Happy Halloween!

I know it's a little late to be writing a Happy Halloween blog entry with only a couple of hours left of the spooky holiday. I had to wait until I had pictures of all the little guys in their trick-or-treat garb. The pictures of Miles & Westy and Hannah & Vivian are pilfered from their parents, so thank you very much!

We had more kids at our door tonight than we've had in many years. Cute costumes, happy and polite kids. The weather was nice enough that parents were out cruising neighborhoods for houses with lights on, then letting their kids out long enough to hit several houses in a row before signaling them back in the car and roaring off to another stretch of houses. Candy bags were brimming with good stuff--a dentist's nightmare. My favorite costume tonight was a fantastic Princess Leia, who had the hair and clothing exactly right. Somebody in her family must like early Star Wars movies!

North Carolina Policewoman Hannah is hard at work in hot pursuit of a speedy, law-breaking monkey.

                    Monkey caught, candy collected, sisters enjoying a treat!

                  Fireman Westy and Convict Miles are ready for Halloween.

 

Holy smokes, that's a lot of loot!

Ethan and Owen continued their now 3-year tradition of trick-or-treating in our neighborhood so Grandpa/Dad/Larry can go along. You can see that he fits right in with his interesting mask.

Here's the Football Player/Mouse, the Minnesota Cop, and assorted grown-ups ready to head out for some fun.

Let's hope the candy gets divided evenly, and the daddies and mommies get their share! Happy Halloween!

CousinFest 2013, part 6 (Odds & Ends)

This is the last CousinFest 2013 entry. At least 150 pictures didn't make it onto my blog from the weekend, not because they weren't terrific pictures, but because there just isn't space! Here are some odds an ends to finish up the story of the weekend, just for fun.

  Two aunties

One uncle and two cousins

Doing homework on the steps. All six kiddos spent a great deal of time together carrying around notebooks, notepads, and pens doing six different versions of homework. What a bunch of nerds!

 It wouldn't be a cousins' weekend without 'toonie watching with Gpappy!

And I can't imagine any visit involving cousins without lots of reading, reading, reading.

 

Some photos defy description...

 Others are just plain cute...

It was a great weekend filled with fun and good entertainment by silly kids.

I'll share one last photo, taken at Charlie and Angie's house last Sunday evening. Ethan wanted to remind us about Fire Safety, which he and Owen have been learning about at Little Lambs Preschool. Here he is, posting as Fireman Ed, ready to jump in his boots and climb on the fire engine. Thanks, Ethan!

CousinFest 2013, part 5 (Got Pumpkins?)

 Here we all are at Grandma's Little Acre, ready to roll!

Our personal farmer and tractor pull us out into the pumpkin patch.

That's a lot-o-pumpkins! 

 Owen and Gpappy are enjoying the ride.

Miles got his nose dirty while looking through 

the cracks in the hay wagon. 

Time to get off the wagon and look for pumpkins.

Tanner declares Owen the King of Halloween! 

                                            

Hannah in Pumpkinland

 Westy doesn't know where to begin to choose a pumpkin!

Owen spotted this one -- pretty dang heavy! 

 Sweet Vivi -- ready to chuck that punkin'?

 Ethan must be getting ready to organize everyone's picks.

                                                   Hurray for fall!

 One last look at the Pirate Pumpkin before climbing back on the hay wagon.

                        

We want the farmer to take the bumpy way back!

Grandpa and his six little pumpkins. 

It's always fun to go to Grandma's Little Acre. Pam and her family make everyone feel welcome. We loved the wagon ride and walking around in the pumpkin patch. You can bet we'll be back next October!

CousinFest 2013, part 4 (Crazy Eyes and Birthdays)

Vivian and Weston are now 3-year-olds. In honor of their birthdays, we opened presents and had some fun. These aren't the best shots of Viv and Westy--I was in an awkward spot for taking pictures--but you get the idea.

The non-birthday cousins were happy to get some birthday party favors, and looked pretty fancy in their animal headbands.

 



Owen and Vivi look ferocious as lions!

 


Westy is a cute blue-eared elephant.

Hannah and Ethan are cute little monkeys. Or are they mice?

The Cousins-Crowding-Together-on-the-Couch Contest has been a tradition since 2009, when the cousins increased from two to four. Crowding wasn't an issue back then, as you can see in this adorable photo. All four sweeties fit on less than half of the couch!

There was still plenty of room in November of 2010 when babies Vivian and Weston joined their siblings and bigger cousins for the first six-cousin photo session.

As kids seem to do, these six cousins have been growing and growing. We'll squeeze 'em in a row as long as we can, but eventually we may have to rearrange for comfort.

Here they are during the October CousinFest weekend. This is the first time we've held the Crazy Eyes Event, which was well-received by the adults and almost all of the kiddos. Vivi wasn't as keen on wearing crazy eyes as her sister and cousins were, but when you've got beautiful dark brown eyes and luscious eyelashes, why cover them with goofy glasses?

Time for cupcakes and candles...Happy Birthday, Weston and Vivian. May all your birthday wishes come true.

CousinFest 2013, part 3 (The Games Continue)

Various games played with balls were on the CousinFest schedule over the weekend. Here are a few highlights.

Annie always manages to capture Elisabeth in a glamor shot. This time, she caught her sister in her specialty sport, Beach Ball Inflating. By the way, I thought "glamor" should be spelled "glamour", but the spell-checker disagreed.

Enough has been said about the next photo already, so I won't embarrass TJG by mentioning anything more about his sculpted buns. Wait--maybe his pants have special padding?

 

Westy, the youngest Packer fan in the family, is looking concerned about what's about to come his way.

 

And here it comes...

Fortunately for Westy, Owen is much gentler with his little cousin than he is when playing football with bigger kids.

Now it's time for some other cousins to lay down the bases for a game of baseball. Good thing the front yard field is adaptable.

Hannah is up to bat. After this, I think the two sports mingled. I'm not sure of the outcome-- I was in the house away from the action.

Last, but certainly not least, is this sweet shot of Vivi. Don't think for a minute that she was sitting on the sidelines during the sports events. Not at all.  In Charlie's Vimeo video below, you'll see a pink streak go by. That's Vivi, going out for a pass. Or maybe running over to Mary and Darrel's, I'm not sure, but then she's back in the game.

Time to stop for now. There will be more tomorrow!