Halloween Roundup!

 Halloween with growing kids and teenagers is a mixed bag...on one hand, they don't need (or want) us to walk them through the neighborhood in frigid weather. 

But there is lots of driving and drop-offs and meet-ups.

Don't forget that iron-clad agreement all teenagers have signed to resist any and all efforts to convince them to wear a coat. 

Here's our smattering of costume-wearing, unsupervised trick or treating, ever-growing collection of zombie barbies and Jack O'Lanterns all in a row!

Everly went to her friend Isabel's birthday party and then trick or treating with them as well! Kinda fun to have your birthday on Halloween! She really stepped up the creep factor with her make-up! Being only 10 years old, she was willing to submit herself to a frostbite free night!

AJ and best bud, Rebecca, grabbed pillowcases and hit the neighborhood! 

They made a huge haul!

A pringles break was in order...

Laney met up with their super cute friends and did a round of trick or treating, then headed over to a party at the Anderson's and THEN to an afterparty hangout! It's kind of amazing what motivated kids can accomplish on a school night!

We had loads of new barbie zombie candidates this year after spring cleaning the kids toys. In the end, we didn't get them out to the front yard, but they are prepped and ready for next Halloween.

And finally...the pumpkins! We got these carved in record time and with very little drama...no one refused to touch the insides, everyone cleaned, designed and carved their very own...including me!

And, dear ones, they helped clean up.

Everly's and AJ's

Laney's and Megan's 

Kassie and Ethan's

Mom and Dad's

Happy Halloween!!

Ethan and Kassie Come to KC

Ethan found his other half and she's a keeper! He and Kassie flew to Kansas to meet the family, introduce her to important folks and see all the special spots. And! Eat the BBQ!  I love thinking of how fun it was for them to travel and fly together. They really are such a good match.

We stopped at KC Joes on the way back from picking them up at the airport...the hunger had to be satisfied! We ate until we were stuffed and had plenty of leftovers to take home. 

The weather was not cooperative. It was seriously cold the entire time they were here. But that didn't stop them from taking the kids out to Deanna rose to feed the little mean goats. Are they babies? Are they? Or are they grouchy little miniature adult goats that have inner rage. I have my opinions.  

Mark and I were at the 816 Halloween Throwdown most of the day and were so glad that Ethan and Kassie were there to jump in and take care of things. It made a big difference. Laney was feeling sick, so had to miss out on the farmstead. But sometimes sleep is necessary!

Aren't they the cutest?? I love how they are matching for church!

It's been a while since I needed to buy 8 pumpkins! The only thing better would be to have Mathew in town and bump that up to 9!

We couldn't resist showing Kassie one of our all-time favorite movies...The Curse of the Wererabbit. We love it so much! It's an important part of being a Hufford!

Sadly, Monday morning came too quick and it was time to take them both back to the airport. We drove around KC to show Kassie Union Station and the Crown Center. We wished we had more time to do something fun, but we had to settle for looking around a bit and riding the escalators, lol. 

 We loved getting to know Kassie! She is so kind and funny and so easy to be around. She fits right into the family! 

816 Halloween Throwdown: Overkill

Oh dude. 

We REALLY wanted that trophy back. 

We were just moments from taking over the gym last year when the Throwdown came around...we were infants, mere babies!

We were remodeling and painting and finding coaches. 

And we didn't get enough of our teams to the Throwdown. We lost the affiliate cup to Crossfit Believe.

So this year we started early! We promoted and proposed and persuaded. 

Then we walked in to that competition with 34 athletes.

We more than tripled any other box there. It was FREAKING AWESOME!

There was never a heat when we didn't have at least one (usually 2 or 3) of our teams competing. I was hoarse from all the shouting!

And they did so great! We took home the Affiliate Cup as well as awards in every single category!

Love this gym family of ours and especially love to see them succeed together!

The Costumes of 2023

 I give you.

The Hufford Four. Which is really down to the Hufford Three, with one very sweet fourth that likes to visit on the weekends from KU. She's nice like that. 

The Fire Dragon.

This girl knows her poses. She knew what she needed to complete her outfit and even added stylish thumb-holes on the long sleeve tee we found at Turnstyles. She did her own makeup and made a big splash at the ward party when she unleashed those dragon wings at the perfect moment in the parade! I heard several "ooooh"s!

The Crow

AJ couldn't settle on a costume this year. She very nearly made the grievous mistake of ordering one of the low-quality animal masks off of Amazon. Weird horse head, rubber-faced llama, misshapen duck...I could go on.... For a moment there, Halloween was gonna be a no-go. She sadly resigned herself to laying on the couch face down and sampling the family leftovers...the yorks, the 3 musketeers, the regular old milky ways...need we say it...the frootie tooties that taste of pine sol. 

Then she met The Crow!

Destiny. 

It should be said that before The Crow fulfilled any of it's official Halloween duties, it provided hours and hours of entertainment. Have you felt the joy of seeing a crow in Sunday dress lip sync to "Take On Me"? I have, and I highly recommend. Feel free to go find those videos in the family archive. There's also a lovely interpretation of "Never Gonna Give you Up".

Add in her dress from the renaissance fair and she took home the prize for the scariest costume at the Ward Trunk or Treat!

Casey Jones (TMNT, duh)

Almost everything Laney does is a living love letter to their beloved Turtles. They even went so far as to grow their hair out to really rock the Casey Jones look . I think they nailed it! There was a full week of movie-going, party hopping, trick or treating and dressing up. Check out the hand-painted mask!

Frank Frankly (Welome Home....DUH)

I truly do not know who Frank Frankly is. I don't worry about it...I'm here to help make the costume dreams come true. Even though I dropped the ball and didn't get the signature vest made in time. Laney found an excellent substitute and hosted a spooky movie night for their friends. I forced them to take a photo when they came up looking for a popcorn refill. It's what mothers do. It's what me MUST do.

Where's Walter? 

Megan came home for the weekend and rustled up a costume from our Halloween. 

Where's Walter is born! 

Man, we miss have her and the boys around everyday. 

She was kind enough to come along to the Trunk or Treat to keep me company while Everly and AJ performed their generational duties running wild through the halls.

Price Chopper Petting Zoo

 Sometimes go run to Price Chopper for emergency cheese and you meet a man that brought his calf in the passenger seat of his truck. 

And we don't ask questions...we just pet the sweet baby and feed him carrots.

The last hurrah

The garden is winding down. 

But the dahlias and the mums are in all their glory! 

The monarchs are loving the last few Tithonia blossoms. They grew to over 8 feet tall! 

Our last swallowtails are hatching.

And the sweet potato crop is ready for harvest. 

Until spring, my dear ones!