twas the week before halloween....

The weather has been unseasonably warm lately. That means that every afternoon when Ana gets home from school we go outside for an hour, doing stuff like this:

Spending that time after school means we have been eating a lot of french toast and grilled cheese and soup for dinner. I love soup.

Last week was a little crazy. I spent a lot of it reading Dracula for book club. I really liked it, and I like book club that gets me reading books I would never choose for myself.  And of course there is the typical Halloween preparations. Something about this time of year gets me all crafty and ambitious.

Last Saturday, in between the med school Halloween party and the trunk or treat at the church,  I took the kids outside for our annual Halloween photo shoot. (Previous years HERE and HERE)

What I love: everything about Jack's costume this year. I made the helmet and the jet pack, and then he's wearing a pair of Old Navy Jammies over snow pants. Best Costume Ever. Also, I love that Ana came up with the idea to be a pioneer all on her own after she pulled that dress out of my goodwill bag. It is an adult size. I made her apron and I like how it turned out, too. I also love Katie's alien costume. Easy, fast, and adorable. Especially with Jack as a partner.

Today Ana was home for Hurricane Sandy. We luckily were spared any damage or flooding or power outages, and the weather was actually quite nice. Dave was also home with strep throat, but he was feeling pretty good, so we carved our pumpkins. (I always thought it was weird in movies when people carved pumpkins the day before or on Halloween. But now I understand why you do that .... they mold so fast.) The kids were the designers and Dave and I were the executors.

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween.