Halloween 2009

Last Friday was tons of fun. I signed the boys up for the "B-O-O Festival" in Lynnwood. It was for ages 3-10, indoors, and a fun, safe way to celebrate Halloween. There were 4 rooms to go in, each with 4 different activities to do. There was face painting, a jumpy house, games, coloring, crafts. The best part was after each activity, the boys would get a ticket. At the end of everything (you could go back and do the activities as many times as you wanted, but after doing all of it, the boys were exhausted), you took all your tickets up to the table where Snow White was. There, you traded in your tickets for your choice of prizes. There was toys and candy, some worth one ticket, others worth two tickets. We really liked this because it wasn't focused on "candy". We let the boys pick out whatever they wanted. They each picked out a piece of candy, a fruit snack, and the rest toys! Then we headed home to go swimming and watch a movie. That night the Pumpkin King visited (unfortunately there wasn't any candy to give him) and he left the boys each a new little Lego toy. On the actual day of Halloween, we stayed home together to watch movies and eat some chinese take-out. It was a GREAT Halloween!!

PJ Day at School

Last Wednesday and Friday was PJ Day at school for Clifford and Kristjan. Instead of coming to school dressed in costumes, the kids come in their favorite pj's. They also bring with them their favorite stuffed animal and a small pumpkin to decorate. The teachers make pancakes for everyone. Then, towards the end of class time, they go "trick or treating" to the different rooms and get a few small treats. Clifford and Kristjan had a blast!

More School Projects

Carving Pumpkins

The weekend before Halloween we sat down for a pizza night and pumpkin carving. This year I bought one of the pumpkin carving kits with the picture templates. Kristjan picked a witch and Clifford picked a spider. The templates were really nice to have, but by the time I was done carving the boys' pumpkins, I was too exhausted to carve my own. (Pete didn't help-he was on the phone with one of his friends whom he hadn't talked to in a while). I must say, the pumpkins turned out really good. We still had a bunch more pictures we could use, so the next day while I was out and about I picked up a few more pumpkins. Later in the afternoon we all sat down (Pete included) to carve out some more pumpkins. We had six pumpkins! We had a witch, a smiley face pumpkin, a scary face pumpkin, ghost, bat and spider.

Few More Projects

Happy Birthday Grandma Jane!

Saturday afternoon Grandma, Grandma Jane and Uncle Matt came over to visit with the boys for a bit. November 1st is Grandma Jane's 50th Birthday. Since we'll be unable to drive over to Yakima to help her celebrate, the boys and I decided to throw her a surprise early birthday party. We decorated with Halloween decorations, found two cute small presents, and I made her a brownie cake. When they arrived, Grandma Jane was happy and excited that her two favorite little boys helped plan the party. Clifford helped Grandma Jane cut the brownie cake and when it was time to open presents, Kristjan was excited saying "open up your earrings" (that was his gift to her). The boys enjoyed spending time with their grandmas. The boys also received an early Christmas gift-a new table and chairs from Grandma!!

The "Pumpkin King"

With Halloween quickly approaching, I've been discussing with Pete what we should do about the candy the boys will receive on Halloween, since a good majority of it will be candy that Kristjan can't eat (that's how it was last year). So we debated over buying our own "safe" candy for the boys to trade with the candy they get. But instead, we came up with a new Halloween tradition that we'll be starting this year (not sure if they've continued this or not, but I got the idea from the Brignone family. I'm pretty sure a few years back they had their kids trade in their candy for a small toy. Or maybe it was for Easter. Either way, I'm sure it was them who first came up with this idea). We explained to the boys last night at dinner that on Halloween, after we come home from all our fun, the boys can each have a few pieces of candy. The rest of it, we'll put in to a pumpkin (one of those plastic ones you take trick-or-treating) and we leave it out overnight on the table. Then, during the night while we're asleep, the "Pumpkin King" (from The Nightmare Before Christmas) will come and take all the candy and leave each boy a small toy in it's place. We told them it's like when Santa or the Easter Bunny comes. They got excited over that. Of course, the constant questions of "how does the pumpkin king come inside the house?" and "is the pumpkin king coming tonight?" were never ending. But we think this is an awesome idea and the boys will enjoy it! Now that is covered and we know where we're taking the boys for Halloween, it's time for the great "Pumpkin King" to go shopping this weekend!

