It's a Zoo!

For weeks before Halloween, Elodie would report "I be a giraffe and Xander be a monkey" whenever Halloween, monkeys, or giraffes came up in conversation.

She and Xander both really got the trick-or-treating thing this year and were pretty into holding out their bags when they saw more and more treats being dumped in. This picture was taken before we started trick-or-treating, which is why Xander looks a bit unhappy--he saw no reason to delay. And that's what Elodie does when I ask her to smile on command.

Aaron and I were the zookeepers, and yes, that little monkey did bite right through his banana peel and ate it before we even started the night. So much for his accessory!

We carved one of our MANY home-grown pumpkins for Family Home Evening before Halloween. That explains why the pumpkin's irregular, slightly reddish, mottled, and squirrel-bitten. It looked the least appetizing so we chose it for our jack-o-lantern instead of using it for pumpkin muffins, pumpkin soup, pumpkin stew, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, baked pumpkin, or dinner in a pumpkin. All of which we have indeed eaten in the last month! Maybe next year we won't plant two full seed packets of pumpkins!

This picture was taken back in September when our pumpkin patch was still lush. As soon as the pumpkins realized it was fall, the patch, which we planted in front right around our mailbox, became a bit of an eyesore. I guess we were a little odd to plant part of our vegetable garden in the front yard. But if you taste one of our chocolate chip pumpkin muffins you won't mind odd anymore!