Halloween

I am officially combining all October activities into a single Halloween post.  And mostly I am just going to post pictures, because I am so far behind in this recording my family's history thing that I am overwhelmed.  And I just don't seem to care too much about describing the stuff we did.  But I do feel the mommy guilt for not putting the memories down somewhere.  And journals and myself?  We just don't get a long too well.  Mostly because I lose them.  Every single time.

Isn't it funny how it takes me a paragraph to state that I will not be writing a lot?

I must tell you, however, that this year marked a big Halloween event in the Merrill household:  I did not make everyone's costumes.  I also did not take "Courtney Official" Halloween pictures.  Really, I cannot explain my laziness.  Except that we saw an "Army Guy" and fireman costumes at Costco for the low price of $20 and I jumped all over them.  Piper wanted to be a biker chick from Teen Beach Movie .... and my sewing skills- while they are amazing (just ask my heavily used seam ripper)- are not at the leather-jacket level.  I do score points for Adi's 50's girl skirt (and the twin one I made for her BFFL).  And the picture thing?  I planned on taking them a couple of times, but... it just didn't happen.

Anyway, now... onto to the pics!

First up: a trip to Vertuccio Farm.

Where we spent $50 to go down slides, swing, and play on a teeter-totter!

There was also a corn maze:

 And please do not ask about my children's clothing choices.  I am trying oh-so-very-hard to not micro manage their choices.

It is very hard.

Next up:  Mom's Annual Halloween Party.

I seem to have forgotten how to focus pictures.

See Mr. Wyatt down there in the corner?  He flatly refused (read:screamed his head off) to put on his fireman's costume.  So he went to the Halloween Party as a spoiled brat instead.  Wyatt: 1, Mom: 0.

  

Selfie!  I hate myself right now...

 
On the morning of Halloween:

Thank you, Walmart, for these awesomely cheap photo props!

For their lunches...

And, finally, Halloween night...

Wyatt decided that he would dress up as a Miner (aka: Daddy).  Luckily, Orrin had already brought him a hard hat, head lamp, and a safety vest.  I just sewed up the sides and bottom of the vest, and: wah-la!  A Halloween costume!  That he kept on!  Without crying!  It was a Halloween miracle!

Adi's best friend had a matching skirt, but she got to my mom's house just as we were leaving to go Trick-or-Treating, so I never quite got a pic of them together.  Sad Mommy :(

So there ya have it!  Halloween 2013!  Yeah- it's over!

This Dad.

A few years ago, I made a fateful decision.

I decided to hitch myself to this tall, skinny, rather funny farmer boy.

Let me tell you: best.  idea.  ever.

This Orrin of mine has turned out to be quite the awesome dad.

Seriously: he is sooo cool.

You can tell just how amazing he is by how much his kiddos love him.  These mini Merrills are all pretty sure that no one on earth is as perfect as their daddy.

While I happen to know a few of his faults, I generally agree with them.

On Father's Day, Orrin came down to very manly breakfast of bacon pancakes (yummo).

OP may have helped me put together his gift since I had been working on it for 20 minutes and was no closer to having all in one piece.  Who knew that a stinking computer chair could come in so many pieces.

We made him a nifty board to hang up in his man cave (thanks to Shanty2Chic for the idea).

Yeah, yeah.  I didn't stain the back.  I sure do like to cut corners.

He got a bucket of treats (thanks to the Dollar Store) and a homemade book all about the awesomeness of him.

And a extra-large glass cup that Orrin has taken to calling his "down the hatchet! cup".

The girlies took the initiative to write things that they love about their daddy and taped them down the stairs.

Yeah, yeah.  I haven't finished painting the stairs.  I am the Queen of unfinished projects.

And then I stopped taking pictures.

Well, one last one of Orrin using his gift.