Halloween

Here are a few pictures of our Halloween and Halloween adjacent activities in October.

We went to a local pumpkin patch.  Here is John getting ready to go through the corn maze.

Scott was with him.  We kind of split up to go through the corn maze.  Scott and John went together.  Emma and I went together.  Anna and Grant went together and Matthew went through alone, although he was welcome to join up with any of us.

This might have been at the end of the maze

Going through the hay bale maze - this picture is very Grant.  He's a really good kid in general, but sometimes he just can't help starting a little mischief.  Here he is sort of bugging John (possibly mis-directing him) mid-maze.  I could be wrong, maybe Grant was genuinely helping here, but I don't think so.

Here we are having a go at pumpkin launching

The younger kids and I visited the petting zoo.  We didn't have change to buy feed for the animals, but Grant figured out how to get a little feed to come out of the machine for free so got to feed the goats.  I told him to stop doing that - again with the light mischief.

We played in the corn bin

We took a hay ride

And then got to the serious business of picking pumpkins.

It was unseasonably warm that day and I hadn't brought any water - and the line to purchase cold drinks was very long.  So some of us were feeling pretty grumpy by this point.

And then there is the task of manhandling seven pumpkins back to the car.

Scott is so tough!!

We met cousins at the Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville

It was a lot of fun

The high school had a spirit week with dress up days like pajama day.  One of the days was Adam Sandler day.  He's a comic movie star more from my era - and I was surprised to learn he's become sort of a fashion icon among the high schoolers possibly started on Tik Tok - with his very casual baggy clothes.  Scott and I helped Anna get the right outfit of very baggy pants and hockey jersey - a la Happy Gilmore - so she could ironically channel Adam Sandler.  My old LA Kings jersey gets some use along with Scott's cargo shorts.  These new fashion trends are making me feel old.

I made some different festive dinners which felt like a big success for me - its been a rough year for me in the cooking realm - jack-o-lantern quesadillas

Mummy dogs

Mummy quesadillas

Halloween sugar cookies

The younger three kids and I trick or treated at an event in downtown one evening.  We have lived here a little over two years and now see a lot of friends about town - especially at downtown events.

A school Halloween event

Church Halloween party - John as part of the costume parade

Carving our pumpkins

Wow - that was a lot of carving - we got about 8 smaller pumpkins out of our small pumpkin patch this year.

Anna and Grant went trick or treating together without adults!  They had fun.

Anna was Belle, Emma was Ariel, Grant was the grim reaper, John was Sonic the Hedgehog and Matthew (not pictured) was a scary scarecrow.  He had driving class during all the festivities but did pass out some candy.  Scott and I didn't dress up this year but walked around in the rain with John and Emma.

Happy Halloween!!