So a shark, a turtle, a spider, and a school girl head out together...

No joke, no tricks, just treats, we hope!

Here are our four trick or treaters, attending our local college's Halloween event.

Kenson wanted to be a ninja turtle.  We used a roaster pan to make a shell which he helped me paint.

Used t-shirt plus jeans and a few fleece scraps

I tried to get him to make a ninja pose but he's too cool for that.

Conleigh originally wanted to be a mermaid.
Then she came home from Awana excited about an upcoming historical figure night, with a plan to be Ruby Bridges.
I asked her if she wanted to do that for Halloween and she was thrilled.
"Ruby Bridges has brown skin and I have brown skin!
Ruby Bridges has brown hair and I have brown hair!
It's perfect!"
We borrowed a school uniform from a friend and I found the polo, satchel, shoes, and cardigan at thrift stores.
I think she was a bit bummed that no one knew who she was supposed to be but that's alright.

Zeke was not a shark.
Audible gasps, I know.
He wanted to be a tarantula.
I found the pants and shirt at a thrift store then added some eyelash yarn to his legs.
He was over the moon that he could move his arms and make the other arms move
thanks to some nylon thread strung through all the arms.

When was the last time you saw a shark on a bike?
Kai borrowed Zeke's old shark costume, made from an old sweatshirt and some fleece.

I think they were making witches' broomsticks from peanut butter cups and pretzels.
Kai loved the project but ate the chocolate and returned the pretzels to the station.

Ghost bowling...way fuzzy but oh well.
There are always several games and activities in the basement of one of the buildings which when you trick or treat the dorm rooms upstairs in the multiple dorms, makes for an easy way to trick or treat.
 Perfect for a night like this Friday proved to be, dripping rain and cold.

Kai update-How to turn off the light switch

Climbing is really a great hobby.  Yes, I know I had to go the ER because I pulled one of these stools down on myself a few months ago.  No, that doesn't influence any of my thinking today.

Hidden Gem

Our local college's early childhood department invested in creating a nature playground in their "backyard."   I'd say in some ways it's a hidden gem because it doesn't always get a ton of use despite it being a pretty entertaining place to hang out.  It's the sort of place I would design if I ran a day care center and similar in a lot of ways to the elements I put in our own backyard space.  Sand and dirt, stumps used as stepping stones, piles of discarded sticks and trunks and wood to build with:  there's just something really engaging about those types of materials.  This week, I let Zeke take his bike and we walked over.  Such a small thing but he was so excited to pedal instead of walk.

There were lots of plastic animals hiding in the sand so Zeke's plan was to bury them all in one place.

Kai helped.

After they were all buried, you must make an "X" to mark the spot.

Playing the wooden xylophone

Gotta keep up

Jump!

And a little bit of cheese!

How to Make Baked Ravioli, High Altitude Version

D took his soccer team to a local college game last week.  Since his two assistant coaches live out of town and he asked them to stay in town to go to the game, he invited them over for supper before the game.  Zeke helped me make baked ravioli for the occasion..  For some reason, watching him help from his lofty perch on our dining room table bench made me chuckle.

It's really a super easy recipe, that is really yummy.  I don't do a ton of premade food items but this is one recipe that uses processed and convenience items that I really like.

Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add 16 ounces of frozen ravioli and cook a few minutes, until the ravioli start to float.  While you are doing that, make the sauce by combining 2 cups of spaghetti sauce with 1/3 cup cream cheese in a saucepan.  Cook on the stovetop until the cream cheese is melted throughout the sauce.  Drain ravioli and place into a greased casserole dish or an 8 x 8 pan.  Top with sauce.  (You can add mozerella, parmesan, or another Italian cheese on top too.)  Bake for 20 minutes or so at 350.   An 8 x 8 pan would not feed us at all so this is also easily doubled.  (From DamnDelicious.)

And if nothing else, make it standing really high up, just so you can say you did.