HALLOWEEN (This one's for Ben and Emily!)
October 21st - October 31st

The week before Halloween I went into panic mode because I had not started sewing Vaughn's costume. I hadn't even gotten the material yet! So Emily and her sister Jenny had compassion on me, and took me to JoAnn's to help me find the material I needed. If it weren't for Jenny and Emily I would have gone insane. Emily was great at helping me to pick out the best materials, and Jenny helped me with the finishing touches like the buttons on the vest. She found the best buttons that matched perfectly! I went over to Emily's house to get started cutting out the material. Emily is the MOST AMAZING seamstress I have ever seen. She is a genius when it comes to sewing. We also had a great time talking and catching up. Here were Vaughn, Autumn and Prairie on the couch watching a show while we tried to get the materials cut out! P.S....What is up with Prairie?!?! I think I'm going to explode right on the spot from her cuteness!

A few days before Halloween, after some intense days of straight sewing, I decided to cook Brian a real meal. We had been running on "CRAZY MODE" for almost a month it seemed with all the bottling and sewing I was doing. So I cooked Cornish Hens with cheesy rice pilaf and green beans. You may think it's funny that we take pictures of the food we eat, but it's just second nature to us. We love looking at good food! The funny thing was that Brian ate almost his entire hen by himself! I really think he was desperate for a real meal, and didn't know when the next one would be, so he was stocking up!!!

I think I sewed for three straight days, and finally, Vaughn's costume was finished! Here he is trying his best to pose, looking very handsome! Yes, this is supposed to be a monkey costume, like the monkey who travels with the guy who plays the cranking music box. Anyway, you can't see Vaughn's talk for some reason, but he did have a tail! I was actually surprised at how much I remembered as far as the sewing went. But Emily was on hand for me to call when I got stuck, and I was so grateful! Without her pointers and help there wouldn't have been a Monkey Vaughn for Halloween!

The day before Halloween we decided to surprise Aunt Julie at work. We found Julie's office, and then had Vaughn walk in alone. We heard Julie give a little yelp and say, "Oh my word! What is this?!?!" She was so happy to see Vaughn!

Julie didn't hesitate one second to take Vaughn downstairs and show him off to all her co-workers! Vaughn immediately took advantage of the situation and started acting very cute! All the workers there had candy waiting because kids usually come in Halloween day to trick-or-treat (something Brian and I didn't know!) So Vaughn was excited for the attention and the candy! Above was Vaughn's first stop, so he was a little apprehensive, but this guy kept pushing candy at Vaughn, and he eventually accepted. By the way, Vaughn LOVES Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!

Another lady there opened a drawer and pulled out two huge bags of candy for Vaughn to pick from. Vaughn got totally spoiled that day!!!

I think all the attention went to his head because he eventually stopped for a break at a window and turned and gave me this pose. What a nut!!!

The next night was Halloween, and Vaughn had a BLAST! We were so excited for him to be able to trick-or-treat....not for the candy, but for the experience. Down the street in our church parking lot we had a little "Trunk-or-Treat" party. That's when a lot of people from the ward get together, park their cars with their trunks facing out, and let the kids that come by trick-or-treat from their trunks. It is a tradition, and a safer alternative too. We trusted everyone there, so we didn't have to worry about candy being tampered with, or being hit by a car while we were walking. Above are Jesse Brandenburg on the left, Mary Bushman in the middle, and of course Vaughn. They are very good friends of ours, and are always so kind to Vaughn too!

Our next-door neighbors, the Houstons, were there too. It's too bad this picture turned out blurry. Dawn was trying her best to tempt Vaughn with some candies, but Vaughn was too interested in pointing out other kids in their costumes. I think Dawn eventually had to grab his hand and force the candy into it!!!

Inside the church the youth program supervised some neat games. Vaughn was too busy looking at all the other kids dressed up to really want to play. But I really liked this game above. They tied chocolate-covered doughnuts to the end of a string and the kids tried to eat them off. I wish I could have tried it!

We of course had to stop by Grandpa Kuhni's house. We just walked across the street from the church and we were there! Grandpa Kuhni made sure to give treats to Vaughn, but also me and Brian. He is always so generous with our family! And if you're wondering why Vaughn has a cart, he insisted on bringing it! It actually worked out great because he didn't have to lug around a heavy pumpkin full of candy. And it made him look even more cute!

We stopped by a few more neighbor's houses that night. By the time we got to see Cassidy and Nicolie, some nice kids who live down the street, Vaughn was so exhausted! I felt bad because I didn't want to wear him out! He just didn't seem tired and then all of a sudden he was almost falling asleep! We all had a great time, and I was glad that Vaughn also had such a good experience too!

To end with Vaughn looking happy, our "One for the Road" is of Uncle Jared stopping by that night before we left to trick-or-treat. He hadn't seen Vaughn's costume yet, so he was excited to see Vaughn all dressed up. Jared is a wonderful uncle to Vaughn, and Vaughn loves him dearly! I just love this picture of the two of them!


Love, Lisa