Fall Festivities

There are no colored leaves, football games, orange pumpkins (only green), or cider mills to remind us of the season back home.  On Friday, we had some festivities to celebrate fall so that our children aren't totally clueless when we come back to the States.  In the afternoon the small kids came dressed in costume.  We decorated some pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies to pass out and then had some games.

The three-legged pumpkin race for the older kids...

The pumpkin roll for the younger kids.  I don't remember who came in first.  I just remember being amazed at how far behind Elise was!

Bobbing for apples...

Pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern...

After the games, the younger kids went on a trick or treat scavenger hunt where they had to solve clues to figure out which house to visit next.  Of course, Maggie, Abi, & Micah weren't much help, but they reaped some of the benefits!

Here's Abi sharing some of her loot with Little Bo Peep....SIKE.  She plopped it in her own mouth immediately after the picture was taken!

















In the evening, the older kids gathered in their costumes to embark on a treasure hunt.  For each house that they visited, they listened to a sound (toilet flush or creaking door for example) and filled it in on their list.  They also received a clue to tell them which house to go to next.  At the end, they unscrambled the letters from their sounds to figure out where the final party would take place.

John & Jason added some spice to things by scaring the bejeebers out of the kids while they were visiting the different houses.  After the treasure hunt, we gathered on the Roberts' porch for some s'mores by the fire (Cadbury instead of Hershey and digestive biscuits instead of graham crackers).  We concluded with a creepy story in the dark that involved spaghetti noodles for intestines and olives for eyeballs.  It was a fun day and the kids had a blast.    

Happy Fall to everyone!  Indulge in an extra donut and some cider for the McCropders.  :)