A SPOOKtacular Halloween!

Our Halloween dessert....as if we need more sugar!

 Madeleine made this in preschool to decorate our front door

 More cookies (courtesy of Mel)!

 This was my half-attempt at trying to make food festive. The fruit platter for sure looked pretty pitiful, but the girls didn't seem to mind and devoured all of it. I also made homemade pizza for our dinner. Next year Papa Murphey's is catering ;)

 Peter helping out by getting Clifford ready

 Making the kids pose for pics before letting them loose for candy

 Trick or Treat!

 They have candy for days!!

A Ghoulish Meal

I finally managed to get in and whip up our annual Halloween-themed meal. I knew Halloween night would be too busy for us, so I planned on doing this before then. But each night I went to do it there was something preventing me from taking the time to make it. Since tonight was my last chance, I just finally got in and did it. This evening, like all the other ones, was a busy one so we didn't eat until after 9 pm!! Boys weren't complaining though. It meant they were up past their bedtime. And since their tummies needed to digest and make room for desert, we watched part of a scary movie together as a family. 

The dessert. My frosting was a little runny, so the neon colors I used didn't quite "pop" on the cake. Didn't affect the taste :)

 Bloody Arm was our main dish. Meatloaf seems to make the best body parts!

 Getting the arm all bloodied up!

 And for our side dish - candy corn

Pumpkins and Clowns

We finally got in and carved our pumpkins this afternoon!

 After the pumpkins were carved and the mess was cleaned up, we got Clifford ready to go to his friend's Halloween party.

 Our pumpkins at night. From left to right: 

Clifford, Peter, Sarah, Kristjan

Goodbye Curls!

We took Clifford in for a haircut. Lately his hair has been a constant battle. He either gets upset with me because I don't fix it the "right way" (Yes, I know, make him do it. That in itself becomes a battle as well) or it was constantly getting in his eyes. He wouldn't put it back in a ponytail, wear a sports sweatband, or tuck it behind his ears. So the final straw came this morning: put his hair back during for his soccer game or get a haircut. He refused to put his hair back, so off we went for a cut immediately following his soccer game. It was sad to see all his beautiful curls be chopped off, but it's nice to see his face once again. 

 He didn't want to cooperate for pictures 

Pre-Halloween Fun!

Octoberfest

Kristjan, Madeleine and Evie got dressed up for some pre-Halloween fun. We took them to Jackson High School, where all the school clubs put together various Halloween games and activities, and - most importantly - handed out candy. Peter and I discovered this activity last year, so we thought the girls would think it was fun. Clifford wasn't interested so he stayed home. 

Harvest Bingo

Once we were done at the high school, we came home for a quick dinner before heading out to attend the Harvest Bingo at Kristjan's school. We munched on pizza, popcorn and baked goodies. We tried so hard to win a Bingo, but we always came up short a few squares. 

Again, Clifford wasn't interested in coming, so we let him stay home. About an hour in he text me asking if he could come over and join us.