Goodbye October!

October is gone, November is here ... Christmas is now just around the corner. Yikes! The ToysRUs catalogue came in the mail the other day and as I was flipping through it I noticed someone had already circled several items. Hmm ... wonder who that could have been? Yup, Marley the Christmas Enthusiast (actually any holiday that involves gifts/candy/both)!

But back to the last couple days of October... 

Grandma and Grandpa Day came over on the 30th to celebrate Griffin's 3rd birthday. While Grandpa was watching Paige's soccer game, Grandma demonstrated her apple peeler/corer/slicer. Marley and LC were fascinated! The added bonus? We've got ready chopped apples for apple crisps! Yum!

And since it was the day before Hallowe'en, we needed to carve some Jack-O-Lanterns!

Once the soccer games were finished, LC had managed to sneak in a nap and Paige had carved her pumpkin, we went off to Chuck E Cheese for Griffin's birthday party. The last time I was at CEC was in March and it was fairly civilized. It was also the middle of the day on a weekday. This was a Saturday evening. Yikes! There were at least 3 birthday parties going on at the same time so the noise level was through the roof!

This was our party table - that's Griffin in the inflatable crown.

Each child was given a few tokens so they didn't lose any time spending them.

This is a simulated roller coaster ride. Paige did really well! In fact, she was the first to give the Chuck E Cheese mascot a high five too. Me thinks Disneyland in 2012 may just happen after all!!

Chowing down on pizza.

There's Chuck E himself shaking the birthday boy's hand!

With Paige's tokens she "bought" herself some glow in the dark vampire teeth.

Sigh.

Monday ... Hallowe'en Day! Marley and Paige had a Costume Parade at school so they came home at lunch to get ready for it.

Marley was a Wicked Witch and Paige was a Good Fairy.

Totally matches their personalities at the moment!!

Paige in the parade.

And then Marley (with her BFF Amanda the Devil.)

Later that evening we got all the jack-o-lanterns lit and took some pictures.

LC the Kitty Cat. 

Seriously, could she be any cuter?

(You may recognize it from a few years ago when Paige wore it. Gotta save money somehow, right?)

The 3 Trick or Treaters anxious to get going!

Our Jack-o-Lanterns. From the left, Marley's, LC's ("my pumpkin's happy") and Paige's.

And then the aftermath. The haul. The Pile o' Cavity Makers!

Yikes!!

Once the candy was sorted, we decided to head out as a family to friends who were having a cul-de-sac party. Paige headed inside pretty quickly to play with our friend's daughter (a year older than her) but the rest of us stayed outside. 

Marley and LC were introduced to sparklers ... safely. 

And Marley roasted some marshmallows.

LC and I.

Well, there we have it. 

Coming up next ... I plan to get to my Project 12 layouts for September (oops, forgot to do it last month!) and October and then start my December Daily Album for 2011. You'll see a new December Daily button on my side bar too! Ali does amazing things with very little! And if I'm very lucky, I may even get to catching up with my One Little Word. Maybe. 

But first I have 2 parties to attend today, a Trade Show all day tomorrow, two workshops next week ... eep! Wish me luck!

Hope you all had a fun and safe Hallowe'en. See you soon!