Happy Halloween from The Makris League!

For Henry, John, and Peter, the easy part was deciding to be Superheros for Halloween. The hard part was picking which one to be because they love them all. And even after I suggested that everyone just pick any costume, superhero or not, Henry insisted that everyone coordinate - "But Mama, we have to match! We are a family!" I can't argue with that. Plus, everyone knows I love a good theme. I did warn the boys that this may be the first and last year that Frances will allow them to choose her costume for her. 

Once again, Nanna outdid herself by making their costumes. Not only can she sew, but she gets me when I tell her, "Not Christian Bale Batman. More like Adam West Batman." They were The Makris League, old school style. The leggings on the boys cracked me up, and Francie holding that little lasso made my day.

We kicked off the evening at the neighborhood pizza party. The boys found their buddies and barely stopped playing long enough to eat pizza. The creepiest costume award went to our friend's twin daughters. They were the creepy twins from The Shining. Somehow we managed to get a neighborhood photo of all the kids together.

Finally everyone took off for trick-or-treating. Peter had been practicing for weeks at home, so he knew the drill. He tried his best to keep up with the big boys, but those little legs can only go so fast. Plus, he was very distracted by the growing candy pile in his pumpkin. After a few houses, he came back home with Frances and me to pass out candy on the porch. Henry and John stayed out until dark with Daddy. At the very end of the night, they came back to our porch to go through their loot. Everyone ate way too much candy, including Francie. Peter kept a close watch on his pumpkin, and he would shoo her away if she got too close. When no one was looking, she grabbed a pack of m&ms from our candy bowl, tore them open with her 8 teeth, and shoved as many candies as she could fit into her mouth. I caught her before she ate the entire bag. I think you need to be able to say "trick-or-treat" before you can start eating bagfuls of candy on Halloween, Francie girl.

Scarecrow Day

The 1st grade classes at Henry's school celebrate Scarecrow Day on Halloween. I have no idea why they just don't celebrate Halloween on Halloween. Lucky for us, we have a Nanna who can sew. And she doesn't mind making not one, but two handmade costumes. Henry was an adorable scarecrow. The little bird on his shoulder was his favorite part. And after the class party, he asked if he could take the straw out of his overalls and wear them to school on just a normal day. He's a good, ole boy, y'all.

Jack-O-Laterns

The boys could not wait to carve their pumpkins. But it was the same story, different year when it came time to scoop out the pumpkin guts. Peter was the only one willing to try it. Henry and John took one look inside the pumpkins, and they both turned green. Daddy had a lot of scooping to do before any carving happened. The boys took turns drawing out their design with Daddy. Henry wanted "an angry birds pumpkin with a beak." John wanted "a scary face pumpkin with vampire teeth." And Peter, well, his favorite thing to say lately is "No! I don't want do that!", so we made his "a defiant pumpkin." Then everyone took turns carving, and no injuries occurred. The best part was when they were all finished, and I said, "show me your pumpkin and make the same face that is on your pumpkin!"

Frances missed most of the pumpkin carving because she was napping. She gave me clear instructions on what type of carving design she wanted though. Even when it comes her pumpkin, Frances Anne sticks to her motto - "No bow, no go."

The Pumpkin Patch

We made our annual trek out to the country for some pumpkin pickin' last weekend. We've been coming to the same pumpkin patch since Henry was a baby. And last year, we brought Frances when she was just one week old. It's one of my very favorite places for a family outing. And it was even better this year since Papa and Mimi were visiting. We picked the perfect Fall day too. It was the only day in October where it wasn't 80+ degrees in Georgia.

Henry and John were picky pumpkin pickers. Henry wanted tall and skinny. John wanted big and round. But Peter just wanted all of them. We also went on a hayride, played some cornhole, jumped on a bouncy house, and visited the farm animals. Peter wanted to climb in the pens. John was willing to look, but kept his distance. Henry wouldn't come near the animals. "Too stinky, Mama." Frances spent most of her time being held and teething on gourds. She was a happy girl.