Drawing the face on Levi's pumpkin
Drake has never been thrilled about touching the pumpkin "goo"...but we got Levi to reach in and get some of the seeds out!
Here's Drake with the finished products! I realize now that multiple steps in the pumpkin-carving process were not photo-documented! Adam finished getting all the junk out of them, separated the seeds out to bake, cleaned and prepped the seeds for baking and carved the faces in the pumpkins. During this time, I was giving Levi a bath, putting him to bed, and then making carameled apples for the three "big" people in the house. And apparently, this is where the camera finally got picked back up again...
And here are our jack-o-lanterns with candles inside!
And how could a weekend be complete without fishing? Adam was off work on Friday, and Dave was here also, so they had a fun morning "ripping some lips" - to quote my dear husband.
On Friday morning, Drake's school had a Storybook Parade, where the kids could dress up like their favorite book character. Drake wanted to be Shere Khan the tiger from Jungle Book. (And yes, that's electrical tape on an orange t-shirt!)
Levi and I went to Drake's school to watch the parade, and it was really cute! There were a lot of kids who dressed up. Here's Drake as he passed by with his class!
The boys dressed up for Halloween! Levi is a leopard and Drake is the red Power Ranger.
Hard to believe, but my mom made the leopard suit for Drake when he was 2-1/2. It fit him very well for Halloween when he had just turned 3. Levi is 20 months! Hmmm....I think there's a slight height difference!
My sweet baby leopard thought the candy part of Halloween was pretty awesome!
Drake didn't want to go trick-or-treating, so we went to a "Family Fun Night" put on by a local Baptist church. It turned out being way more fun than trick-or-treating anyway! Here's Drake fishin' for some candy. (Note that he took his mask off - he still has a trace of Shere Khan whiskers on his face from the parade! Oops!)
I got Levi to climb inside one of the bouncy cages - this one was specifically reserved for toddlers, so it was safe. Once he got in there, he didn't want to come out!
Daddy with his baby leopard.
This was one of two BIG inflatable slides for the older kids/adults. This one was the smaller of the two, and Adam talked Drake into trying it. He wasn't too sure about it, but once he tried it, he LOVED it and did it several more times...
Then onto the REALLY big slide! This picture doesn't really do it justice - Adam estimated it to be about 40 feet high. (I wouldn't know; I don't do estimates like that. 20 feet? 100 feet? Don't ask me!) Drake had a blast on this one too. So all in all, the Family Fun Night was a success, and we even came home with a bunch of candy!
So that's it! Hope everyone else had a fun Halloween as well.
9 comments:
I like the pics of the pumpkins - those are great.
That fun night at the church looks like a lot of fun! The kids' costumes were really cool too! Was that leopard costume the one that Mom gave Drake when we were in NV several years ago (when he bit me on the leg because he got a little too "into" the costume)? Or was it a different one that he had then? I don't remember what year it was that we went, so I don't remember how old Drake was. That's funny that it's fitting Levi now!
Hi Crystal! Yeah, it's the same leopard costume. Ha ha!! I had completely forgotten about how he bit you!! I remember now, and I'm sitting here snickering at the computer screen. :) That's SO funny!
Too cute! I think you're inspiring my next blog entry.
Ohhhhhh... those carmeled apples look so-o-o-o YUMMY! Great pumpkin carving, Adam! I also had forgotten about the leopard bite in NV. :)
Thanks for sharing all those great photos!
Please pass the apples! ;)
What do you season your pumpkin seeds with? I have yet to find a recipe I like. This year's was WAAYY too salty. So I would love to know your recipe!
Looks like Mr. Levi may be a brave boy! I can't believe he went in the little jump thingy - for being a new walker that's pretty unstable! I loved the pictures and captions; makes me feel like we're somehow still a part of it!
Hello Red Gate! I'll answer your pumpkin seed question here - hopefully you'll see it.
My husband is really the "seasoner" at our house...I'm not so good with spices (make that cooking in general, although I try!). He said to tell you this:
It depends on the amount of seeds you have to work with, but what he did was add some olive oil, just enough to coat the seeds, and then one part celery salt and one part garlic salt, to taste. So if yours have turned out too salty, just use less salt next time. He also thinks that using celery salt and garlic salt not only gives it a more interesting flavor, but is less overpoweringly "salty" than just regular table salt or sea salt. Ours turned out just right this year...but we have had them turn out too salty before, too. Hope that helps! I know it's not really very specific...
I also wanted to just let you know that I was really interested to hear some of your adoption theology on your blog recently. You and your husband seem to be such thoughtful/thinking people who are truly seeking God's will for your family. I enjoy reading your blog very much; you make me think, too - and that's a really good thing!
Hi Cherie! :)
It was actually kinda hard to get Levi convinced he should go in the bouncy thing...he tends to be hesitant, like his brother. But he LOVES jumping on his crib mattress and on Drake's bed, so I talked him into it by making the connection!
And you know what, you really are "still part of it" - because you guys are still such a vital part of our lives. I don't feel that anything has been lost since you moved, other than the joy and comfort of daily contact. If anything, I feel like I know and appreciate you even more than I did before, thanks to our intentional choice to remain close (and our frequent late night phone conversations!).
But I do know what you mean. It's nice to see recent pictures and hear the stories behind them. I feel the same whenever you post pictures to Facebook - that we're still plugging along through life together! You're precious to me, my faraway Alaskan sister!
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