Clifford's Jedi Training

Yesterday was Clifford's BIG DAY!! He had Jedi Training! He was so excited, it was as if all his dreams were coming true and he could now die happy! He got to dress up in his Halloween costume as Luke Skywalker. And of course, Clifford had his blue lightsaber ready to go. Princess Leia and five Jedi Masters were there to help the young padawan learn how to be a Jedi. The "curriculum" consisted of: an obstacle course where you had to save the baby hutlet; lightsaber training with the proper stance and techniques; Star Wars Q&A; help "kill" Darth Vader (it was a pull string Darth Vader pinata full of candy); "yoda soda"; and Star Wars music played at the end during the "graduation" ceremony. It was so cute how Clifford took the training seriously. While the training went on, parents were able to sit in the back to take pictures. As I was taking some pictures at the start of the class, Clifford turned around from where he was sitting to wave at us. But once he saw I was taking pictures, he got a scowl on his face and yelled "mom stop that!" (I even took a picture of it-check it out!). He had so much fun. I think in the spring they'll do the class again. Kristjan will be old enough then (the class is for ages 4-7), so maybe Clifford can take the class again as a "pro" with his brother.

Halloween Cookies

Today the boys helped me make our yearly batch of Halloween sugar cookies. This year we cut out our cookies in the shape of pumpkins, leaves and ghosts. Pete and the boys decorated their own cookies. The boys had free range on the amount of frosting and sprinkles they could use. Boy did they make a mess! They were on a sugar high the rest of the day, but they enjoyed helping out. Later, while Pete and the boys played with Legos, I finished decorating the rest of the cookies. I think they turned out awesome!!

Some Preschool Projects

Princess Tea Party

Last Saturday was Kristjan's Princess Tea Party. He dressed up to look just like a handsome prince. The party was almost two hours long. There was Snow White, Cinderella, and even Prince Charming. Kristjan was, of course, the only "prince" there, but he loved it so much. Cinderella read a story, there was a game to play, pictures to color, dancing, and a hand mirror to decorate with jewels and stickers. And a tea party wouldn't be complete without a cupcake with pink frosting and milk. Prince Charming gave all the little princesses a pink rose. With Kristjan being the only "prince" in the class, he received his rose from all the beautiful princesses. At the end, everyone got together for a group picture. Kristjan loved this!

Pumpkin Patch

Last Saturday we took a little drive to a Pumpkin Patch in Everett. Unfortunately this pumpkin patch wasn't anything spectacular. We were there for about 15 minutes total. We picked out 5 pumpkins to bring home, two of which go to school with the boys. We were able to get in a few cute pictures. Next year we might try to find a better patch or just buy from the store. But it was fun to take the boys there. They even carried their own pumpkins.

A Little Glimpse At Halloween

The boys decided on their Halloween costumes. Clifford will be Luke Skywalker and Kristjan will be Darth Vader. We picked up their costumes at Wal-Mart. The mask that came with the Darth Vader costume is way too big for Kristjan. So he'll wear his Darth Vader helmet, with voice activation. Once we got home with the costumes, the boys just had to try them on. For Clifford, he was so excited to dress up as Luke Skywalker, it was as if all his dreams had come true and he could die happy! It was hilarious. I had the boys model their costumes for the camera. Don't mind Clifford's "gang" signs. Lately, for whatever reason, that's how he poses for the camera. They'll be great blackmail pictures.

Preschool Art Projects

Kristjan's First Day At Preschool

It took forever but it came-Kristjan's First Day of Preschool!!! He was so excited. When the doors open for him to go in, Kristjan didn't say "bye" or hug me or even look at me!!! He was just focused on getting in and having a good time away from mommy and his big brother. Kristjan has the same teacher as Clifford does. Because of his allergy, even though the classes are nut free, Kristjan has to take a snack with him each day he goes as a "backup". Each child has their own snack day. So on the days when other kids bring snacks, Kristjan may not be able to eat the snack they brought (the teacher requested I make a "safe" food list-snacks we know that are safe for Kristjan to eat). I also asked if it would be ok (which they thought was a great idea) on the "birthday" snack day of the other kids that I bring a cupcake that I make for Kristjan to have (that way he's not left out). Almost all the store-bought cupcakes are not safe for Kristjan to eat (maybe fred meyers ones are ok, but who knows where parents shop). Anyhow, it's good knowing Kristjan can go to school and still participate in all the fun. And Kristjan is always excited to show off his art projects he makes. I'm looking forward on creating his keepsake scrapbook of all his artwork.