Happy Halloween

The end of October was approaching. The neighborhood was being decorated with weird, creepy things. That could only mean one thing - time to find something to wear from the costume box and knock on strangers' doors for candy!

We were getting excited in preparation - 

The day before Halloween, we joined the other procrastinators at the pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect one for carving.

And although it was windy and 40 degrees, the youngins decided there were definitely more picture opportunities. (Where do they get that from?)

Back at home, Mommy was on dinner duty, and Daddy was on carving duty. Fun fact: 35-year-old Jonathan Bradley had never before carved a pumpkin. There's a first for everything.


They worked together to remove all pumpkin guts from the inside.


The family artist was on duty next to design the jack-o-lantern's face. Gabi got straight to work.

With the design complete, Daddy got to work with his knife, making the magic happen.

Gabi decided his name was Ronald, and he was perfect.

FINALLY, October 31st arrived. We had pajama day at one school and costume day at another, and candy collecting day for everyone at night!

I announced, "Let's all go outside and take pictures, and then we'll be ready to trick-or-treat!" Ethan had the nerve to ask, "Why do we need to take pictures??" "Uh...have you met your mother?"

Ghost Joey, Cowgirl Shayna, and their parents joined us for a fun-filled walk around the block collecting treats, greeting neighbors, and enjoying each other's company.

Mommy and Daddy clearly went as ourselves. Some neighbors most certainly were into their ambiance and costumes.

We went longer and later than these babies ever had in the past. All did well.


At the end of {our} night, we spread out our earnings to see how we did, and we did well! (The air traffic controllers of Austin are going to LOVE us!)