Halloween 2013

You survived Halloween! Hope you all had a safe and fun time.

We spent most of the day hanging out at home, saving the kiddos energy for the walking later. I managed to fit in a 3.5 mile run into the morning, which of course created more room for candy!

After getting the kiddos ready, we attempted to get a photo of them looking cute and presentable. This was the best we got. 

A quick stop for dinner and then we were off! This year we tried out a new neighborhood near family, which required a bit of a drive.

This was the first year Abby was able to really take part in the trick-or-treating. Our adorable little Woody loved it! At every house people would say "Oh what a cute cowgirl!" and she would reply "Yea haw cowgirl!". Had us laughing all night.

 

Gabe had a "roar"ing good time. Ha, see what I did there? He loved being allowed to roar at everyone. 

Trent and I quickly realized that although his Pac Man costume and my jelly fish hat were awesome, this neighborhood was too dark at night for us to wear them and still be able to see the kids. 

It's ok, we still get to "treat" from the kids candy bag. You know, as a transportation and supervision fee.

This morning we enjoyed a piece of candy...or two...with our breakfast and Abby was quickly back in her favorite outfit. I'm not sure we are getting her out of this Woody costume anytime soon.

Another fun and wonderful Halloween in the books! 

Did you make a great costume this year? Share your photos with us on our Facebook page!

Happy Halloween!

October Fun - Pumpkin Patch

What is October without a trip to the pumpkin patch? Well, it would still be October but not as fun.

In that spirit we packed up into the "magic van" and went to explore a new pumpkin patch, The Big Horse Corn Maze in Temecula, CA. We are so glad we did! 

The kids were able to try their hands making butter, check out all the pumpkins, and feed corn to a bunch of plump and happy chickens.

Then it was on to the face painting booth! The kids have only had their faces painted a few times, but this was by far the best.

This pumpkin patch is technically a farm, and it boasts the largest corn maze in southern California. At over 11 acres, this thing was intense!

Before braving it, we took a tractor ride around the perimeter of the maze. The kids were in heaven, as you can see from the cuteness overload.

The corn maze was fun. For about 30 minutes. Then the kids were hungry, sweaty, and over the adventure.

The highlight of our day was when we walked by the band. Gabe stopped to watch them tune their instruments and they noticed his interest. These awesome gentlemen invited him up to sing a tune with them! You can see the full video in our earlier post. He was so excited and talked about it non stop after.

It was a great day and we will definitely be making this a new October tradition.

Do you have a special October tradition? An incredible pumpkin patch that puts all others to shame! Share it with us! Leave a comment here or on our Facebook page. We love to hear from you!

DIY Pac-Man Costume For Under $15!

For Halloween I wanted to be Pac-Man.  Figuring it out took a little ingenuity, but overall wasn't too bad!  

Supplies:
$0 Cardboard
$1 Roll of cheap duct tape *had this already
$1 Bag of Glue Sticks
$8 Quart of True Lemon Yellow Paint (Walmart brand)
$3 Black Paint (sample would be plenty) *had this already
$1 Black mesh *had this already
-----
$14 Total, I payed $9 because I had most of these supplies.

Tools:
Hot Glue Gun
Box Cutter
Paint Brush
Protractor
Ruler

I found an image of Pac-Man someone used for an algebra or trigonometry class.  I measured the diameter to be 2 3/8", and the length of the mouth to be 1 1/4".  

I got all my cardboard for free at Costco.  Usually there will be some slip sheets in their metal box bins, but if there isn't just ask around.

My first attempt was a 25"  circle with a 60 degree 13" equilateral triangle cut out of it.  To create the circle, you can use my tutorial from our Minnie Mouse Bean Bag Toss.  As you can see it was a little small.  OK A LOT SMALL!  Time for attempt #2. 

The next attempt I used a 36" circle with an 18" triangle.  For the triangle, draw an 18" line.  Next line up a protractor and mark a dash at 60 degrees.  Draw another 18" line from the end of the first line, through that dash.  Connect the two lines.  

Once you have your circle and triangle, place the triangle on the circle, lining up two corners to the outside of the circle.  Trace it, and cut out the lines.

For the arm hole, I took a couple different plates and saucers and matched them up with my arm until I found one that worked, traced it and cut it out.

Copy and cut for the second side.

For the connecting center, I measured from shoulder to shoulder which was 16."  I added 1" to be safe (I regret doing this because it doesn't sit directly on my shoulder), and 1" for the connecting kerf.  Cut your connecting center so the cardboard is horizontal.  This way it can roll and take shape.

Once you have your center cut, roll it up so it will take shape easier.  Next make a line 1/2" in on each side.  Take a blade and make cuts up to that line, bending inward as you go.

Begin your assembly.  I hot glued and duct taped the pieces together.  The top mouth section was the same as the rest of the center pieces, except I used stiffer cardboard (unbent), and I cut a rectangle out so I would be able to see.  The bottom I cut a piece 23"x18," and rolled 5" worth of it.

 

Once all the assembly was complete I finally got to the fun part!  PAINT!  I got a quart of Walmart's True Lemon Yellow paint and  I had some left over black chalkboard paint for the mouth.  

For the eyes, I wanted them to look like a backwards Pac Man. 

It took a couple different saucers and bowls to figure out a good size for them.  I drew a circle, measured to the center point, and drew a 60 degree triangle from it.  I wish I had done this before assembly and painting.  

Finally, I hot glued black mesh to the eyes and the front viewing rectangle.

Pac-Man in action!  

 

It was a lot of fun making it, and even more fun wearing it!  I did bump into a car at one point while trying to pick up a balloon that was running off in the wind.  The peripherals aren't great, but it's a small price to pay for a awesome costume!

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Here's a reader-made costume for her son that she posted on our Facebook page!  So flattered that it worked out great for him!

 

Preview of My Homemade Pac-Man Costume

DIY how-to soon to come, as soon as I get to getting it done!