halloween fun

We always make sure to try the festive Halloween treats at Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts!  The kids thought the Zombie frapp (supposedly caramel apple with a mocha drizzle) was pretty good though Ellie stuck with her tried and true fave, Vanilla Bean.

Our local Firestorm Pizza did a Kids Eat Free special on Halloween-- the kids were excited to create their own pizzas!

After our Halloween lunch we wandered around Target for awhile...

... before going to Chipotle to for their $3 boo-ritos.  We all ordered burrito bowls to-go for dinner the following night!

Christopher decided at the last-minute that he wanted to go trick-or-treating this year (with friends, of course!) and decided to be a Disney Cast Member.  He and "Belle" had fun posing for pictures together.

Lexie decided to forego the princess costumes this year and was a zombie instead.

Such a sweet, little princess!

Christopher went around the neighborhood with his friend-- they lasted about an hour before they went home to play video games!

Nick was planning to be an astronaut but then decided to be an astronaut that had been attacked by something.

We always have dinner with our neighbors and then go trick-or-treating together.  This year, Ben decided that he didn't want candy badly enough to go trick-or-treating and stayed home so there were only five kids to keep track of!

Trick-or-treating time!

Our neighborhood really gets into the Halloween spirit so it's fun to see everyone's decorations while we walk around!

After a couple of hours of trick-or-treating, we came back and made a big fire and spent the rest of the evening relaxing (sleeping for some!) with good friends!

halloween

SGT Albaeck ready to go trick-or-treating with friends.

We enjoyed a potluck dinner with our neighbors before braving the streets.

Anna, Elsa, an astronaut, and Benjamin Franklin excited to go trick-or-treating.

While Lexie's braid wasn't quite as elaborate as Elsa's, it was VERY sparkly- though it doesn't show up very well in the pictures.

After trick-or-treating at the Magic Kingdom in September, Ellie was really excited to go again in our neighborhood and really got into it.

We made our way up and down the streets of our neighborhood until the kids were too tired to walk and then headed back to the house to enjoy a fire on the driveway with friends.

september randomness

Bedtime silliness :)

The kids love going to Ikea for "Eat Free" weekend since that's usually the only time we get lunch there.

Such a sweet and sassy girl, all at the same time.

Some of Ellie's favorites: donuts for breakfast, rides at the mall (thanks, Grandma!), the Old Navy dog,

scones at Panera, the Target dog, and trying on clothes that clearly don't fit

She also LOVES the Halloween display at Target-- especially turning ALL of the cats on!

Such a silly girl- so much like her Grandpa!!

orlando: mickey's not so scary halloween party

We took the monorail from the Polynesian to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.  After getting our wristbands we made our way down Main Street, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the "Most Magical Place on Earth," before stopping for pictures in front of Cinderella Castle.

Before the party officially started, we made sure to check some of the must-do rides off of our list.  We ALWAYS start with Space Mountain!

And then move to Ellie's (and my!) favorite ride: the Peoplemover!

Since we were such a big group we took up several cars on the Peoplemover.

Jungle Cruise fun :)

Cinderella Castle

Once the sun set (and we'd eaten dinner), it was time for some trick-or-treating. 

The trick-or-treat station is one of our faves!  Ellie (and Hannah!) really got into the trick-or-treating this year and would run up and say "trick-or-treat"-- they got lots of extra candy for being so cute.

We didn't spend all of our party time trick-or-treating-- we were there for the rides, too!  We got to use the secret door entrance for the Haunted Mansion (I took the picture while walking which is why no one is looking).  And Peter Pan and Captain Hook were excited to ride "their" ride together!

Ellie's other favorite ride is Prince Charming Carrousel (or horsies, or ponies, depending on the day) and she ALWAYS wants to go on it with Grandpa!

Enjoying Prince Charming Carrousel

-Prince Charming Carrousel-

Sweet Hannah LOVED Prince Charming Carrousel, too!!

She would laugh and squeal as her horse went up and down.

-The Many Adventures of Winnnie the Pooh-

-Dumbo the Flying Elephant-

Hannah met Goofy-- and was NOT a fan!

We watched "Halloween Wishes" from Storybook Circus while the kids ran through the trick-or-treat station over and over and over.

-the Castle, the kids, the Mine Train-

They spun 'round and 'round on the Mad Tea Party.

💖💖 Cinderella Castle all lit up at night 💖💖

We ended our magical night at the party with ice cream cones on Main Street as we waited for the crowds to clear out of the park.

Disney goes to great lengths to transform the whole park into Halloween-- even at the Train Station!

We all had a great time and the kids have already asked if we can make it an annual tradition.  Grandma??  Janne??

halloween 2015

This year for Halloween, Christopher was an Army Sergeant, Nick and Ben were zombies, Lexie was a fox and Ellie was a zebra.

Ready for some fun!

The smiley and scary zombie.  Nick was so excited about the zipper for his face-- unfortunately it fell off about ten minutes after we started trick-or-treating.

The sweet fox and the sleepy zebra!

We went trick-or-treating with our neighbors this year and the kids had so much fun going with their friends!