Halloween 2011

What is greater than dressing up and getting copious amounts of candy?  For these kids, nothing!
The boys went back and forth for weeks trying to decide what they wanted to be for Halloween.  We looked in books and online and there was always something new that caught their eye.  Finally Alex decided he wanted to be Luigi.  We got his costume and he was so excited that it came with a hat and a mustache!

Austin wanted to be a ninja (surprise, surprise) but that still took a little more looking.  You would not believe how many different ninja outfit are out there.  I finally got him to pick one and we got that ordered as well.

Keira has really been into ladybug girl books and wanted to be ladybug girl.  My sister's little girl was a lady bug for Halloween one year and she let us borrow her costume.  Keira loved it.  We found her some little ladybug boots to finish off the look and the best part is they are rain boot so she can wear them in bad weather after Halloween too. 

The kids had a blast going trick or treating and seeing friends and cousins.  When they got home we tried to get a picture of all of them together but this was the best I could get.  Keira is a gangster, Austin always the ninja, and Alex the Lion is squinting. . .  oh well it makes me smile every time I look at it :).

CFR 2011 Edition

My grandparents and all our family on down were in charge of the Carpenter Family Reunion this year.  We got together a couple of times to decide on a theme and we finally convinced our parents to let us do a medieval theme.  My parents had sweatshirts and t-shirts made up with the Carpenter Coat of Arms and we planned a few games to go along with it.  Saturday morning was the 5k and half marathon with breakfast served at the finish line.  All of my cousins had been training for months and somehow convinced Travis to run with them.  He had not run more than two miles together before this but he finished and with a pretty good time.  I was going to run the half but I ran the 5k instead. 
We had a breakfast of pancakes, bacon, sausage, and orange juice at the finish line for anyone who wanted to eat after running and for the cheerleaders.

After the race we had a few games for the kids and had a large meal with everyone Saturday night.  Sunday we went to church and came home and had a few games.  Travis and I were the first ones to try out the balancing overgrown q-tip game.  The name escapes me right now but that's what the boys thought they were.  I don't think that anyone else had as much fun as we did going up against each other.  Sunday afternoon we had a potluck with everyone and then that night we had delicious scones.  Monday morning we woke up very early and drove to Lagoon to be with Trav's family at their annual Lagoon day.  We ran from ride to ride and had a picnic in the pavilions.  Travis made me get on WICKED because I am not a huge roller coaster fan.  I can handle a lot of them but when they spin or go upside down it takes me awhile to get on.  We also went on Wild Mouse  a few times, which is one of Travis' least favorite rides.  He thinks it's going to jerk him right over the side. . .
After a full day at the park from open to close we grabbed a bite to eat and headed for home. We put the kids straight to bed and unloaded as much as we could before we crashed ourselves. 

Labor Day weekend is always one of the busiest of the year for us, but getting to see all our family definitely makes it worth it.