A Covid Halloween

Covid may have cancelled a lot of things this year, but we were not about to let it ruin Halloween. We knew trick-or-treating would probably be a no-go. So we planned to have some friends over (one family from school who is already in our "bubble") for our own Halloween fun.

We made slime, had Halloween-themed snacks and treats, and had a candy hunt in the backyard. 

It was SO fun! We may have to continue this in the years to come (but obviously still go trick-or-treating).

Halloween 2020

For the last few years, my kids have chosen their Halloween costumes over the summer. They make a decision and they don't waver. It makes it easy on me to make their costumes, because it gives me PLENTY of time.

This year, however, they changed their minds a few times, and didn't officially decide until around the time school started. Which meant I had less time to make their costumes, which was okay, because they chose fairly easy things.

Every year, I wonder if my years of themed costumes are over. This year, I thought for sure they were, but I did get to halfway have a family theme.

The boys both wanted to be Minecraft characters: Leland wanted to be Steve and Alden wanted to Herobrine. I know nothing about them, but Google is my friend. Also, the boys told me that they're pretty much the same except eye color? So, basically, they wore the exact same costume.

Olivia wanted to be Chase from Paw Patrol. So I decided to go as Skye. 

Tutorials and templates were very helpful in creating all of our costumes this year.

The kids have already started talking about costumes for next year. They have a few ideas - some themed, some not. So we'll just have to wait to see what they decide.

Halloween 2019

We are (some of) the Avengers!

Whenever possible, I like to make our Halloween costumes. When the boys decided to be Thor for Halloween, I wasn't sure this non-sewer would be able to pull that off. But since I struggled to find the version of Thor that Leland wanted (Contest of Champions from Thor: Ragnarok), I took to Pinterest. Which led me to purchasing a pattern on Etsy.

I was incredibly nervous about it, but thankfully the creator of the pattern also had a tutorial video on YouTube that walks through all the steps. The video made it seem simple enough for me - just cutting, gluing, and painting - so I went for it.

For Alden's (Thor from Infinity War), I found a free template online, but wasn't quite sure how to make it, so I purchased a pattern from the same seller on Etsy (who, again, had a demonstration video on YouTube).

Alden really wanted lightning for his costume, so I ordered these light wires from Amazon. They were under $10, and connect to a battery. He thinks they're the coolest.

Their armor is entirely made out of foam (mostly 6mm, but some accents are 2mm), hot glue, elastic, and velcro. And a little help from a wood burning tool to make it look way more intricate than it is. No sewing whatsoever! Alden's pattern actually calls for some fabric and sewing, but I opted for foam instead. I did use some fabric for Leland's sash/belt, and some fleece for his cape, but I glued it instead of sewing. To be honest, I can sew, but it stresses me out.

Beginning stages of Thor: Ragnarok armor

Thor Ragnarok armor complete

I intended to take pictures throughout the process, but pretty much failed at that. Overall, it wasn't terribly complicated, just very time consuming. While they're not quite on par with the ones from the Etsy seller, I'm happy with how they turned out. I'm no professional cosplay maker, but my boys are THRILLED and so proud of their costumes. Leland tells everyone, "My mom MADE my costume. MADE!" And he keeps saying how amazing it is. So, even with a few imperfections, they are happy and that's the whole point, right?

Thor Infinity War armor ready for paint

Leg and Arm armor ready for paint

Olivia's favorite superhero is Iron Man, and even though I told her she didn't have to be a superhero, that's what she wanted to be. I decided to make hers and mine more comfortable to wear, and add some feminine flair in the form of a tutu.

For Iron Man Girl, as Olivia calls it, I bought her a red shirt and red pants, as well as a white thermal shirt (because Northern Michigan Halloween is COLD). Then I used felt to make the emblem and wrist bands. For her tutu, I tried to find a red and yellow one, but I could only find red, so I hot glued some yellow in between the red layers. I bought her mask (and mine) on Etsy for super cheap.

For my Captain America outfit, I bought a Captain America shirt and layered it over a white long sleeve tee. I made wrist bands out of felt, similar to Olivia's and purchased a red, white, and blue tutu on Amazon. I forgot to make myself a shield though...oops.

The kids all love their costumes, and even though I wasn't terribly excited about the theme they chose in the beginning, I'm super excited about it now. I don't know how many more years I have of themed costumes, so I'm soaking it in while I can. But I know the days of me having any influence over their costume/theme choices are over.

All Things Easter

If you know me well, you know I'm big on holidays.

Alden wouldn't sit with the bunny unless I sat there too. Next year, I need to make sure I dress nice too.

I like to do many of the usual holiday traditions and some things that are tradition for our little family. We had a fun-filled Easter weekend, which actually started early, thanks to a snow day on Thursday.

One of my favorite Easter traditions is coloring eggs. As a kid, we did this every year, and each of us got our own dozen eggs to dye and decorate. Surprisingly, I haven't done this with my kids until this year. Thursday afternoon was the day! We colored eggs after nap, but Alden actually took a little longer nap, so Leland dyed his and then while he was decorating with stickers, Alden woke up and then dyed his. This worked out pretty well for me, so I could focus on each one as they were dying the eggs and I think it ended in much less mess!

The boys loved it! Leland kept saying, "This is such a fun activity! I love this!"

Saturday was our church Easter egg hunt. This is always a big event, with 30,000 eggs and it's open to the community. We have enjoyed it for several years (I even went a few years before we had our own kids with family members and kids I babysat).

We arrived early, so we had to wait about 10-15 minutes before it started. I thought they were going to lose their minds, but we all survived the wait, and when Pastor John gave the signal to start, they went to work.

It took a minute for Alden to figure out what he was supposed to do. He was trying to carry all the eggs in one hand and his basket in the other, like he didn't realize that his basket was for carrying the eggs. Ha ha...once he figured that out, he was unstoppable.

Since Dave was working, I was doing this with both kids solo. I made the executive decision to let Leland do the 0-3 age group with Alden (instead of the 4-7 age group) so that I wouldn't have to worry about watching keeping track of one while the other was gathering eggs. That sounded stressful. Leland didn't mind. :)

They had quite the haul...and then they enjoyed some hot dogs.

Sunday was, of course, Easter. The boys woke up and checkout their Easter baskets before church.

Both boys got bubbles, books, sidewalk chalk, sunglasses, a chocolate bunny, and some candy-filled eggs.
Leland got some Legos and a Rescue Squad Mater tub toy.
Alden got a small garbage truck toy and a large dump truck.

Then we went to church and Leland came home singing some songs he learned in the church preschool program. I love hearing my boy praising God. It's the sweetest ever. We also sang some of my favorite songs and I always get emotional during Resurrection Sunday service. I'm not a big crier, but I definitely get teary on Easter Sunday. Every time.

After church, we had our own little egg hunt at home. The Easter Bunny didn't hide the eggs too well...they were pretty much all out in plain sight. Maybe next year he'll make it a little more challenging (if the weather is decent enough that we want to be outside).

Yes, there is snow, but it was close to 50 degrees, and we live in Michigan, so we're tough. No coats.

We had a packed weekend and I am so thankful that we are on spring break so we can recover from it easier. We've all had entirely too much sugar and not nearly enough sleep. I would hate to see what our morning would look like if we had school.

I hope all of my wonderful friends and family members had a blessed Easter. He is risen indeed!