Halloween

Okay, I am getting faster.  Check out all these photos I edited today.  I still have to load the dishwasher, but I got groceries, made some unpleasant phone calls, and did 3 loads of towels, too!

I wanted to test out the Black and White options, so I did the photos of my kids in B&W.  Their costumes weren't good candidates for color editing anyway.

Our ward had a Trunk-or-Treat/Chili Cook-off for Halloween.  There were some really fun costumes that I had a blast taking pictures of.  (My kids costumes were lame, and I'm not ashamed to admit that.) 

How adorable are these sisters... Cinderella and Ariel?

Are you wondering if Dean Cain dropped in to our humble little gathering?  Nope.  He's ours.  And his wife's costume was awesome too!

How cute are these two?  I seriously didn't know who they really were under the costumes until I asked someone.  They were so cute about giving me their best grumpy face for the picture.  Love it!

And here are two more adorable costumes... too bad Hill's tights weren't in the photo.. there was a funny story behind them.

And meet my new Photo Buddy,Lindsey.  Not only does she know how to use all these cool actions in photoshop, she also knows how to navigate the complicated menus in my camera and fix the settings in manual mode.  Awesome, huh?  And don't you love her baby boy's costume?  The tender mercy for the day was cool weather, so costumes were actually enjoyable to wear for once!

More awesome girls... I love it when ladies don't shy away from the camera.  And they didn't! 

After the chili feast, we retreated to the cars for trunk-or-treating.  This is what the back of my car looked like.  I brought the strobe light and the fog machine, but due to technical trouble, I couldn't get them going.  But our neighbors two cars over brought enough fog for all of us, so it all worked out!

Eric ran off with the camera while I passed out candy, so I only got a couple photos of trick-or-treaters, but I loved these two:

Extra "brownie points" if you can guess who this one is.  I LOVED her hair... it was so darling!

Halloween Part One

Tonight was our Trunk Or Treat Party at the Church. Last night at 10 p.m. I officially finished the three Halloween Costumes for the younger kids.... whew... what a relief! This is the one and probably only Halloween that my kids are dressed up in a matching theme, so I'm going to milk all the photos out of it that I possibly can!

I ended up making Megan's headband from a coat hanger and lots of cute ribbon and flowers. I now know that Eric and I will be able to support ourselves in retirement if our 401k never recovers... we can work the Renaissance Fair Circuit... I will make these... and he knows how make a mean looking wooden sword that little boys will go crazy over.

Check out those Sweet Thomas Light Up Sandals that are clearly too small... but still manage to find their way onto Brayden's feet more often than not....

The problem with Halloween in the desert.... at 3 p.m., it's over 90 degrees... and clearly too hot for any really cool costumes... like our friend in the middle of this photo who started off the party as the "Cowardly Lion", but had to shed some layers to avoid overheating... snow cones definately help to beat the heat, though!Megan and Dorothy.... wait a minute... where did Toto go? Brayden had no problem with the concept of Trick or Treating this year... He had a great time! And now I have a whole extra week of snitching Halloween candy from my kids... just when we get rid of all the good stuff, we'll get some more on Friday night!