Halloween was fun because first of all I had not yet bought pumpkins and guess what? GONE! EVERYWHERE! I was in a panic. No pumpkins practically means no Halloween. But after going to about 150 stores, I found some at the local garden center and they gave them to me 2 for 1 (they had not gotten the memo that they were the last Holders of Pumpkins On Earth, apparently). Sweet.

On the way home Noah, who is currently obsessed with Sanrio’s My Melody, declared that it would not be Halloween without a My Melody pumpkin. I live to protect my kids from disappointment (haha) so I obliged. Noah did all the painting and scheming (deciding to only cut out the nose and eyes) and I did the outlining. It turned out totally awesome.

Cute huh? Lest you think our pumpkin carving was without Noah-Drama, he spent the entire time totally grossed out and complaining about the sights and smells of this:

Addy could not be outdone. We totally let our kids play with knives:

Dalton went the “Pumpkin Masters with Shadows” route and carved this awesome spider with web on the back of the pumpkin:

Teegan made his own design - no Pumpkin Masters for him, he’s a free spirit:

Then I pulled out the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown DVD because no Halloween would be complete without it. Addy apparently could not believe that such a cute thing as Snoopy exists:

While Dalton carved the rest of his Pumpkin Masterpiece, we all watched Charlie Brown. Addy appreciated very much!

Then it was finally time to trick or treat - or so we thought. I made the kids all pose for ridiculous numbers of photos:

Addy made important calls to vent her frustration:

Finally we were ready to go when we realized that, haha, Halloween doesn’t start here until 7, thanks to that annoying daylight savings change.

Eventually the kids got to really go out. Addy & Noah had a great time with Tony while I stayed behind and handed out candy. The boys went out with their friends and later met up with their best friends who came over specifically to go out with them. So fun! There were scary houses, block parties, live snakes and Ghoulaid. When all was said and done, the kids collected a total of like 16 lbs of candy and Addy hit an all-time candy high before crashing for a night of terrible sleep. Swell.

We all rolled out of bed half-high on candy, at what felt like the crack of dawn (but was really like 9am - at least for me!) and commenced the 13th Birthday present opening but not before a quick morning meditation (haha):

He gets a video game disguised as a ride-on cooler. Do you think he was suspicious?

His favorite gift is always the brown box:

After every gift, Addison declared “mine” and stacked them all off and toted them away but not before trying to rip all the paper off herself. Christmas is going to be SO fun.:

We take a break from the birthday festivities to go out for Addy’s Adoption Anniversary lunch. We decided to continue celebrating her adoption anniversary on Nov 1 and Dalton agreed to just postpone his normal birthday lunch until the weekend (which means a few friends can attend - bonus!). Perfect solution - everyone is happy including me.

Addy plays the drumsticks in celebration:

And baffles at why her “straw” doesn’t work:

We get egg rolls and summer rolls and Addy digs right in:

The kids got celebratory Bubble Drinks but were sad that they were fresh out of bubbles!!!

Finally the food comes! Yuuuum - Pho, Banh Mi & other stuff I can’t spell:

Teegan is a Pho Artist:

Addison got her very own bowl of Pho (aka Nectar of the Gods) which she devoured.

Dalton succeeded in the “single grain of rice in the chopsticks challenge”:

On the way home from lunch, I made the family pull over and sit around while I took some pictures of the Colors of Fall (Texas Style):

We got home and the kids played and I baked. The cake got burnt - no clue why! I’m not a masterful baker but I’ve never burnt a cake! We try again. It gets late. I have to rush to finish decorating this monstrosity we call a cake. Dalton, in his infinite 13 year old wisdom, has requested a cake in the likeness of a Sharingan Eye:

Can you say Red Dye no. 9?

Once again, it’s time to go eat. Dalton chooses the Melting Pot, yummmm.

The kids are insane - do you see the maniacal look in their eyes?:

Thankfully they all seem just fine to me thanks in part to my dear friend:

We rush home, an hour past the little ones’ bedtimes and do the obligatory Happy Birthday song and candles:

And now? So ready for a year long nap.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 2nd, 2007 at 6:00 am and is filed under Adoption, Holidays & Vacations, Milestones, Photos & Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.