. . . of bats,
What with our impromptu vacation, we didn't really get around to decorating for Halloween so on Sunday, dad sensed we were in need of a project and some festive decor seemed the perfect thing. We spent the morning planning, drawing, cutting, tracing, glueing, and building these fantastic Bats!
pumpkins,
Monday was pumpkin-carving night. This year we picked out one pumpkin for each person. We had to get a cute little one for Zoe and a HUGE one for Dad. I teamed up with Laila to carve an artistic piece that she'd had her eye on since last year-- the cat sitting in front of the moon. It turned out quite well if I do say so myself. ; )
We always start this process with a couple of blank sheets of paper and some pens to design our pumpkins before cutting. Do we want scary? funny? cute? silly? Looks like we ended up with all of the above!
Star Wars,
One of our most talked about Disneyland experiences was Star tours. Each of the kids came home with an action figure set from the movie and the determination of dressing up as characters for Halloween. So I couldn't resist making it a family affair. We started a movie marathon over the weekend but only finished the 2nd of the original star wars before Halloween. But that was enough for the kids to get into their roles and to understand the significance of our costumes. The kids wanted dad to be Darth Vader but they also kept telling him to be Luke Skywalker's dad so it was really fun when they discovered the two were one and the same! (dad is really more of a Han Solo type but as a costume that is just so boring)
 |
| Luke! I am your Father. |
and who could resist this adorable little wookie
"scary" stories & Vader's wildride
at the end of the night, after exhausting the candy handouts at dad's office building & the neighborhood, enjoying a quick meal at Carl's Jr., and excitedly answering the few knocks at our own door with a cheery, "take as much as you like!" we returned to our new Halloween tradition of telling "scary" stories while under a blanket, the only light coming from a weak flashlight. Since we don't want to keep our kids up with fright, our stories are pretty mild--consisting mostly of unexpected noises that, when uncovered, have some innocuous explanation.
But it is enjoyable enough to have made it to a second year.
Also back for more is a game we have newly dubbed "Vader's wildride" in which the kids are dragged around the house on a blanket by their dad.
Seriously. So. Much. Fun.
Video probably does it more justice (the cacaphony of delighted screaming & happy laughter)
but I am not tech-savvy enough, so here's a still shot.
