Halloween 2011 in Pictures

Halloween was awesome!!!  The entire month of October, actually, was awesome.

Here are some pics from Halloween night.  Sadly, the twins were sick.  In half of the pics I took, Scoutie Girl looks like she's coughing up a lung.  :(  But, it was supposed to be their first official year of trick-or-treating, so I couldn't keep them at home.  I ended up letting them trick or treat sown half of one street.

Scout went as Red Riding Hood.  Sawyer was the Big Bad Wolf.  I gave Scout two options: Red Riding Hood or Tinkerbell.  I thought for sure she'd choose Tinkerbell since she had just watched the movies.  But, when I showed her the pictures, she pointed vigilantly at Red and said, "Dis one!  Dis one!  Dis one!"  

One of my favorite parts of the night was how Merrick took it upon himself to show his baby brother and sister how to obtain candy from the neighbors.  He would run ahead to a house, get his candy, then come back for Scout and Sawyer and help walk them to the door (since they were a little slower than he was).

My favorite moment from Halloween night was when Merrick some-what threatened one of our neighbors.  The conversation went like this:

Neighbor (as he's passing out candy) - I like your costume!  What are you?

Merrick - A ninja.

Neighbor - Cool!  Can you show me some of your moves?

Merrick (totally serious) - No.  I might hurt you.

I about fell over laughing!

Anyway.  Here are the pics:

  

Red Riding Hood picking flowers for her Granny.

My favorite pic of the night.  What a beautiful Red.  

It was nearly impossible to get a pick of Sawyer in his Big Bad Wolf costume.  I was so thankful, however, that he loved his hat (and thankful that BabyGap just so happened to have a wolf hat out at the time!).  I anticipated him ripping it off every 5 minutes, but he didn't.

Merrick with his pumpkin.  He wanted to stage the picture this way, so that it looks like he and the pumpkin are talking. 

Merrick wanted a one eyed pumpkin.

I made a mustache pumpkin and a rainbow bundt cake.  The inside of the cake was orange and purple.  Yum!

Merrick in his ninja costume.  I actually took him with me and let him look through the costumes this year and he chose this.  It's perfect, really, since he's been so into tai kwon do.

Here's a closer picture of Sawyer's hat.

The only way I could get a pic of Scout and Sawyer together was to put a bucket of candy in front of them.

One excited ninja!  

Merrick showing Scout the ropes.  I love how his arm is around her.

This melts my heart.  I love to see my children walking together.

Does that face scream "sugar high!" or what?!?

Happy Halloween 2011!

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake

My two year old boy is a banana addict.  It's an addiction I am willing to support because every once in a while, we end up with a few extra bananas.  In the past, when those bananas got too ripe to eat, I'd bake them into some banana bread and give it to the family for breakfast (or, worse, I'd throw them into the freezer to make banana bread later and end up with twenty or thirty black frozen bananas).  

But, come on.  Let's be real.  If you're going to bake a couple of bananas into a "bread" that has sugar, flour, eggs, butter, and nuts...then, you smoother it with more butter when it comes out...you might as well take the next step and add a few chocolate chips and call it what it really is: awesome.

Don't get me wrong.  This recipe is not banana bread with chocolate chips.  Instead, it is more like the perfect cross between a chocolate chip cookie and banana cake.  

Mucho thanks goes to my best friend Angela for this recipe.  And, a big "no thank you" to that same awesome bestie for my new addiction.

Let me just say...

Now, I'll get to the actual recipe...

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake

2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 medium sized bananas, mashed
1 large egg
12 - 16 oz chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a jelly roll pan (I use a 13 x 9 inch glass pan).
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Beat in bananas and egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spread into your pan.
Bake for 20-30 min.

{Enjoy!}