Our Halloween fun started the weekend before the day of candy, when we took a little family trip to Uesugi Farms and their enormous Pumpkin Park. Yes, "park". This is no mere "patch"; it's a full-on, rides-for-everyone, at-least-twenty-different-varietals-of-pumpkins-to-choose-from Pumpkin Park. Think a 'roided up pumpkin patch.
We had a great time, taking the hayride through the beautiful grounds of the farm and riding the train around the pumpkin patches. Then we grabbed a wheelbarrow and picked out our big orange gourds -- two big ones for carving, two smaller ones for making pies (more on that later), and even a few mini white ones just for fun. Here are some pics from the day (our camera ran out of batteries early on, so some are taken from our phones -- hence the picture quality):
We got prime seating for our hayride!
This beautiful marigold field is apparently cared for by hand!
Haven's first carousel ride (Gracelyn is an old pro!)
Daddie, I want this one!
All smiles at the Pumpkin Park
Our friendly ghost says, "Boo!"
On Halloween itself, Gracelyn got to dress up in her Dora the Explorer costume for her morning dance class. I was a little concerned that she might feel self-conscious, being the only little girl not in a frilly dress, but she didn't seem to care at all! Miss Erica taught the kids a special "Halloween Dance", and parents and siblings got to go in at the end of class to watch! Aaaaaaand, being a silly emotional girl who doesn't get to dance nearly enough and who misses teaching dance to little kids, I cried!
Checkin' out the other kids' costumes
We're so gangsta, we dance with our hands in our pockets!
Halloween night, we went over to The Cooper-Allen house for some time with friends. We had dinner, went trick-or-treating, decorated cookies, and even caught a rock band show in Mt. View! It was quite a night! Max & Molly were the cutest Cowboy & Cowgirl, and Makenna had an adorable Indian Princess costume (that her mommie made! Go, Booboo!). Gracelyn rocked her Dora ensemble, and Haven lived up to her nickname as Godzilla!
While we were there, Hilary called from India, and we got to Skype with her! It was so good to see her and talk with her! We can't wait until December when she comes back home from her travels!
During our trick-or-treating, Haven was a rockstar! She walked the whole time, carrying her little pumpkin bucket. She figured out how this whole trick-or-treating thing works -- taking the candy and putting it in her bucket. Then she would try to go inside the person's house, probably to check out what else she could get her hands on to put in her bucket! Here are some pics from our fun Halloween night:
Group photos: an exercise in timing -- can you catch all of them smiling at once? Yeah, right!
Gotta love Max's smile!
Yay for trick-or-treating with friends!
Our little Godzilla -- look at how big she is!
Sisters!!
Candy -- Yummy!!!
We hope everyone had as fun a Halloween as we did!
