How do you keep your little sister out of your Halloween candy?

Well, Ethan will show you how in case you weren't sure.  If you want to protect your "Trunk-or-Treat" loot, you sit on it.

This used to be Ethan's felt pumpkin candy basket - now it's a squished basket, but it is well protected from Emeree.

Pumpkin Patch

This ended up being a great day, but the trip there was another story. . .

We went to Portland to visit Nathan and Kari.  After visiting for a while, we decided to go to a pumpkin patch.  So we looked online and picked out one that looked okay - they are new to Portland, so they didn't have a favorite pumpkin patch yet.  It should have taken 35 minutes to get there according to the directions we got online.  It ended up taking about an hour and a half.  The last 4 miles or so was stop and go (but mostly stop).  It turned out this was one of the popular pumpkin patches and it was on a little island of sorts, so there was only one way there and no way to change your mind to turn around.

Anyway, after the unexpected, long drive, we finally got out of the car and had fun.

For some reason, neither of my children wanted to look at the camera at all that day.  Grrr...  We took over 250 pictures at the patch and only ended up with a couple of them smiling for the camera.  Thank goodness for digital cameras :)

How to look cool in your uncle's aviator sunglasses . . . serious?

 . . . or smiling?

 All Ethan was focused on this trip was rolling pumpkins.

 He looked at the camera just briefly and I caught it!!!

 Little Miss Emeree didn't like posing in a pile of pumpkins.

 We took a hay ride out to the pumpkin field . . . Kari got hay in her contacts and I looked bad, so you only get a picture of Nathan - he was the only camera ready person on the ride.

 She looked!  Just ignore my arm holding her steady.

 Someone found a frog - can't remember if it was Michael or Nathan, but Kari was brave and held it.

 Emeree even touched it . . .

 But Ethan wanted nothing to do with it and kept backing away.

 I thought the background of this picture looked cool - and of couse Michael does too.  :)  And another one of Ethan looking off in the distance.

Graham Cracker Cuteness

While Ethan was still taking his nap, Emeree decided to be cute while eating a snack.

This is a face she makes when she copies me.  I close my eyes and smile at her and this is what she does back . . .