Halloween.

 

I recently discovered Ebay and bid on all of the kid's Halloween costumes. 

I bid on Courtney Lee's entire get-up in separate auctions but it all arrived on time.

 

After tracking the shipping for Coley's Anakin Skywalker costume I found out that it is due to arrive on November 4th.

Managed to snag the last Darth Vadar costume at Fred Meyers the day before Halloween though.

When Coley got home from school on Friday afternoon he told me that he lost one of his gloves and accidentally left the rest of his costume at school (luckily, the school was still open when we got there).

 

And this little one ended up wearing an old hand-me-down Beaver's Cheer-leading dress that used to belong to Courtney Lee because her 50's costume (that I ordered 3 weeks before Halloween) didn't arrive on time either.

I won't be getting Halloween costumes from Ebay next year.

 

After a few of our annual Halloween plans fell through, we decided to head up to 4th Street in Grants Pass where there's tons of cool old houses.

 

 

Coley was on a candy-mission...hardly saw the kid all night (had to keep hollering for him to slow down and wait for his sisters).

 

One house=4 lollipops.

Annie had never had a lollipop before but she had two in a row on Halloween...followed by a belly ache.

I think the sight of her dragging that candy bucket might just be the cutest thing ever.

 

Coley in the lead again.

 

There was a monster head inside a snow-globe up on the front porch that scared the poor tiny widdle baby.

 

Coley in the lead again.

 

Coley in the lead again.

 

It's kind of hard to see but Coley (who was in the lead again) was about to get tackled by his Dad.

And then we went by Josh's parent's.  And then Uncle Jamey's.  And then my Dad's.

And then we drove home with Darth Vadar, the 50's Girl (Josh's Grandpa thought we had dressed her up as Sarah Palin) and the Beaver's Cheerleader sound asleep in the backseat.

Shot everything with a 24-70mm f2.8 lens although as it started to get darker a lot of my shots were starting to get blurry (even with my aperture wide open and my ISO maxed). 

If you want really good Halloween shots though, you really have to try to start trick-or-treating while it's still light out (or you have to have a really good off-camera flash set-up...which I don't have).  And it probably doesn't hurt to shoot on a street with gorgeous, old houses and big, old trees dropping fall leaves either.

Comments

[Allison]

That Sarah Palin thing made me laugh out loud. I love Courtney Lee's costume. That really sucks about Ebay. I think it's so funny that I tune in everyday to check out what's new with your kids.

[Heather Prins]

wow those are some gorgeous houses!!! I love all the pictures you share, you inspire me everyday!

[Melissa]

Yay! I've been waiting to see what the kids were this year! :-) My 6yo daughter was Indiana Jones (!!) and my 3yo son was a farmer because we can't get him to wear anything that feels odd on him so we managed to get him in his overalls, a cheap pair of WalMart cowboy boots and a red bandana tied around his neck. 'Funny how we improvise - which you did a great job of this year! TFS those photos; they're great. (Oh; and the only part I really dislike about Halloween is when they scare the tiny widdle kids!)

[Roshelle]

hey cuz... try checking out craigslist.com next year... they have a lot of cool classified ads for EVERYTHING! Anyhow, tell the kids I thought they looked awesome! And, as always, you captured the night perfectly. Too bad Annie had to wear orange and black tho... hahaha; its a good thing she is cute no matter what she wears! ;) luv ya!

[Emily]

Wow... great pictures!

[Amy]

that pic of Annie crying is the cutest thing ever...you are a mean mom just like me! I would take a shot first then console...excellent photos!

[Cyndi]

Several times I have thought that you couldn't possibly get a cuter photo of Annie, and then you do. That scared widdle baby is the cutest, saddest thing I have ever seen in my life.

[Deb Wisker]

Great pics and poor "Yannie" so scared of the monster head! TFS!!

[Jody]

Love LOVE these shots you got of your children. They all look sooo darn cute!!

[Leah]

Those were some of the best Halloween pics I've ever seen! :) The one of the big house with 2 of your kids on the porch took my breath away! Awesome stuff.

[Mary Ann]

Love your photos! Especially the tiny widdle baby, so darn cute!

[JoAnn]

ummm.....was Oregon made for Halloween or what? Let me tell you- the OC doesn't look like THAT (any time of year) in October! MAN! that sky in the first photo of Courtney looks fake....AND how did you escape the Hannah Montana reign of the first grade girls? Look at Bethie on my blog and you'll just cry- it's a few posts down, but jeez kid- don't you realize how not photogenic that costume is? And my Matthew (ironman) didn't even wear his whole costume, nor was it any better for photographs..but oh well. #1 it was short, so he didn't trip for the first time in 4 years...and #2 he was so busy leading the pack for candy, I'd have never gotten a picture of him anyway on the official Halloween, I just got preschool parade ones of him....hmmm....I have written a novel. Love, your BFFO

[Dina]

Looks like the kids had a great time. Annie looked so cute in her cheerleader's outfit!

[Gemm]

I am so envious of the all the Halloween photos that you were able to capture but particularly, I love the one with the old, beautiful house. Love looking at all your photos!!

