Staus Annual Halloween Party

Every year my in-laws have a Halloween party and we all look forward to it!  This year will be extra memorable because of the snow!  I can't ever remember a time when we had this much snow before Halloween!

Mackenzie and Austin

Josh wearing Granny's fun hat, it sings and the top bounces back and forth.

Carolynn

Polly (she's pregnant with number 6) and Rhett

This year we had a mystery dinner.  We were given a menu and could only order 2 things at a time.

On the menu were...

Worm Slime

Brain Slice

Ghost Poop

Witches Rake

Green Monster

Dracula's Shovel

Monster Toes

Mummy Bandage

Hairy Daddy Long Legs

Edible Eyeballs

Witches' Fingers

Goblin Grins

These people ordered... Worm slime, Daddy Long Legs and on the right, Ghost Poop and Dracula's Shovel

Monster Toes

Witches Fingers

Edible Eyeballs

Goblin Grins

Hairy Daddy Long Legs

Finn and Tanner

Damean eating a brain slice and Trevor eating a Hairy Daddy Long Leg

Carolynn eating a brain slice and Polly ordering

Jayden and Austin

Josh and Rhett

Corban and Jeremy

Tanner

Mike and Polly

Polly

  The witches Rake was a fork and the mummy's bandage was a napkin.

Granny and Ralph had some new games to play this year, but I fed Mackenzie instead of playing them.  However because Becky was worried about people getting home before the snow got bad, we ran out of time to play some of them.

It's not complete without carving or painting your pumpkin.  Unfortunately the Robinsons had to get home to their animals so they took their pumpkins with them to carve at home.

Tanner painting his pumpkin.

Family Picture

We were all going to be dressed nice for Thanksgiving so I really wanted a family picture.  As soon as we got to Dave's parents house for Thanksgiving day lunch we had Andrew snap a few pictures.

I think they turned out pretty good, if only Mackenzie was doing that great smile of hers, it would be prefect.

There's subtle differences, but I'm so bad at deciding which one.  Here are my 4 favorite...

Tirck or Treat Banner

Last year my friend, Cristina, showed me a picture of a "Trick or Treat" banner and wanted to make one together.  we had each bought stuff to make one but could never find time to get together to do it.  Also, I was pregnant with Mackenzie and just sick, tired and miserable.  So mine never got finished last year.  I packed it up the stuff with my Halloween decorations.  This year when I got my stuff out I was so excited to get it finished.  I started working on it, then things came up, like making things for my sister in-law who was due with her first baby and my mom's stroke.  So I never got it done and there it sat at the end of my dining room table.

I was determined to not pack it away unfinished again.  So I finished it, even though Halloween was over.  It felt so good to finally have it done!

Here it is, with my cutie-pa-tootie models, my niece Carolynn and Tanner man!

I used felt on the back of the triangles and behind the letters.  The fabric part of the letters was done with fusible web, then I attached the felt with fabric glue, because it's faster.

I used glow in the dark thread to sew the triangles together and just used pinking shears to save time, and it gives it a bit of a Halloween look.

Practice, Practice and More Practice

I drug the boys outside and tried again...

Really we were only outside for like 10 minutes and I snapped some pictures.  Besides practicing, my friend, Natalie had gotten me a frame with 3 spots for pics as a gift when Mackenzie was born.  So I have also wanted to get 1 good picture of each kid to put in the frame. 

I think I got 3 good ones, I just need to figure out which ones.  And I can crop them landscape or portrait.

What do you think?  Did they turn out okay?

I think I like this one and the first of Jayden the best

Mackenzie wasn't really into smiling this day, but I think I still love this one.

I just thought she was cute playing with her toys.

I just love this cheesy smile!

The individual shots I can normally get in focus, it's the group shots I have a problem with, someone or more then one person is always out of focus and that bugs me to no end!!!!!

Moore Family Pictures

I was baby sitting my sisters kids for her, so when she came to pick them up we snapped a few pictures.  More practice!  It was just getting dark, and I have a lot of trees around my house, so it was even darker.  But I think they turned out okay.  At least for the most part they are in focus.  I love a sharp picture.

Playing with my New Camera

So... I'm not digging this new camera.  I don't know if it's me or the camera, but my pictures stink!!!!

So I need to practice, practice and practice.  And then practice some more!

So I took Mackenzie outside to practice.  And I played with the settings and modes.  These were some of my favorite.

 

She doesn't quiet sit on her own yet, so I leaned her on the fence.  A lot was still wet from the melting snow.  I kind of wish I would have taken this landscape, oh well.

She does this a lot, this is her "I'm gonna eat you" face.

and we all know she also sticks out her tongue a lot

If I print this one, I'll straighten it out, so the horizon you see in the back is straight, but I'm not gonna go back and do that right now, just don't have time.

I love this one of Tanner.  I love the background being blurry.

Fabric Book I Made

I made this I Spy kind of book for Jayden when he was 18 months old and we were flying out to Seattle.  I thought it'd help keep him busy on the plane and stuff.  I took pictures I had of him doing different things, like sleeping, eating, sticking his tongue out, dressed up, wearing a hat, etc.  and I used the fabric I had from the I Spy quilts I make and put them around each picture.

I believe Jayden was too old by the time I gave it to him, but Tanner loved it and now Mackenzie loves it!  She really gets excited when she sees it and wants to play with it.

I'm so glad all that hard work didn't go to waste!