good mothering. Three cheers to me!

At least McCabe agrees.

Halloween, part 2

I know that it is mid November and that I already posted about Halloween, but Aria sent me so many lovely photos of the big night that I can't resist posting them.

Look! I am not in my pajamas!!!! Maybe next time I'll shoot for doing my hair, too.

Just before we went trick-or-treating, the Great Pumpkin sent a cute little kitten our way to distract our little ones enough for a quick photo shoot. What a miracle!Up until the kitten came, Charlie did NOT like his costume and kept ripping his mane off. However, after the kitty put her spell on him, he forgot that he was wearing several pounds of no fun on his head and left it on for the rest of the night, keeping him warm and dry while we went looking for candy in the rain. Hot dog!!!

Charlie was a lion....in case you weren't sure. I know I went a little hog wild on his mane. Poor boy.
Little Max found the festivities slightly boring.

I swear that in real life he looked more like a dinosaur and less like a teletubby.

Halloween, part 1

Mason, impressing James' Deacons with his dart skills. Doesn't their booth look fancy? James decorated it. I was so proud of him for being so festive.
Halloween has now come and gone for us Siegs and besides a couple of melt downs (mostly by me) we thoroughly enjoyed it! My boys helped "put away" my camera's battery charger somewhere so tricky that I can't find it. For that reason, until I order a new one, I can't take any pictures. Thankfully, I was able to snap a couple before all of my juice was gone. Even better still, Aria and her family came up on Halloween Eve and took pictures for me. Hot dog! I'll post those as soon as I get them, but for now, here are some of mine.

Our festivities consisted of a ward Halloween party the Tuesday before the big day, and then trick or treating in the rain on Saturday. Thankfully, our boys were warm and snug in their fleece costumes. Unfortunately, Charlie's wasn't done in time for the ward party and he ended up having to wear Mason's old pumpkin costume, minus the hat. Apparently Char's head is still on the small side. :) As you can see, however, his sugary loot made up for any embarrassment he may have experienced.

Mason wore my Halloween apron while we made our "sooky" ( translation spooky- Mason wanted all things to be spooky this Halloween) ghost cupcakes. My sister-in-law, Audrey, made this apron for me this year and I wore it nearly everyday!

Char was a big fan of pumpkin carving. He informed us the raw pumpkin guts are not only slimy, but rather tasty as well!
Halloween is gone, but we sure had a good month of watching spooky old cartoons and reading fun Halloween books. Mostly, I am relieved that it is November so that I can now relax and stop sewing! November has never seemed so good to me!

Mason and Char in their skeleton pajamas I made them this year. Mason was a little bit bigger of a pajama fan than Charlie.