Happy Halloween 2013

It's the time of year to get all decked out in costumes, and go ask our neighbors for candy and sweets...  We love every holiday at the Estochen's, and Halloween is NO exception!!

The morning started with orange pancakes and bacon, with a side of pumpkin marshmallows.  Brooke was allowed to wear her costume to school, and the big sisters had a "black and orange festival" day!  SO.... off went Merida and the "Trick or Treat" girls!

The festivities kicked off with lunch at Middleton, followed by "flashlight" reading in the First Grade classrooms.  Mommy brought Subway for lunch, then Daddy went to Neela's room and Mommy went to Kylie's room.  We ate snacks, and read stories in the dark -- using our flashlights.  Kylie and Neela headed home with Daddy, and Mommy headed to work... then to the party at Brooke's school.  Mommy had to feel zombie brains, werewolf skin, skeleton bones, monster eyeballs!!! Eeewwww!  Then we ate some snacks, toured the classroom, and headed home.  

After hot dogs, we got dressed and ready to go...  

Meet Vanellope von Schweetz, Merida and the Lollipop Fairy!

Before we could head out, we posed with the finished Jack o' Lanterns... we did not see them until tonight!  Daddy carved them after he got home -- and we were already in bed!

Ready to go... Daddy took us (he was a construction worker), and Mommy stayed home to pass out to pass out candy!

Check out the candy in our neighborhood...

Of course, Mommy said "One piece of candy... I made you pizza!" :-)

Happy Halloween!!

Pumpkin Carving

It's that time of year... time for us to carve pumpkins!  Remember the pumpkins we got at the pumpkin patch with Addie and Kiki?  Well, it was time to cut them up!!  Daddy had to help a friend in Wisconsin, so Mommy had to cut the tops off.

Kylie jumped right in - she loves to dig in the "guts" and the "goo"!

This year, Neela put her hands IN a pumpkin!!!  AND, she cleaned most of it -- by herself!

Then there was Brooke... she tried scooping out one seed at a time, with her spoon.  Yep, it was going to take her a while - or she was going to need some help!

We got a lot of guts out all by ourselves - and Mommy helped with the final cleaning.  

Daddy always does our faces, so we drew pictures of what we wanted him to cut out when he got home.  Yes, Kylie wanted an upside down face - and Neela wanted one with as many missing teeth as she had this year :-)

Visiting Fargo

Grandma Banana had a small accident in September - she fell off a ladder and broke her leg.  She will not walk for a while, and we stayed away from her for a LONG time.  We missed Grandma, and were very worried about her leg.  We finally got to go see her.  Her broken leg isn't even in a cast!  She is in a wheelchair, has a fancy bed that's fun to ride up and down in, and has to sleep in the TV room!?!?!!?  

Brooke snuggled, very carefully, with Grandma in her "fancy" bed :-)

We helped her clean her house, showed her all our school papers, watched our dance recital DVD with her AND helped her on her first outing since going to the hospital.  She took us to have lunch at Dairy Queen -- we really think she wanted the ice cream, and we were the excuse!!  Plus, Daddy came with - and is an EMT with experience :-)

We cannot wait until Grandma can walk and play with us again - and we know she can't either!