All Hallowz Eve

What's up, gang.

So here at last we have pinnacle of Fall - what the entire month of October has been building up to, the last non-Christmas-ish day of the year.

Yours Truly had a half-day of work today - which was awesome - and Kris took the entirety of the day off so she could catch the girls' costume parade at their school and volunteer in their classrooms for their Halloween parties.  Most of that stuff went down in the morning, so by the time I got home around 12:30pm, Kris and I were able to drive around a few different stores and hunt for a pre-lit Christmas tree for this year (as you may or may not recall, we pitched ours last year as more and more strands of lights had gone out over the course of the last five years, and we eventually said 'screw it.')

After picking up the girls from school, we had a few hours to kill before taking them out around the neighborhood for Trick-or-Treating, which lasted about an hour-and-a-half, thereabouts.  From there, we just let the kids chow down on sugar and watch a few movies before forcing them to bed.  All in all a pretty run-of-the-mill Halloween.

Behold. . .

Start of the Costume Parade (here's Alayna and her class snaking their way through the Library.)

Alayna's teacher leads their class outside into the cold. . .

Next year the Cannonball should probably dress up as something warmer than a pirate.  Like a Wampa.

More of Alayna's class (that kid with the boombox definitely has some awesome parents. . .)

Abby's class passes by

That kid dressed up as a frickin' treasure chest has Halloween costuming mastered.  Kinda pissed Kris didn't get a shot of Abby and them together.

Abby and some friend of hers from school, who apparently dressed up as an Amish person. . .?

Ain't no party like a fourth grade party 'cause a fourth grade party don't stop.

And here's a couple second grade party shots. . .

I'm soooo glad I don't have to host Halloween parties for my 8th graders.  That'd be a straight-up train wreck.

Getting some reading in during the down-time between dinner and trick-or-treating.

. . . and some piano practice.

Ready to take these pirates out trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood.

The dog handled himself pretty well during our hour-and-a-half walking around.  He never barks at people, just other dogs, and there were about a half-dozen or so also being walked around.

We made it all the way down our road, crossed the street, and made our way back to the house, and even hit up a cul-de-sac within 90 minutes.  The kids' pace has definitely improved.

We could have probably stayed out later, but I wanted to turn on our house lights and pass out candy as well (seeing how we had bought a crapload to give out), so I kinda rushed us back.

Back at the house, ready to receive trick-or-treaters.

Warming up inside and preparing to dig through their hard-won plunder. . .

Moving furniture, plugging in lights, establishing Halloween-ish atmosphere. . . such is the Realm of Dad.

Our neighbors next door had prepared special bags of candy - full bars, larger items, etc. - for each of the girls, so they were definitely stoked when they finally had a chance to dig through them.

 

Starting our Halloween movie marathon off with this Tim Burton classic. . .

Abby approves.

Another Burton flick.  'Cause 'screw you, school night.'

I usually hunt down a special big bottle for Halloween - like this 9% ABV Imperial Pumpkin Ale from Shipyard (I've had it a few times before as my go-to Halloween beer.)

Happy Halloween, America.

- Brian

The Weekend Abby Turned Seven

Abby wanted a 'plain' cake this year.  Kris was totally okay with this.

Hey folks.

In the midst of the swirling craziness that is our lives these days - the end of the school year, our impending move, and all the ridiculous social obligations that come along with the warming weather (does everyone have kids in May?) - we realized that lil' baby Abby was turning f***ing seven.  Totally almost missed it this year.

Whoops.

Yes, that's a vintage Han Solo in Jello.

Not having the time to reserve a venue or anything too crazy, we decided to host a party at our house this year.  We'd invite a bunch of Abby's closest friends over, decorate the place, whip up a bunch of party food, and let the kids run amok.  Later in the evening, after the party, some of the kids would stay the night for Abby's first sleepover.

As it turns out, we're pretty damn good at last-minute birthday shin-digs.  They arguably turn out better than our months-in-advance, venue-based operations.  Kids had a blast, Abby scored some plunder, and we checked one more calendar obligation off the ol' checklist.

Behold:

Some of the presents we bought for Abby this year, including a lamp for Abby's new Star Wars-themed bedroom.  Not sure if I told you guys this already, but the girls have been fighting so much lately that Kris and I decided it was high time for them to have their own bedrooms in the new house.  The room that was to be their playroom will now be Abby's bedroom, and Kris plans on painting the walls grey and purple to match her existing Star Wars bed set (as well as this new lamp.)

Abby's birthday party was a Pinterest-inspired, Star Wars-themed event.  Kris spent a few days researching on Pinterest and making multiple runs to the grocery store in order to create several snacks for the party, all of which were a big hit with the kids.

Han Solo, 'frozen' in 'carbonite' (or, 'Jello,' as it's commonly referred to.)

Ya see the running theme, here?

Pretty pumped for her party

While Kris had sent out invites to a few kids - we had wanted to keep this relatively small in number - several uninvited neighborhood kids showed up anyway.  In hindsight, we probably should have seen this coming, but it worked out in the end.

Time for another go-'round with Abby's own personal camera. . . here's Giovanna.

Sophie

Scarlett

Katie, Jackson, and Kane (who's always a pleasure to have over.)

Partygoers

Abby craps her pants

Kris wanted to do a craft activity with the kids for the party, before the cake and presents.  She landed on tie-dying t-shirts, which was a messy but ultimately rewarding activity the kids seemed to enjoy.

Watson

Havin' a blast.

Mom was on hand to help us out with some of the child management, which was much appreciated.

This shit stained everything it touched.  You can imagine how nerve-racking this was for parents.

Abby's requested Star Wars-themed, plain, purple cake.

Singing Happy Birthday to Abby

Presents Time

Cake and ice cream makes its rounds among the gathered amasses

A lot of this crap Kris and I had never heard about, but they were big hits among the party goers

Opening some presents from Grandma and Papa John

She needed an alarm clock for her new bedroom - this is the same one the girls have had in their bedroom for the last few years, since Alayna received one for her birthday when she turned five.

Gossiping on the couch with Ella and Giovanna

Sleepover with Sophie and Reba

The next morning, eating some breakfast and discussing current global events

Abby's new go-to pose.  We decided to hold off on opening some of the presents we got Abby during her party, since she was distracted and all over the place with her friends.  You dump money into crap for your kid, you kinda want them to appreciate it.

Abby wanted this Our Generation doll (Shannon) more than anything this year, so she was super excited opening this one.  They're the same size and quality as American Girl dolls, only $50 cheaper - knowing how flighty our kids can be with toys, we didn't want to drop $100 on a doll only to have it neglected in a drawer somewhere after a few weeks of play.

I spent about 20 minutes slowly cutting and snipping out Abby's new doll and all her frickin' accessories, while she busied herself with opening other gifts.

For dinner, we let Abby between two nicer restaurants Kris and I had some coupons for (Logan's Roadhouse and Genji's Japanese Hibachi Grill.)  Abby went with steak over sushi, and ultimately ended up bringing Shannon along for the ride.  And so ended Abby's thrown-together, last-minute birthday weekend.  Back to work tomorrow. . .

- Brian