(Kinda) carving it up in 2014

Anybody who's had the unfortunate experience of being a Maggie cohabitor come late October knows my penchant for pumpkin carving. Street cred? I was into pumpkin carving before they made those patterns. (Full disclosure: I'm into it but I'm not that good. Totally full disclosure: 80% is about the pumpkin seeds.)

This year I pushed a record-breaking pumpkin home from Farmer's Market in our stroller. I scored two free pie pumpkins at the fall festival and participated in the 2-for-1 Kroger deal. Twice. And, Betty gifted me one. Basically, I had no excuse not to carve the shit outta some orange gourds and feed the town of Milford with my delicious Worcestershire Sauce seeds. No excuse except for two littles and an incredibly stressful carving session #1. 

I knew it would be difficult, I mean, I didn't have umpteen hours to plan my design, break out the pottery tools and then, at the end, separate each seed. But, 2011 was good. And 2012 super fun. (I don't really remember carving anything in 2013, but apparently I did. Thank you, blog. And, thank you for giving me a record of Will's awesome hair.) Both produced heaps-o-carved gourds and seeds. But, this: knives, a "let me do it" toddler, goo, an "exploring my world orally" one-year-old, and an obsessive carver do not a happy family make.

So, for the record, we turned out one Maizey-designed, Mom-produced pumpkin and one sad, but delicious, batch of seeds. Which I unabashedly hoarded. At least it was great weather. (Especially nice to remember considering it snowed today.)

Pre-Halloween Haps

Given the weather on the "real" Halloween, October 31, was a HORRENDOUS Elsa-inspired mess, I'm thrilled we got it together (amazingly) and participated in the Milford Main Street trick-or-treat. 

Though Will's costume wasn't quite as elaborate as years past (here and here), he still got in the spirit, with a little help from Disney on Ice and the cotton candy tchotchke. 

Anna's marvelous togs were provided by Gramma Betty.

Since our real Sven is dog reindeer aggressive, Olaf has to pull the sled.

Thankfully he had some grog in this to-go cup.

And then, my sister wife, Jaclyn, nestor Will, and I took on the grand event.

Ryan's costume was eerily familiar.

 Jack was awarded best supporting role as Farmer.

And once again, we marched down Main and slipped into line at random intervals.

It was fun(ny).

Lucy Anna did some walking crawling.

And, three members of the OG represented.

Mason, Maizey and Jack.

Once she tired of walkcrawling, 

Lu took it all in from the sled.

And Elsa sang a few bars,

though luckily her powers hadn't reached full potential .

After a jaunt to the YMCA, Elsa and Farmer gave Olaf a break 

and ferried Anna home.

Happy Halloween indeed.

(And that day I gave thanks for to-go cups, like-minded neighbors, a husband with a sense of humor, unseasonably warm autumn weather, and hot-n-ready pizzas.)

Cotton candy sweet to go...

...let me see that pumpkin roll...

Saturday was the neighbor's annual Pumpkin Roll. Invite went like this:

We invite everyone to dress up for a pre-Halloween bash!!

Remember to bring a small to medium sized pumpkin to race (decorated if you wish). If it can not fit in a 5 gallon bucket it will not be able to race. Also, we are going to beef up our scarecrow zip line to make sure it will stay intact, so bring your scarecrow and LET IT RIP!!!

Hope to see you all there!

Candy

Although the big game conflicted with the party, we'd missed the past two years and felt we needed to rally the troops to attend.

Including Mickey.

And Mickey's mom.

And Kari too.

We weren't disappointed.

Food and fun.

Our kids harassed other kids.

Other kids harassed our kids.

Jack even let Maizey take the ears for a spin.

Though he probably should have lent her the knickers instead.

We ran into a pumpkin roll snafu.

Resulting in disqualification. Bummer.

Luckily Elvira was there with a child-friendly activity. 

Gathering blood viles hidden around the property. For her to drink.

And grown-ups in silly costumes.

Like us in our Spartan wear,

like male packages,

and politically incorrect sheikhs.

After the dads went for a "Father of the Year" roll in the leaves, 

We headed home.

 There was a game to watch.

 And serious conversations to have...

"Did you see that guy in the turban? What did he think this was? Halloween 1982?"

Trunk or Treat

Last Friday was Maizey's Halloween trial run. Her "school" had a special Trunk or Treat event on Friday night, complete with games, potluck and pizza dinner (so all of us slackers could do a cash version of a potluck).

Good news? Maizey was a champ. We got her costume on with minimal wailing, she quickly learned to say "treat" and she carried her own candy.

Bad news? I thought it started at 6. It really started at 7 (past Lady's bedtime). She was super crabby after being at Childtime all day. I was super crabby after working all day. It was raining. Will forgot Maizey's shoes so we had to carry her. (And I was super mad he forgot her shoes.) Oh, and a "school-ager" hit me in the head with a basketball.

We did get some cute pics. And there was this cool car. (Using the term "cool" very loosely.)

Next morning:

 Maizey enjoyed her spoils. Shocker.

p.s. Trunk or Treat is a sort of homeless (ghetto) trick-or-treat. A bunch of cars, in a parking lot, with their decorated trunks open, handing out candy. Perfect for new walkers, as they don't have to hoof it very far, if they have shoes, that is...