the rest of the weekend...

i already posted about our trick-or-treating fun on Saturday....well, let me now tell u about the rest of our weekend

Friday night, we had big plans for pumpkin carving....the kids came home, already in full Halloween mode - hyped up on sugar from their parties at school & daycare....of course, they knew it was Halloween day & that other kids would b trick-or-treating that night....i suggested we turn on our light, to pass out some candy - but when they heard my idea of giving away their candy to the trick-or-treaters (since i hadn't planned or bought any to pass out), they decided against it! ~lol~ i tried to tell them they'd get plenty more the next day, trick-or-treating, but they didn't want to hear it....little do they know, mama raids the candy bucket every so often and purges a bunch anyway! ;0)

actually as soon as we got home, Corinn went upstairs & laid down....once i noticed that the noise volume wasn't quite as high as usual & that someone was missing, i went up to check on her

she was almost asleep & burning up!
i took her temp & sure enough - 101.5!!!

i got her some juice & turned out the lights for her....15 minutes later...


poor thing!
i said a little prayer over her, hoping it was nothing serious & she'd b well enough for trick-or-treating the next day....and we didn't hear another peep out of her the rest of the night

i couldn't let Corinn's fever ruin our pumpkin carving plans for the other two - so we went ahead without Corinn & saved a pumpkin for her to carve the next day

Jaden truly was not interested in the carving part....since he was a baby, he has hated getting his hands messy! he's big on texture - whether it's regarding the food he eats (it took me FOREVER to get that child to try chocolate pudding, since it looks so nasty) or the arts/crafts we're doing (he can deal with painting, gluing etc. - anything that uses tools, instead of his hands to apply the medium, is ok)

but if it means he'd have to touch ooey, gooey, pumpkin guts?
forget about it!!!
;0)

that left Gabby to do the dirty work....i think she enjoyed it!


haha, look at Jaden's face as Gab pulls the seeds off the lid


this one took some double-fisting! ;0)


there goes that face again - he can't even stand the thought of it!


but he's happy to supervise


ok, she's got his done - now, time for hers....originally, we were all going to carve the big one together - but since Corinn was sick in bed, i let these 2 do their own (believe it or not, Gabby gladly let Jaden have the big one) & then we saved back another small one for Corinn


ok, now Jaden is ready to participate....u know this part is right up his alley! ;0)


it takes deep,


deep concentration...


then Gabrielle decided to take the opportunity to really gross her brother out


oh, the joy in making ur big brother squirm!


this face was strictly for the camera


all done!


mama cut out the faces after the kiddos drew them on


then we sat them outside for the trick-or-treaters to enjoy


the next morning, Corinn woke up fever free & feeling just peachy keen!

she was also anxious for her turn at carving

and she even let Gabby help - only their tiny hands would fit in that pumpkin anyway!

a day later, but just as fun!

and out it goes, to join the rest of the crew

is it just me or do these guys TOTALLY reflect their creators' personalities?!

-----

after church on Sunday, we headed over to Nana & Grandpa's for lunch....it was an AWESOME day outside! and the whole family was invited!

we had ribs, deer tenderloin & hot dogs (for the kiddos) on the grill, with some yummy sides!
we got to eat outside on the picnic tables, and of course we had to play!

everyone loves "the flyers"!


even matthew! look how high he begs to go...


Corinn can't get him quite that high tho ;0)


gotta gas up the 4-wheelers & go-kart


and check out the "roller coaster" the girls made out of grandpa's scrap wood - so creative!


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we spent most of the afternoon playing, then headed home just in time to scoot over to the church for children's choir practice....can u believe they're already practicing for the Christmas program?!

Gabby & Corinn will be singing a duo - Away in a Manger - oh, be still my heart!
:0)

trick-or-treat!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

from...
Jaden, the Grim Reaper

Gabrielle, as Hannah Montana...

and Corinn, the Fairy

our first stop, was Nana & Grandpa's of course!

then we headed to Natural Chimneys for their campground trick-or-treating

super fun!

Margaritaville was awesome!

it's set up by the couple that runs the campground & i hear they go all out every year

u walk in on this side...

and get a healthy treat from a hippy on this side...

~lol~ actually, it's nice that there are those that give out something other than candy, candy & more candy! and guess what - the bag of pretzels that Corinn picked up here, was one of the first things she chose to eat!

the lady giving out the healthy treats took my picture too - again, i got quite the reaction from people when they spotted me in my Pillary Hinton costume ;0)

it was neat to see how the different campers decorated their sites


this creepy guy had a haunted tunnel u could go thru - but said it wouldn't open till after dark

after the reaction that some of the scary costumes got out of the girls, we didn't go back to check out the tunnel - even tho gabby asked to like 3 times! she thinks she's so brave!

this witch directed the kiddos into her canopy for treats....Corinn knew better & headed the other way

good call Corinn - this guy, sitting hunched over at the table, scared Jaden & Gabby as they reached for the candy

as we were about to head to the car, jaden spotted this suspicious looking figure....it was sitting very still & appeared to be fake - jaden asked me if it was real & i told him i wasn't sure....he got closer to check it out & just as he was about to touch it, the head turned to look right at him & scared the u-know-what outta him! ~lol~


that was his favorite part! ;0)

well, except for the amount of candy they brought home!
remember, this isn't counting what they'd already gotten from school & daycare parties - and these bags aren't tiny!!!


after we got home, jaden wanted to show off the "eyes" i rigged into his costume, since it was good & dark outside...he ended up really liking the effect, and actually scared a few lil kids at the campground....i'd say that makes the costume a success in his book ;0)

relief...

thx 4 all the kind words & advice guys!

i'm such an idiot...
the memory card had popped out, inside my camera - never thought 2 check that - duh!

thank God, once i popped it back in & took a look...
ALL THE PICS & VIDEOS ARE THERE!!!

~grinning ear to ear~

devastated...

somehow, EVERY SINGLE PICTURE & VIDEO HAS BEEN DELETED FROM MY CAMERA!
:0(

not just of our FABULOUS time trick-or-treating tonight, but also of our pumpkin carving & other misc. fun around the house this weekend! how could this happen?!
~in tears~

i blame this POS computer - i was viewing them all on our way home from the campground trick-or-treating, so i know they were there!
but when i connected the camera to the PC - GONE :0(

would i b a terrible mother if i dressed the kiddos up again tomorrow, just for the pics?

i doubt they'd mind...maybe even enjoy it?