i just can't let another year pass without a halloween post

my friend Gisel's nails looking all halloweeny :)

picking out pumpkins and hugging them too

we carved our jack o lantern with two new friends, Marc and Jin's dog Cassy. they are not in this picture but they were there ;)

Maku was a ninja again but a few inches taller this time around

Snow was a doll or something ;)

now that this post is out of the way, I'll try to update here more often...miss you all :)

it's that time of year again

I've just spent the entire week doing all sorts of Halloweeny. Our little cottage is decorated, local Halloween shops visited, and bookstore costume contest attended - Maku won first place and Snow was second. Tonight we are going to a Halloween Ball then finally to the most fun part - trick or treating. :)

snow's birthday

canoeing at 10
lose flip flops at 11
find surprise picnic
unwrap presents - the little cash bag with the spriggy thingy (bottom right) was a favorite
get attacked by bugs
run home
celebrate some more

birthday cheers

hooray! hooray! hooray! it's dave's 34th birthday!

the 27 hour party

If you count licking the frosting off of a whisk as the start of the celebration then the party was much longer than that.

Day 1 :: There was fire, food and a rare picture of me...



No, no, they were not dancing the Y-M-C-A.

Most of the nighttime photos didn't come out clear so I'll move on to the next day...

That is Snow on the pink bike with no more training wheels
and that is Maku in the pink shoes trying to keep up -- which was what he did all day.

Just look at him here.

It rained and no one seemed to notice but me. My sister was back in the house preparing lunch while the children went about the business of styling their wet hair like that of George Washington. Maku tried to style his short curly hair too; keeping up with the bigger kids was hard work...

...and this little boy was so determined he didnt give up until he bled. He had cuts on his little fingers too.

orange you sweet

handmade cards and freshly picked oranges -
the sweetest gifts for the sweetest day


while washing the oranges, we noticed a 3 foot long black racer snake watching us. we watched him watch us, and he watched us watch him watching us. then he got shy and slithered away. he was quite fast, i guess that is why he is called a racer. we tried to follow him, but lost him in the bushes.

a happy birthday

"What's my present? If you tell me, I won't know."



early morning excitement
friends
balloons
cake licking and a pee pee accident
thank you all for your warm wishes on Maku's special day ^.^
more photos here

making masks

to welcome the New Year. One of the last things we did in the old house.

o sweet Christmas

You are probably tired of seeing Christmas tree photos by now, I just want to give my sister a big thank you for hosting another memorable Christmas. We spent the night at her house and waited for Santa together. I also want to thank her for my new sewing machine. Yes! Now I don't have to keep borrowing hers.

The children received what they wished for. A dollhouse for Snow, a ninja for Maku and a plane for Jin.

things to love

It's not easy gettting into the festive spirit amidst moving boxes. I am so proud of Snow for her creative festive efforts. I love our paper tree.

I also fell in love with these dolls. They are handknitted in Peru from blablakids. They are so soft and so cuddly and best of all they are washable. I wonder if their recipients will love them as I do.

Hallows End

Four rotting pumpkins and 7lbs of candy on the kitchen counter --
another ghoulish Halloween has ended.

The scary scarecrow

the lovely Chinese doll

and the elusive ninja

all had a magical time.

pumpkin overload

jack-o-lanterns carved
pumpkin pies baked
pumpkin seeds roasted



all halloween books read --
-- more than once

tomorrow we trick-or-treat

it has been raining a lot here lately
wet candies are no fun
hoping for clear skies on halloween night

The Procrastinating Apprentice

I've always been a procrastinator when putting together Halloween costumes, every year I plan our costumes for weeks only to come up with something new at the last minute. This year, to cut down on the costume rush, I set this weekend to be my costume-making deadline. Unfortunately, I forgot one important detail: we are attending a Halloween event tomorrow. Ahhh!!! Maku's costume is not quite ready. I still need to dye fabric, make a belt and sew his mask; so either I won't have time to make my costume, or I'll have twenty minutes or less to put together a really lame one.

This was Maku's first Halloween costume. He was supposed to dress up as a cute little pumpkin until I came up with Donald Trump.
The idea came to me the night before Halloween so I slaved through the night on this baby-friendly hair piece. I sewed pieces of Jin's old Rapunzel wig from four Halloweens ago onto a skull cap I made from Snow's ballet tights.
If The Donald could see this he would certainly approve of my version of his comb-over. And with a nod and a wink he'd say, "Seagrape, you're hired!"

kicking into Halloween mode

a visit to the attic to dig out costumes and decorations

a tombstone made for our little worm friend

a trip to the farm to find that perfect pumpkin

Our household is officially into the spooky spirit of Halloween...let the countdown begin.

Jarry the Giraffe and Weeta's birthday

After a quiet morning at the park watching baby frogs, the children spent the rest of the day preparing for Aunt Elaine's birthday party. Some presents we bought, some we made. Snow made her a wolf mask. Jin made her a giraffe softie and a card with some fun facts about giraffes. She sketched the design, made the pattern, cut the fabric, and sewed and stuffed in less than two hours.
We played pin the tail on the giraffe and other fun party games that the children prepared.
A teppanyaki restaurant was the birthday girl's choice, the adults enjoyed their sashimi and sake with no interruptions while the little ones marveled at the onion volcano and shrimp tails flying into the chef's pocket and hat. (^o^)

sweet surprises

Yesterday I turned thirty-six! I received quite a number of birthday wishes; yay! My sister gave me an almost surprise birthday dinner. Dave surprised me with a tiny ice cream cake with giant sparklers on it and a frozen fly (not his intention) in the middle. Today my friend Gina baked me the yummiest cake. What a perfect day!
Later this week, an outdoor massage on my new lounge chair (thank you, weeta) and a cold beverage. Looking forward to relaxing and ignoring the mess of toys and dirty dishes behind me. What a way to end a deliciously moist birthday. (^.^)

it's joel's birthday

We had a surprise party for him last night. This was Maku’s first surprise party so the concept was new to him. He was so excited that everyone was in on the fun and got into position whenever the doorbell rang: Elaine by the piano, ready to play Happy Birthday, Jin by the door with the birthday hat, Dave crouched in the corner ready to give anyone a heart attack and Maku in the middle of the room ready to scream surprise at an unsuspecting Uncle Joel.
Two false alarms and half an hour later, Papa Joel arrived. Maku missed everything, he had to go potty.