Our Last UK Halloween

Sadly this is our last Halloween in the UK.  We had carved our pumpkins with the Singletons and Cahills, but Andrew missed out to go to a slumber party.  Not one to miss out on things, he gathered all the supplies himself (without telling anyone), sat down at the kitchen table on Halloween night, and carved a pumpkin all by himself.  That boy is one determined, independent soul!

For Andrew's costume he found this super scary Halloween decoration that yells "let me out!!!" and wore him around his neck all night.  I tried to get him to put a scar, tattoo, or face make up on but he told me he was good.  Eleven year olds..

This year Chris and I were zombies (or tired parents...you pick), Ben was a 16 year old with a smoker cough (he said he could get away with it since he was still 15....ugh), Kallie was a hippie, Andrew we discussed earlier, Zack was a dead zombie prison person, and Nick was a wizard in training.

We went over to a little Halloween party and trick or treated in their neighborhood.  Zack and his friend George (who was day of the dead) had fun going around together.  George's makeup was amazing!

Trick or treating in the UK is very different than in the US.  The biggest difference is the tell.  In the US if a house has on their porch light it is safe to trick or treat.  In the UK you can tell if a house is safe by if they have a pumpkin....and it is lit.  Most houses you kind of had to search for a pumpkin, ,but this house made it super obvious...which I appreciated.  It was strange to see all house all bright and lit up....but no pumpkin, so you just walked on by.  This kids really had to work for their candy too.  In the hour and a half we were out they probably only found 10-15 houses that were passing out candy.  No huge loots like in the states!  I can remember living in New Mexico and the kids would run out of steam before they ran out of houses to trick or treat to.  Here you ran out of houses first!

After our long walk around we went back to the party, enjoyed their bonfire and treats, and visited with friends.  It was a great last UK Halloween.

Starfish Baby

Doesn't he just remind you of a little starfish strapped to Christopher!?

Caterpillar music class

Nick's favorite day of the week!

Every Tuesday I take Nick to a little baby singing class.  He absolutely loves it!  The past two weeks when we walk in he screams with delight.  He loves to watch Kathryn as she leads the songs.  This is how we discovered his love of the party lights!

Carving Pumpkins

This year we got together with friends to carve our pumpkins and enjoy some yummy chili!  The kids did a fantastic job and Kallie even did her OWN pumpkin 100% start to finish!  This is a first!  Ben was in Berlin and Andrew at a sleepover - so they missed out on all the fun.  Nick loved getting his hands all dirty in the pumpkin guts!

Nicholas Wilts - Baby Blessing

This sweet boy was able to get a name and a blessing from his Dad.  We were able to have lots of family join us for this special occasion.  We had everyone come over to the Alpine house, enjoy a meal, and be a part of his special day.  He was blessed on July 21st.  Here are a few pictures from that day.

And this is how we roll....  By the time the Ericksen side finished taking pictures the Erickson side was already inside and changed.  haha!

Grandma made his blessing outfit and hat.  Nicholas chunked up a little quicker than we thought - so she had to let a few stitches out.  I was so impressed she was able to whip this up for him without him being there!  He looked like such a cute little man and it made it even more special knowing each stitch was made with love.

And that bow tie might just be my favorite.