[Kelliann]

I want you to come and photograph my life-I really try so hard.Hoping the class in January does the trick!

[Val in Ohio]

Your pics are gorgeous! I can't wait to get learned from you! :)

[Karen Young]

Fantastic pictures!! Love them all.

[Terri]

Ahhh, Karen, you make me wish I lived somewhere like Oregon with this fabulous fall weather, falling leaves, gorgeous old houses, etc. instead of Phoenix, AZ where it was 82 when we went trick-or-treating and there wasn't a falling leaf in sight! Gorgeous photos as usual. Sounds like you made the best of your Ebay fiasco.

[Kimberly]

Love Courtney's saddle shoes. Payless Shoes?? My little girls have some too, then they can be the AG doll "Molly" any day. Advice on how to escape the "Hannah Montana" thing or any other fad characters, we don't watch TV and encourage imaginary play instead.

[Terrie]

Sorry you had a bad experience with ebay. I won my grandson's Diego costume the week before Halloween and it arrived from New York two days later. Course I emailed the seller and grovelled. He was so jazzed about the costume that he wanted to wear it every day until Halloween, when he decided it bothered him and he ended up in the shorts and a tshirt and discarded the rest of the stuff. His cousin (both 4 years old) was Alicia, so it had the potential of being darling with a little cooperation! My almost 13-year old grandson wore his mom's high school cheerleading uniform and a really bad blond wig and was hysterical! Wish my pictures were as good as yours, but with four little goblins going in four different directions I guess I'm lucky I got any!! TFS!

Your pics are gorgeous. I was disappointed with mine - all blurry even with 1.8 aperture and 1600 ISO. Like you said - we just started too late and it was pitch black outside with quickly moving subjects. Sigh...

[violetkey]

Super cute costumes and pictures. Courtney Lee's glasses are the best!

[Tanya Webster]

waaaaaaay cute pictures missy!! all the costumes look awesome even after the ebay fiasco :( what a BUMMER!! poor little Annie reminds me of Rylee....she had nightmares about spiders all night long that night poor thing...LOL!! the neighborhood you were trick or treating in looks like something out of a movie :)

[Katie]

Sounds like a good time Karen!! All the costumes are so cute.. but I REALLY love Courtney Lee's costume!!! It's so cute!! Oh and if you want to give ebay another try... lol.. now's a good time to score costumes at an awesome price for next year!!! And I love that photo of Annie dragging her bucket. Adorable photos! As always!

[Teresa B]

Awh.. I miss those day.. Mine have hit teenage years and could care less about trick or treating.. esp with mom around! The kids looked great.. and the Sarah Palin thing had me in stitches!!

[Kelly]

Ok, that photo of the tiny, widdle baby crying made me laught out loud and get tears in my eyes at the same time.
Thank You for that!!!

[Audrey]

What wonderful photos! You're really an inspiration to me, in fact today I finally purchased a "real" camera to replace my point-and-shoot. Next stop: one of your photography classes!!

[kat-in-texas]

When your blog first came up, I only saw Courtney Lee's hair and glasses and thought she was Sarah Palin too! (then I saw the poodle skirt). ha. Those stories are hilarious!

Your pics are beautiful! That home looks like something out of the Old South. We have an area like that here too (Waxahachie, TX). I wish you would come teach at a REALLY COOL scrapbook store there! YOu would love them (and they would love you too!) And I would be the first to sign up!

[kelli]

Love love love the photos! Especially the first one of Courtney Lee! You are so lucky that trick-or-treating while it's light out is an option. If we started at 4 pm. we might get decent pictures.

[MamaJayne]

Annie looks so grown up in her cheerleader costume. Courtney is divine in her 50's get up, just divine! And Darth, out to conquer the world, even if it is the Halloween Candy world. Loved your fotos!
:J

[madi]

your photos are so incredible! what is the camera you use? they are so beautiful, they perfectly capture the feeling of it all! ahh, fall...

[Paola Norman]

Even though all the costumes didn't make it all the kids look great!
Don't blame you about the e-bay thing either. Too bad you can't get a refund.

[Lan]

What beautiful pictures! I love Courtney Lee's costume. I didn't get one good shot this year, wish I lived in your neighborhood.

[Hotomom]

Awesome pictures, your pictures are always so wonderful, I love it when you have picture filled posts. I wish I could take pictures like you.

[Angela]

seriously love your blog...and I can hardly wait to take 2 of your classes this weekend at the Scrapbook Junkie....would you mind bringing the tiny widdle baby with you I would love to squeeze her cute little cheeks! Happy flights...

[Kristal]

"If you want really good Halloween shots though, you really have to try to start trick-or-treating while it's still light out (or you have to have a really good off-camera flash set-up...which I don't have). And it probably doesn't hurt to shoot on a street with gorgeous, old houses and big, old trees dropping fall leaves either."

AMEN,sister!!! :)

[Trenda]

LOVE these pictures! My 6 year old daughter was a 50's girl too:)

[debi]

GO DUCKS!!!!!!!! hehehehe.... Sorry... Couldn't resist...

Your photography is soooo amazing! The kids look like they had a Blast!

debi