Fall Frolics with Freaks

Assembling all the "auntie" courage I could muster, I gathered up a motley assortment of nieces and nephews today and headed out for pumpkins, lunch and shopping. First stop, the local pumpkin patch ('cause while Safeway is cheaper, the atmosphere of fall is somewhat lacking there):

Here are the kids, all raring to go:

Their excitement knew no bounds. For pumpkins? Not quite. Not when there was a motley assortment of sketchy looking, built overnight, slightly sagging jumping houses, slides and such to climb all over. I made the kids all sign a "It's not Auntie's Fault if I break a bone" waiver and then let them at it:

This next shot I like to call...good god, someone is going to get hurt:

The rare and elusive caged baby:

The 15 month old, who was somewhat of a slug during last year's visit, caught on quickly: Here she is last year:

After 30 minutes of PAID FOR spaz out jump time, they were ready for pumpkin picking!

Good Lord...this is her only a year ago (you'll note the tongue action is the same)!

Here is a photo of the kids with their selections. Please note, in the circled area, just how much spaz out jump time cost us...5 kids...30 minutes...do the math:

One more shot with the littlest pumpkins before they were picked up and taken home while the rest of us lunched and shopped:After a fine diner meal of burgers, shakes, floats, fries, onion rings, DP and so on...we headed over to Old Navy. I spotted these pretty awesome hoodies for the kids, and plunked down some coin to snatch them up. We then headed to the beach for some artsy shots:

4 out of 5 kids recommend the usage of vampire teeth before flossing.

a skipping skeleton:

We also went to the "Spirit Store" - a Halloween haven for adults and kids alike. Making our way through mangled body parts, wigs of many colors (I found the Gosselin wig!), bubbles filled with smoke (?!), costumes that would make grandmothers blush, and a wild assortment of party favors, we managed to find a couple of things for the little pumpkins we left behind:

Sadly, the ten year isn't using the pacifier in the next shot:

Then we headed home to torture the toddler by trying on the Old Navy baby costume:

and here are some newer shots of the newest niece:

after all this excitement, auntie went home, cracked open a DP and passed out on the couch.