Happy Hallow'een!!!

I had to test out the pumpkins in the dark last night...
The kids are all so psyched about tonight...well Remi's sick in bed, so perhaps not him. Oscar's going off to a party, Ella's off with her BFF for some trick or treating and a sleepover, Kit's going to a friends with some other boys from cubs and school- we've been invited too, should be interesting.
And since we never get any trick or treaters down here anyway, I'm sure it won't matter that there's an empty house.

I'll be back later today with photos of the kids in their costumes.

BOO!

Last night was , of course, Halloween. It was kind of fun having it on a Friday night, but very strange that it was so light (daylight savings was supposed to have ended 2 weeks ago!)

Ella dressed up as a red devil again. We couldn't find her horns so they were drawn on.She'd been wearing her hair in little plaits most of the week to get it all crinkly and frizzy!
Kit was back and forth on what he wanted to wear, but at the very last minute he decided to go with the costume he had planned last week-a celtic warrior. Of course he left it so late that I had a split second to do his tattoos and hair.To him it's all about waving the sword around anyway.Remi also rehashed his costume from last year and went as a dwarf again.It is an unbelievably hideous mask-especially when he'd poke his tongue out the eye hole!

This year we were invited to the neighbourhood pumpkin carving competition, but didn't get organised enough to bring up a pumpkin. It was fun anyway and all the kids got prizes for pumpkins or costumes.

Ella's friend from school was there with her family. I love little neighbourhood get togethers like that.

Kids of all ages running around together (it was a dead end street). Kids they know from school, and the really cute little ones. After that we went out trick or treating...we had to wait for it to get a little dark. Kit got tired very quickly and so we went back quite early really. Remi had gone off to his friends and they'd gone out together and Oscar (who was bah humbugging at home) finally got his act together and went out with some friends (dressed more or less as himself). The older 2 didn't get home until nearly 9. They had enormous bags of stash. And then the mad "candy trading event" began, with Matt imposing candy taxes on everyone's stash. Fun!

Hope you had a fun Halloween where ever you are.
(oh and daylight savings ends tonight, and I am so looking forward to that extra hour sleep!)

Wild and windy

On Saturday we had a big storm-wind only really, very little rain. But BOY was it windy. We tend to cop the brunt of it when it comes off Long Island Sound as there is nothing which stands in the way. One of our trees lost it's two top most branches. I was up in the attic and heard it come crashing down.Fortunately nothing fell on the house. It meant we were able to collect heaps of good kindling though.Sunday, however was gorgeous and we sat out in the late afternoon sun carving pumpkins. Ella's (our skull needed the googles to protect himself from the storm).Oscar's
And Remi's.
Kit didn't want to do another one, so I did one.
I had the idea of carving into the pumpkin, but not all the way through, but of course you can't see it with a candle in it, so I need to go back and carve deeper.

And I took these yesterday morning, just after 7am...thank goodness daylight savings finishes this weekend. It's like getting up in the middle of the night when I get up in the morning.
And the animals had to come and see what I was doing. See that wall...see how high up it is from the bottom. Well as I type, that wall is covered in about 6 inches of water, and it's still rising.

Proper fall weather

Cool crisp weather, a busy Saturday and some photos of us messing around in the yard.

Playing on the swing.Even Honey was getting in on the act.A bit of baseball...Remi in his soccer refereeing uniform.

Two gorgeous boys.

A gorgeous sunset with my mate the Heron. He hangs around all the time, and is very possessive about a stick in the water that he stands on.And of course the Halloween decorations on our porch.My bat wreath.Cob webs.

That time of year again.

Pumpkin decorating time for the annual cub scout pumpkin competition.Kit's pumpkin.

And Ella's.


Unfortunately they changed the rules on siblings entering this year and Ella couldn't (she was devastated) , but we left it out anyway and everyone loved it.

Kit didn't win a prize either (it's always stiff competition), but we had fun doing it.