halloween 2015: the entire family in costume

welcome to our halloween! 

this year i thought a little bit about our costumes. just a little. 

then i found a gem of an idea....super easy + super cheap:

the Pacman family!

I bought some really low-grade fleece from walmart in the kids favorite colors...i sewed them right up and cut some neck+arm holes and voila! cute little ghosts. 

and don't forget some felt for the eyes. 

the kids have loved wearing their costumes (which has been about all week) 

but let me tell you how hard it is to get a photoshoot with these kids? 

all they want to do is run and play and ride their bikes instead of stand still. 

this year i also bought our first colored hair spray which psyched the boys! they let me take their portraits with andrew quoting, 'if you don't smile, you look more handsome' 

for Pacman and Mrs. Pacman shirts, a plain cotton tee, some paint and some felt. easy peasy!!

we took lots of photos out there and by the millionth photo, they were feeling like....

and i was just like....

but the feedback we got on the costumes was amazing!!! some younger kids didn't know what the heck we were, but most did. 

hope you guys enjoyed! we will be going trick or treating on saturday and hope we don't get rained out.
i have really enjoyed putting a theme for our family on halloween. last year we were the power rangers and you can check that out here.
how does your family celebrate this holiday? do you make their own costumes or buy them?

playground afternoon

these past few summer months, i've been letting the boys go & enjoy the playground all by themselves. call me negligent all you want, but i believe they can cross the street and enjoy the playground on their own.

they don't need me to supervise their adventures. instead i want them to explore on their own, knowing the rules they must follow & enjoy their precious afternoons.

my father in law once told how he used to grab his gun & spend all day out in the fields just 'being a boy' when he was only andrew's age. 

while i would never let the boys take a gun to the playground, i want that freedom for my boys. i want him to see that he can do things on his own. to discover himself while doing boy things and have fun with his brother or neighbors. he can come home when the sun sets as dirty as he wants, for i don't care. i'm just grateful they're able to do this. if we lived anywhere else, i doubt this would be the case.

elena cries when the boys leave. she wants to do everything with them. so on this particular day, i caved and i grabbed my camera and chased those boys across the street to let my little girl play with her big bros.

she also has shown her need for independence by completely climbing the playset all on her own, sliding without fear or the need for me to catch her and attempting to climb on the monkey bars all on her own. 

in other words....

she scares me half to death.

the only thing that bothers them about their sister tagging along is that they can't go fast in the merry-go-round. they like going dizzingly fast (jonah once flew out of it)! but they all love the swings. 

they could swing all day. 

have a great week everyone!