13...

..Days of Halloween Fun!

  That time of year that I absolutely love is quickly passing us by. But thanks to Nate and I's annual tradition, we try and make the most of the year and do an activity everyday for 13 days leading up to Halloween. Let's just say this year it kind of snuck up on us and there were days at about 9:00 pm at night that we realized we hadn't really done anything. So a lot of our activities turned into treats and food centered around this season. (I'm definitely not complaining). Thank goodness for neighbors  and family who helped us eat the glorious food and snacks so we didn't inhale it all ourselves. 

So in no particular order...here's what we did for our 13 days of fun...

#13 Trying a New Treat. Nate brought home candy corn flavored Starbursts. I must say, at first I was like, "sick" but then they really grow on you and before I knew it, I was eating about half the bag.

#12 Visiting a Haunted House. I have do do these kind of things by myself because I married a pansy when it comes to haunted and spooky places. (Sorry Nate, you know it's true). Thankfully Beth, Ash, Amanda and I got to participate in the local Dr. Slaughter's house. It was fabulous and I must say a good scare. They always do an awesome job. The best part was watching Ash fall on her face. Loved it!

#11 Making and Eating lots of Pumpkin Bars. My all time favorite fall treat complete with homemade cream cheese frosting. Yum. 

#10 Enjoying the Fall Leaves as a Family. Emmett loved the leaves. 

 He had no time for pictures. He wanted to explore everything.

 And little Kay Kay enjoyed everything while in the stroller. 

#9 Eating Pumpkin Dip. Again made out of cream cheese and dipping crisp apples grown from mom and dad's in them. Nothing is better. 

#8 Watching a Scary Movie. Well not really scary because of the hubby. So we watch a Halloween movie. "The Private Eyes" with Tim Conway and Don Knotts. Super corny but there are some good laughs.

#7 Eating some Good ol' Hubbard Squash Fresh from the Garden of Ma and Pa's. Yummy! It seriously tastes like candy. Maybe it's because I cook it with a lot of butter and brown sugar...I mean a lot!

#6 How can we Forget About the World Series. It's obviously a yearly Fall tradition in our house. The best night was the final game because we Skyped with Brady, Amber, Benson, and Owen throughout the whole game. So much fun. Complete with Nachos made at each establishment. But I must say I was more jealous of the Nachos being served in the other Esplin household.

#5 Carving Pumpkins. Well carving one pumpkin. We were tired so we picked the easy man's way of carving and just drilled a bunch of hole in it. But I thought it turned out pretty awesome. 

#4 Making and Eating a New Dessert. Caramel Apple Bars. They were pretty good but I probably won't make them again. There are better things out there.

#3 Telling Halloween Jokes. Okay so maybe we were lazy and ran out of ideas. This was one of those nights where I tell Nate, "Quick, think of something we can do for our 13 days."

#2 Enjoying Some Caramel Dip with Apples. I highly recommend the lava dip you can buy at Wal-Mart. Very delicious and it doesn't harden up. 

#1 Celebrating Halloween with our costumes! My favorite day! We decided to go with a family theme this year and dressed up as "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". Luckily Goldilocks and Baby Bear were the cutest. I don't know what happened to Mama and Papa bear. They look like a Hybrid Mouse/Dog. I guess that's what happens when you run out of time and then your toddler dumps prune juice all over the carpet when you are about to head out the door. It made for some good laughs though!