Halloween 2011

I have always loved family theme costumes.  I remember one year as a kid my bother and sister and I were ghosts and my parents were ghost busters.  I know as my kids get older they'll probably want to pick there own costumes and not follow my theme, so I decided to take advantage of them being to young to choose and having all of us dress in a theme. 

We went with the Cat in the Hat since that is one of Mariann's favorite books and cartoons.  I was the Cat in the Hat, Lee was the Fish, and Mariann and Peter were Thing 1 and Thing 2. 

Mariann would NOT let me spray her hair blue and I didn't want to traumatize her, so we just went with the blue head band instead.

We even carved our pumpkin like a cat.  Mariann loved helping to draw the face on it but she wasn't a big fan of getting the seeds out.  She thought it was "too yucky."  Peter on the other hand loves all messes and enjoyed throwing the seeds around.

One of the nice things about Halloween in Arizona is you don't have to wear your coat over your costume.  Also, a lot if the people sit outside on in their driveway, so they can see everyone.  It really creates a festival type atmosphere that I enjoyed.  Both Mariann and Peter caught on to the idea of trick or treating really quickly.  When someone would bring out there bowl of candy to get some candy for them, Peter would really quickly stick his hand in the bowl and grab a whole handful before they could give him just one piece.

Mariann ended up with so much candy she could hardly lift her pumpkin by the end of the night.

A Wedding in Dallas

The week before Halloween, we were in Dallas for the wedding of Lee's brother, Stephen.  It was so fun to get to visit and see everyone.  The wedding was beautiful and Mariann was on of the flower girls.  Her Grandma made her this beautiful dress to where and her new aunt Becky made the wand for the girls to hold.  Mariann loved the dress and has wanted to wear it to church every week since.



We were lucky that my Mom had planned to take my Grandmas to Texas at the same time so we were able to visit with her and to leave the kids with her during the sealing. 

Peter and Lee wore matching suits and ties.

I made this skirt for the wedding.  It was the first item of clothing I had ever sown!!  It was suprisingly fun to make and I think I did a really good job.  It turned out a little big, and I had to get a little help with the button but for my first try I thnk I did awesome.

Mariann wasn't real keen on getting her picture take and wouldn't look up. However, Becky looked stunning in her wedding dress.

Getting all the grandsons together for a picture with the groom was next to impossible.  Toddlers just have minds of there owns and sitting still is not a top priority for them.

I also made the cake for the reception that night.  It didn't turn out exactly like I imagined in my head (they never do) but I thought it was very elegant and it tasted great.

Overall, we had a grat time and we were glad to be able to share this special day with Stephen and Becky.  Congratulations to the both of you! We love you!