Sunday, October 30, 2011

Our Little Halloween Party

Last night we had a little bitty Halloween party for a few of Emma's friends. I'm pretty new to this whole party thing but I think it turned out really well. I wanted to keep it small since our house is small, as is our budget. I was a little concerned that if we invited more people there wouldn't be enough food, enough things to do or enough places for people to be comfortable. End the end we probably could have invited a couple of more girls and been just fine but you never know. Next time...

The girls seemed to have a blast. They were laughing and screaming all night long. That was exactly what I had hoped for. 


I had made halloween cupcakes. It was an orange cake mix swirled with chocolate. Yum! We topped them with a cute little 3-D spider. I'm still working out the whole piping frosting onto cupcakes thing. I need to use my larger tips but I don't have the right attachments, still. I really need to get on that. I totally prefer frosting cupcakes with a bag.


I bought a bunch of Halloween stuff at Wal Mart so the table was cute and festive. I know it's all cheesy but I couldn't not decorate!


I couldn't resist all the little favors either so the girls got goody bags full of glow in the dark bats, glow sticks, bouncy balls and other fun things just like little kids would. They didn't seem to mind or say they were too old. I think this group of girls is perfect for that sort of thing. 


I love Halloween. 


I remember watching this movie when I was a kid and it always freaked me out! I was so excited to find it used on Amazon so I could have the girls watch a scary, yet clean movie. Andrew and I watched it Friday night to make sure it worked and that it was appropriate. It did and it was. It was really cheesy but that's okay. They were going to watch it whether they wanted to or not! 


Emma wasn't going to wear her costume  that I had made since it was optional, but, once she found out Jenna was dressing up she put it on. It didn't stay on long though. Right after these pictures were taken the costume came off.


Here are all the party animals. 


Aren't they cute?



While the pizza cooked I had the girls make these little candy guys that we had made last year.






We had a pumpkin pizza from Papa Murphy's with orange soda.


After a few rounds of the game Werewolf and some cupcakes it was movie time. Can you believe these four little girls went through four bags of popcorn? LOL! I'm so glad I had bought a ton, just in case.


I LOVED listening to them scream. We could hear them all though the house. It made me feel like we had done a good job. The movie had just the right amount of freakiness and suspense that they could be a little scared but hopefully they were still able to sleep. 



After the movie they were psyching each other out and trying to scare each other. They ran up the stairs from the dark basement screaming. They jumped on the couch in a heap, cuddling together to avoid the windows or any mirrors. LOL! Sadly we had to end at 10:00 pm since we had church the next morning. The girls didn't want to stop telling ghost stories. They made them up in the car as I was taking everyone home. 

Who would have thought, at little pizza, a lot popcorn, a silly movie from the 80's and a few great girls was all you need for a night of good clean fun? I hope they had as much fun and Emma and I did. Now I need to start planning a Christmas party. Anyone up for a cookie exchange with a cocoa bar?

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Our Fall Break to Disneyland Day 1&2

Right before Emma's birthday I started seeing the ads on TV for Halloween Time at Disneyland. It had been two years since we had been (I actually thought it had been three years but I was wrong.) and I was having some serious withdrawals. I was still upset that we hadn't ever gotten to experienced Space Mountain's Ghost Galaxy. Of course the kids always want to go to Disneyland. 

After watching one of the commercials I texted Paul and said "I want to go to Disneyland!" That's how it all began. A few days later (after some bartering, research and planning) we had our reservations set. 

We were going to keep the trip a secret from the kids but that plan didn't last long. What we did manage to keep secret was where we were staying. We had booked a room in the Grand Californian. It was an AWESOME surprise. I video'd the kids when we pulled into the hotel and their reaction was priceless. I will always treasure that video. 

We decided to drive to California this time. We left Wednesday afternoon after checking the kids out of school a little early. We were going to stay in St. George for the night to break up the drive but decided to go on to Primm (two hours further down the road) so we could have more time in the park on Thursday. 

We stayed at Buffalo Bill's. 

Our room was $35 LOL! Check out that bed skirt. That is some sweet fabric. The beds were actually really new and nice but the carpet was a little funky. One thing we LOVED was the water pressure in the hotel shower. It was so strong. Dang I love that. 




Thursday morning we got up, had a healthy McDonald's breakfast and hit the road. We made the last few hours without any problems. We stopped for Rubio's for lunch. The kids were dying. They knew we were so close yet so very far away. After lunch we went to our hotel. This time the room was a little bit nicer. ; ) 


They gave the kids balloons and 1st visit buttons when we checked in. Look at the cute shower curtain. It was all Bambi stuff. Awww!


Here we are on our little balcony that overlooked the monorail and part of the California park.


I loved all the little extra goodies we had in the bathroom including a full sized bar of soap for the shower. It doesn't take much to make me happy. 


Once we got checked in had everything taken to our room (the service at that hotel was impeccable), we were ready to play! This is the only family picture we got and Andrew's face is in the weeds. 


Finally, we were back IN Disneyland.


After visiting with Minnie and going on the Buzz Lightyear year it was on to Space Mountain. I had unfinished business that I couldn't wait to resolve. 



Ghost Galaxy was quite awesome. Andrew and Paul loved it the most. I am so glad I got to experience it. It was a lot of fun to have a family favorite turned spooky for Halloween. 


We met with our Fairy Godmother...



Admired some of the tiniest details of the park...


Got a Dole Whip (I would love one RIGHT NOW!) from the Tiki Juice Bar...


We went to the Haunted Mansion...


Emma got her fortune...


And then we tried something new for dinner. 


I started with a non-alcoholic mint julep. 


Emma and I liked it. 


Andrew, not so much.


We got the pommes frites as an appetizer. They were totally yummy!


Paul and I ordered the Monte Cristo sandwich. He had eaten them before and tried to explain them to me but I just wasn't getting it. A ham sandwich with powdered sugar and jam? Hmmm, I wasn't so sure. I really didn't know how I was going to like it but holy cow it was so good!!! 

It was enormous. Paul and I could have easily shared it and had more than enough food. Live and learn. Emma ended up eating half of my sandwich (She didn't like the french onion soup too much. I thought it was good!) and I still got very full. I think that eating this will be a new park tradition.


We finished up our meal with Mickey Mouse Beignets. They were really good. Everyone loved them. I wanted to eat them again but never got the chance. There was a Jack Skellington chocolate coffin with blood berry sauce that I also wanted but I was so full I didn't order it that night. Unfortunately we never made it back to this restaurant. There were too many other things to try. Next Halloween...


Since it was a Thursday, the park closed early. We headed back to our hotel where the kids spent a little time in the pool and the hot tub. Even though it was only a half day we got a lot done and had a fabulous time. It really was a great, great day!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

It's Halloween Time at Disneyland

We just got back from a fantastic trip to Disneyland. I need to take some time to go through all the pictures but that will have to wait. Right now laundry takes precedence. Here are a few of my early favorites.

The first character we saw was Minnie. You can't beat that!!!


We went to Mickey's Halloween party. It was pretty much awesome. 


The castle was looking extra spooky during the party.


Sweet Emma and super cute Dumbo.


It's my favorite mouse!


The World of Color from the observation deck at the Grand Californian.


Paul and Andrew on the Astro Blaster ride


Paul and I waiting for our Dole Whip. I could sure use one of those right now. 


Emma and Andrew got to ride on the Tower of Terror with Jenna and her family. Unfortunately I was left behind. Boo. At least I got to go on it once before.