Hound dog
Nana's are Beautiful
As far as the grandchildren are concerned........this party is right up there in importance as xmas. LOL
This year was a bit interesting. First I had that awful virus......later discovered severe allergies were making it much worse......just actually had my first "well" day on thurs. So, no real prep time for the party. Friday was bill paying day and the candle sale at my factory.....so that pretty much blew that day. Saturday Aubrey came down to spend the night because Nichole was having an adult version of the party at her house. (Oliver slept over at her husband's parents) Darrin had come over to help Aubrey decorate. It's hard to turn him down. Darrin and Aubrey spent so much of their early years together they are more like siblings than cousins in relationship.....and miss each other terribly. Plus Darrin is pretty darn good at decorating ideas. Then I let the kids watch some Vincent Price with me before bedtime.
Although this is the 3rd halloween party, this is the first time Katie's kids have gotten to come to it. Yes, she started making the usual excuses at the beginning of the week......Evan was sick, he had whooping cough (at least she picked something that IS going around the area)......she was sick......... But I didn't take no for an answer. I told her Evan could come sick. All the kids had been vaccinated. I had a couch, pillows, and blanket if he needed them. To top it off, because she was supposed to make graveyard pudding, I dropped off oreos yesterday to remind the kids to harass her. lol
So I had:
Kayla as your typical I'm Too Grown Up to Dress Up 13 yr old.
Alex as Batman with the mask/cape Nana had picked up for him. (Katie might never get it back off him)
Darrin as a Storm Trooper from Star Wars.
Aubrey as a female vampire.
Evan as spiderman. (thank goodness Nana picked up that costume for him and it fit)
Brandon as the cutest policeman ever.
Connor as Mickey Mouse.
Oliver as Oliver.......he has a tiger costume but wanted no part in wearing it. lol
Food:
pumpkin bread made from freshly carved pumpkins.
pumpkin cookies and some other cookies left over from Nichole's party.
An awesome dip (tastes just like pumpkin pie with whipped cream!) that had a small pie pumpkin as it's bowl.....complete with the stem lid.
Various chips left over from Nichole's party.
Various veggies left over from her party.......which Brandon ate them all. lol
Mummy cupcakes
witches hats
witches brooms
graveyard cake
and witches brew punch
(I'm probably forgetting something)
Alex won the apple bobbing and eyeball drop. All the kids discovered that carrying a bean on a spoon in your mouth as fast as you can (walking) along the sidewalk is NOT as simple as it looks. Pumpkin bowling was once again an enormous hit with the littlest ones......they never want to stop so this time I left it until last.
But I wish you all could've seen the apple bobbing. We were lucky and got a 60 degree sunny day. Still the water was cold. None of them had done it before. Adults laughed until our sides hurt. The kids were determined to get those apples! After they got one they were supposed to hold onto it so they could make caramel apples. Well.....my health nut grandkids ate them right up. lol Alex, Aubrey, and Evan had an additional caramel apple. So I think apple bobbing will be a game that sticks around.
I will keep changing it up each year. Mostly because I'm dealing with a rather wide range of ages and I want it to be fun for all of them. I think in a couple of years there might be a haunted portion added to the back porch......I'm sure I won't have any problem with volunteers for that each year. Nichole's husband is already chomping at the bit.
Kids ate all the food and had a blast. I'm soooooooo glad Katie's kids finally got to enjoy it too.
This year was a bit interesting. First I had that awful virus......later discovered severe allergies were making it much worse......just actually had my first "well" day on thurs. So, no real prep time for the party. Friday was bill paying day and the candle sale at my factory.....so that pretty much blew that day. Saturday Aubrey came down to spend the night because Nichole was having an adult version of the party at her house. (Oliver slept over at her husband's parents) Darrin had come over to help Aubrey decorate. It's hard to turn him down. Darrin and Aubrey spent so much of their early years together they are more like siblings than cousins in relationship.....and miss each other terribly. Plus Darrin is pretty darn good at decorating ideas. Then I let the kids watch some Vincent Price with me before bedtime.
Although this is the 3rd halloween party, this is the first time Katie's kids have gotten to come to it. Yes, she started making the usual excuses at the beginning of the week......Evan was sick, he had whooping cough (at least she picked something that IS going around the area)......she was sick......... But I didn't take no for an answer. I told her Evan could come sick. All the kids had been vaccinated. I had a couch, pillows, and blanket if he needed them. To top it off, because she was supposed to make graveyard pudding, I dropped off oreos yesterday to remind the kids to harass her. lol
So I had:
Kayla as your typical I'm Too Grown Up to Dress Up 13 yr old.
Alex as Batman with the mask/cape Nana had picked up for him. (Katie might never get it back off him)
Darrin as a Storm Trooper from Star Wars.
Aubrey as a female vampire.
Evan as spiderman. (thank goodness Nana picked up that costume for him and it fit)
Brandon as the cutest policeman ever.
Connor as Mickey Mouse.
Oliver as Oliver.......he has a tiger costume but wanted no part in wearing it. lol
Food:
pumpkin bread made from freshly carved pumpkins.
pumpkin cookies and some other cookies left over from Nichole's party.
An awesome dip (tastes just like pumpkin pie with whipped cream!) that had a small pie pumpkin as it's bowl.....complete with the stem lid.
Various chips left over from Nichole's party.
Various veggies left over from her party.......which Brandon ate them all. lol
Mummy cupcakes
witches hats
witches brooms
graveyard cake
and witches brew punch
(I'm probably forgetting something)
Alex won the apple bobbing and eyeball drop. All the kids discovered that carrying a bean on a spoon in your mouth as fast as you can (walking) along the sidewalk is NOT as simple as it looks. Pumpkin bowling was once again an enormous hit with the littlest ones......they never want to stop so this time I left it until last.
But I wish you all could've seen the apple bobbing. We were lucky and got a 60 degree sunny day. Still the water was cold. None of them had done it before. Adults laughed until our sides hurt. The kids were determined to get those apples! After they got one they were supposed to hold onto it so they could make caramel apples. Well.....my health nut grandkids ate them right up. lol Alex, Aubrey, and Evan had an additional caramel apple. So I think apple bobbing will be a game that sticks around.
I will keep changing it up each year. Mostly because I'm dealing with a rather wide range of ages and I want it to be fun for all of them. I think in a couple of years there might be a haunted portion added to the back porch......I'm sure I won't have any problem with volunteers for that each year. Nichole's husband is already chomping at the bit.
Kids ate all the food and had a blast. I'm soooooooo glad Katie's kids finally got to enjoy it too.