We have had many years when friends were few. There were times when friends were made, and we then had to move. But along the way a friend here, and a friend there were gained...and kept. Over the years we've had a few parties. And in the recent past couple of years the party planning, decorating, and food prep has been in the hands of the girls.
It's been a while since we've had a party that wasn't a birthday party :-) So this Halloween was the talk of the house. Even though it was the *girls'* party, the boys were pretty eager to help out! The boys spent a couple of days getting the outside ready. Cleaning up, chopping some wood for the bonfire, and power washing the porch. The girls were busy with decorations, and food....and of course costumes.
The boys decided to go for some store costumes, as did Flannery. Everyone else put some outfits together with what they had. We did a little photo shoot, though Jeremiah, I and the littles took off to our church's Fall Fest so I was not able to get photos of all their guests as they hadn't all arrived.
It is a blessing to see a house full of wonderful teens. Teens that you can leave at home and know that all will be well while you are away. We came home to everyone either playing board games or hanging out in the kitchen snacking. Unfortunately the bonfire did not happen. The wood would not catch fire. That did not deter them. They just changed plans. Instead they hung out on the trampoline telling scary stories.
The littles had a blast at church. Lots of food and fun. A hay ride and games were a huge hit with the kiddos. The evening ended with trunk-or-treat. With only about 10 cars I was surprised to see my kids come away with more candy then they have ever received going door to door! Since we have started detoxing I didn't want the kids to be eating sugar on a weekly basis, so they got a good handful...or two...and then they traded it all in for a new toy each.
What really warmed my mama heart was when we got home and the bigger kids didn't ignore the little kids :-) I know it can be a bummer to have your little siblings running around when you are trying to have a big kid party....so I was relieved when they were included, at least up to a point. We tried to make sure that the littles didn't come in and take over! Ha, ha!
Saoirse was going to be Black Riding Hood, as we didn't have a red cape.
But that quickly changed to a vampire sort of character.
Flannery was going to be this cowboy cactus-bee-butterfly-cat kind of character, but she decided to just go with the cowboy cactus.
Merida was supposed to be Minnie Mouse, but her costume went missing that day. It ended up being in the closet...the one behind the photo 'booth' that the girls set up for the party! We found her costume the next day. So she went with what she was last year...a cat.
Kristi was a butterfly back from the dead. The one that you either killed by accident, or not....to get revenge. They have some imagination!
A close up of Saoirse's makeup artistry :-)
Heidi was a sorceress. We thought adding the cat in as a prop was the finishing touch.
Aubrey was Picachu. As soon as he saw this costume he insisted he HAD to have it.
Even Loki got in on the dressing up :-) Not sure how much he enjoyed it, but he did look festive!
I couldn't get the other boys to break from the group to get individual shots. Here are all the littles. Jed as Bonnie, and Jonah as Foxy from Five Nights at Freddy's.
Everyone decided to jump in to do a dab, or three.
Katie and Merida. Katie was a fair maiden.
Moira and Adam were trying to find a great couples costume idea, but they couldn't find one. So Moira decided to be a deer, and Adam was a lumberjack. Adam's mom had made him this yarn beard and I wish I had gotten a picture of it, it was really cool!
Isabella dressed up as a student from Hogwarts and Liam was Harry Potter....a *very* cute Harry Potter if I do say so myself!
It's been a while since we've had a party that wasn't a birthday party :-) So this Halloween was the talk of the house. Even though it was the *girls'* party, the boys were pretty eager to help out! The boys spent a couple of days getting the outside ready. Cleaning up, chopping some wood for the bonfire, and power washing the porch. The girls were busy with decorations, and food....and of course costumes.
The boys decided to go for some store costumes, as did Flannery. Everyone else put some outfits together with what they had. We did a little photo shoot, though Jeremiah, I and the littles took off to our church's Fall Fest so I was not able to get photos of all their guests as they hadn't all arrived.
It is a blessing to see a house full of wonderful teens. Teens that you can leave at home and know that all will be well while you are away. We came home to everyone either playing board games or hanging out in the kitchen snacking. Unfortunately the bonfire did not happen. The wood would not catch fire. That did not deter them. They just changed plans. Instead they hung out on the trampoline telling scary stories.
The littles had a blast at church. Lots of food and fun. A hay ride and games were a huge hit with the kiddos. The evening ended with trunk-or-treat. With only about 10 cars I was surprised to see my kids come away with more candy then they have ever received going door to door! Since we have started detoxing I didn't want the kids to be eating sugar on a weekly basis, so they got a good handful...or two...and then they traded it all in for a new toy each.
What really warmed my mama heart was when we got home and the bigger kids didn't ignore the little kids :-) I know it can be a bummer to have your little siblings running around when you are trying to have a big kid party....so I was relieved when they were included, at least up to a point. We tried to make sure that the littles didn't come in and take over! Ha, ha!
Saoirse was going to be Black Riding Hood, as we didn't have a red cape.
But that quickly changed to a vampire sort of character.
Flannery was going to be this cowboy cactus-bee-butterfly-cat kind of character, but she decided to just go with the cowboy cactus.
Merida was supposed to be Minnie Mouse, but her costume went missing that day. It ended up being in the closet...the one behind the photo 'booth' that the girls set up for the party! We found her costume the next day. So she went with what she was last year...a cat.
Kristi was a butterfly back from the dead. The one that you either killed by accident, or not....to get revenge. They have some imagination!
A close up of Saoirse's makeup artistry :-)
Heidi was a sorceress. We thought adding the cat in as a prop was the finishing touch.
Aubrey was Picachu. As soon as he saw this costume he insisted he HAD to have it.
Even Loki got in on the dressing up :-) Not sure how much he enjoyed it, but he did look festive!
I couldn't get the other boys to break from the group to get individual shots. Here are all the littles. Jed as Bonnie, and Jonah as Foxy from Five Nights at Freddy's.
Everyone decided to jump in to do a dab, or three.
Katie and Merida. Katie was a fair maiden.
Moira and Adam were trying to find a great couples costume idea, but they couldn't find one. So Moira decided to be a deer, and Adam was a lumberjack. Adam's mom had made him this yarn beard and I wish I had gotten a picture of it, it was really cool!
Isabella dressed up as a student from Hogwarts and Liam was Harry Potter....a *very* cute Harry Potter if I do say so myself!
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