Halloween 2013

Back in September I asked the girls what they would like to be for Halloween because I wanted to have time to make the costumes. Arlie wanted to be "Hello Kitty" and Andi decided she wanted to be a "thunderstorm". OooooK then!

Sometime during October Arlie wanted to change her costume up a bit, to be a Hello Kitty witch. That was actually a little easier since I already had some things on hand to complete it, more than if we were doing regular Hello Kitty. I even had the right colors of felt to make a cute little pumpkin shirt:

But Andi was steadfast in her desire to be a thunderstorm. She told anyone who would listen that was going to be her costume. I ordered an adult's tulle skirt and sewed bead "raindrops" on and made plans for a rainbow hat and little bag full of lightning bolts. Yep, that was definitely the costume she wanted - until 2 days before Halloween. Then she wanted to be a spider. We compromised and she went as a "spider cloud". I spent 2 days cutting off a million beads and searching for those little plastic spiders. I can't figure out if they are so unpopular in Alaska that stores don't carry them, or if they're SO popular there was no way I was going to find them a few days before Halloween. Luckily Andrew remembered that he had a bag of awful rubber spiders and I sewed those on. Whew! Crisis averted! Until the day of Halloween. Then she wouldn't leave the house until it was a Spider Cloud Princess costume. Oh boy. Cue the furious running around the house looking for something to make a crown out of. Thank you, paperboard and tinfoil!

So I present to you the very adorable Spider Cloud Princess and Hello Kitty Witch:

We went trick-or-treating through our neighborhood and they had a blast! Arlie was so excited to see her friends trick-or-treating as well and we got to see some really fun, creative costumes despite the freezing temperatures.

Williams Reindeer Farm

We went to Williams Reindeer Farm in Palmer for some fall fun this weekend. I apologize in advance for the photos - I was off my game that day (SO COLD) and forgot that people should have faces, and those faces should never be directly facing towards or away from sun. Heheh.

It is so pretty here. Like, insanely picturesque. I spend most of the time while we're driving craning my neck to see it all. Or hollering at my iPhone because it's not taking the picture like I want it to.

There were lots of fun activities at the farm and we were so lucky to have some sunshine!

The girls got their faces painted for the very first time - Andi a spider, and Arlie a butterfly.

There were inflatable horse races made extra hilarious by the fact that the girls' legs didn't reach the ground. Good thing daddy and a volunteer were there to help them out and make sure their horses reached the finish line.

Don't forget the tractor ride, this one made unique by the fact that we were driving past reindeer. I'll have to check into what kind of Christmas activities they have. I mean, it'd kind of make sense, right?

There was also the largest, most elaborate hay maze I've ever been in. Ever. It started getting ridiculous. Andrew was the only one tall enough to look over the enormous hay bales which was helpful but it also meant we had a crowd of short people nipping at our heels as they didn't have that advantage. It sounds so funny now but  at the time I was getting irritated at how often my heels were stepped on or kicked - they must have been truly afraid they were going to be lost in the maze forever.

There's no such thing as a pumpkin patch here in Alaska. At least not one that I was able to find. This farm bought pumpkins from Washington to strew about a field. Bonus points for their efforts to bring the pumpkin patch feel to Alaska!

My pumpkins.

Lunch Time

Our friend Alix captured this little moment for me months ago but I had forgotten about it until I was clearing out the camera.

It's really sweet to have this photo because I don't think I have any other ones of me feeding the girls. Kit was the most memorable because if she could she'd hold my hand and sling a leg up over me. I couldn't tell if she was trying to get closer or trap her food source.

Kit(chen) Table

Girdwood

Both the drive and town of Girdwood were beautiful. Anchorage has such a beautiful fall (although all, and I mean all, of the leaves are gone now after a serious windstorm). I forgot my camera which means all we had were our phones and I seriously kicked myself the entire time. It was so pretty! We don't really need an excuse to go back and visit Girdwood and the Alyeska Resort but getting it properly on film would be one. And to go back on a day where the clouds were a little higher and we could see the hanging glaciers - maybe a summer trip? In the middle of the "night"? :)

From My Phone

 Time to unload the phone! Random photos from July-October including the road trip, Alaska State Fair, slumber party makeovers, and some new milestones (first lost tooth and pulling up to stand).