Halloween and Such

Last Saturday we kicked off our Halloween celebrations with a visit to the South Texas Corn Maize with our friends Brian and Megan and their kids. Our kids LOVE this place. There are wide open spaces for running around, a giant slide made out of irrigation pipe, tractor rides, hay rides, pumpkins, a sand pit with toy tractors, goats, and pig races. There is plenty for a little boy to love. Here are some pictures from our day:

Henry, Howie, and Eliza starting the corn maze. Don't get lost guys!

Howie was our fearless leader in the corn maze. Matt said, "Are we lost?" and Howie said, "No, Dad! We're in the corn maze!" Oh yes, of course.

After the corn maze we played on the giant bouncy corn popper.

The boys are going for a tractor ride.

Henry and Peter playing in the sand. To be honest, all the boys probably would have been perfectly happy staying here all day.

Yeah, I need something like this in our backyard.

And going for another tractor ride.

Henry, Howie, and Eliza watching the pig races.

Matt was part of the pig race half time show! He had to impersonate a pig taking a mud bath. He put on quite the show, but he didn't win. Just as well--the prize for the winner was the chance to kiss a pig.

Picking out pumpkins at the pumpkin patch.

One pumpkin was not enough for Henry. He decided to bring home three.

Howie and his pumpkin--I think he got the pumpkin with longest stem in the whole patch.

I bribed Howie with a sucker to make this family photo possible. 

Halloween itself was so much fun this year. Our neighborhood had a Halloween party at our neighbors' house across the street. There were costumes, games, and hotdogs. And a fire truck parked in front of our house. There were tons of kids running around, and people set up chairs in their driveways to hand out candy. I love the sense of community our neighborhood has. This was like the perfect Halloween.

The boys wanted to both paint and carve their pumpkins. Henry is helping clean out his pumpkin.

Henry was Spider Man this year. He says, "spy man" and then makes web shooting noises. So cute!

Matt as "Chuck Earnhardt, the lesser known younger son of Dale Earnhardt"

A fire truck in front of our house! So cool!

Henry was a little freaked out the first time he saw Matt in his wig, but he warmed up to the idea.

Howie playing games with his friend Wyatt.

Howie as Super Man. I love his Super Man pose. It's so good!

A face like this gets you lots and lots of candy. Don't tell Howie, but I think Henry had him beat in the candy count this year. 

Wearing a costume a few sizes too big means Henry is the buffest Spider Man you will ever see.

The party. Our neighborhood is so awesome.

The boys started out their Trick or Treating at our house. They were so excited when Dad gave them some candy.

Henry at our next door neighbors' house. He has just started, but couldn't wait to start eating his candy.

The boys trick or treating in our neighborhood. Henry spent the whole time with one (or two) suckers in his hand. He even started saying "trick or treat" At every house Henry got some candy and then stood there with a look that said,"Hey, you have a whole bowl of candy there. Why don't you just load me up so I can go home and eat this stuff. Why do I have to keep going from house to house?" Howie spent the whole time saying, "I love Halloween! Can we do this again next year?"

Our Jack-O-Lanterns by Henry, Howie, and Matt. (I carved Howie's and Henry's). I asked Howie what kind of face he wanted on his pumpkin. He said, "A scary one, like this." Then he made a growly face for me.

When Howie came back from trick or treating, he helped hand out candy at our house.

Henry it still trying to get at that candy.

A Trip to the Coast

We were very happy to be invited to join our friends David and Cynthia on their annual family vacation to the coast over Columbus Day weekend. We stayed in a condo and enjoyed five days of eating, swimming in the pool, and going to the beach.

This is where we stayed. I wish I had a picture of our room because it was beautiful.

Henry is ready for the pool! He did this himself. He is a goof.

The candy store in Port Aransas. Both kids and adults enjoyed this stop.

Howie caught a shark!

Every beach, everywhere has a store with one of these, right?

Howie with his souvenir Spider Man sea shell. Howie is giving you his spidey web fingers.

The beach! There was a boardwalk from the condo to the beach.

Henry tries to catch some fish with his net.

Storm clouds! We got caught in a downpour! The adults loved it and wanted to stay, but all the kids started screaming and running for cover.

Matt is trying to catch a fish in a bucket.

This was Henry's favorite place to be at the beach. You can't get splashed in the face by waves when you are on Daddy's shoulders.

The beach, with the condo in the background.

Yeah, we're master craftsmen. We know. It's a masterpiece.

I'm a beautiful mermaid.

Brian, Adelina, and Tina fishing.
 

Brian and Tina caught some fish in the net!

Matt ate this fish! Live and raw!! Yes, he is a little crazy.

Following the trend of fish eating, David put this little guy in his mouth and then put him back.

I think Howie might have been considering eating this fish, but since it didn't fit into his spaghetti and cereal diet, he put it back.

Sophie, Cynthia, Henry, and Matt swimming in the pool.

I must also mention that Howie swam for the first time all by himself at the end of our trip. It was very exciting!

We had a wonderful time with our wonderful friends!