"H" is for Halloween

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

I am a big fan of the fall. I enjoy cool evenings, crisp days, hayrides, bonfires, and the tastes of fall. Our schedule seems to dictate to what extent we get to enjoy all of those activities. The best part is that they are family activities that allow us to spend time simply being together.

Last weekend, the kids asked if we could make an apple pie. I had some apples that I had picked up at the orchard, as well as some that were leftover at the swim meet concession stand, so the three of us made a pie. It was the first time my son had helped make a pie. It was fun to teach him about cutting in the shortening and tossing it gently with water to give a nice flaky crust. My daughter helped measure out the flour, sugar and seasoning to add to the apples. And my son measured for the crumb topping. I got to peel the apples and told the kids how my grandma and grandpa could peel the entire apple in one continuous piece, creating a spiral of peel. I showed them that I couldn't do the full apple, but was getting close.

This weekend we are hosted a slumber party to celebrate my daughter's birthday. We did a build your own pizza bar. I made a homemade crust and set out individuals crusts for each girl. The toppings included pizza sauce, regular and mini pepperoni, two types of shredded cheese, browned sausage, and diced peppers. It was a fun time by all building their pizzas.

For Halloween, my daughter requested to be a cat. So, we headed to the store to find fur to make the tail, ears and patches. We found a black hoodie and leggings to be the foundation of the costume. We planned out the patches, the tail and ears and I did the cutting and sewing. My son was in the uncertain phase this year, so he is recycling a convict costume that we had in the basement. Historically, we have made his costume as well. Recent selections have been a baseball card, a Lego Minifigure and a vending machine. This may be the last year that we head out to trick or treat as a family. It is always a good time, catching up with others in the neighborhood. There are families that gather on a driveway with a bonfire and one year a family had a food truck that was serving sample size soups and coffee to the parents.

How will you celebrate Fall and Halloween?

“H” is for Halloween: With fall officially in full swing, Hormel Foods is introducing the "ABC's of Fall" on the Hormel Foods Recipes Pinterest page! Encourage your readers to check out new seasonal posts, and share with us their favorite fall recipes, “spooky” snack ideas, and ways they use classic fall flavors using the hashtag #ABCsofFall and #HormelFamily.

· “M” is for Mummies:

Hanging out in cemeteries isn’t the only place for these scary creatures – turns out they like pizza too! That is, in these Mini Mummy Pizzas. To make your own, top half an English muffin with pizza sauce, add Hormel® Pepperoni Minis, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese and add two sliced black olives for eyes. Viola!

· “S” is for Spooky: Make a “Spooky Chili” this Halloween for a fun and filling time! Use Halloween-shaped cookie cutters to cut shapes out of cheese slices and place the cheese shapes over a bowl of hot Hormel® Chili with Beans. Pair it with this spooky Halloween dip

featured on the NATURAL CHOICE® Pinterest page, which uses a variety of Hormel Foods products!

· “W” is for Weekends: Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so use the whole weekend as an excuse to indulge in some of your favorite fall treats!

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product samples for my family to try. I also receive thought starters, information and photos that can be used in a post.

Winner of the 4-pk of tickets to Cedar Point HalloWeekends

Congratulations to Amanda! Her entry was selected as the winner of the 4-pk of tickets to Cedar Point HalloWeekends.

An e-mail has been sent to the winner.

Stay tuned for more giveaways coming this weekend.

Cedar Point HalloWeekends - 4 pack of tickets #Giveaway #CedarPoint

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family.
Growing up, I have many memories of family trips and Girl Scout trips to Cedar Point. Our trips were typically during the week and were a total blast. Now that I have my own family, we try to make a trip there at least once a season. It has been an interesting progression, as the kids get older, we have started to migrate to some of the big rides, but still spend much of our time in the kids area and riding Gemini.

I have not been to HalloWeekends before, but a fellow blogger shares about HalloWeekends here. Based on her experience, it definitely sounds like the daytime would be full of fun for the whole family.

Don't miss out on HalloWeekends! Cedar Point is open on Friday nights (after 6 p.m.), Saturdays and Sundays now through Nov. 2, 2014. Here is pricing info:

Fri or Sun Night Admission as low as $38.99 plus applicable taxes and fees
Saturday Night Admission as low as $45.99 plus applicable taxes and fees
Sat or Sun All-Day Admission All Day & All Night as low as $47.99 plus applicable taxes and fees

Giveaway!
Win a 4-pack of tickets to experience HalloWeekends with your family. Please note, the tickets are only good for the remaining three HalloWeekends this year. Cedar Point is open on Friday nights (after 6 p.m.), Saturdays and Sundays now through Nov. 2, 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will remain open through October 17th. Tickets are only redeemable this year, for any day during the remaining weekends of HalloWeekends, through November 2nd. Winners will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winner will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. Cedar Point provided the information as well as the 4-pack of tickets for the giveaway. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family.

Halloween Costumes - 2012

It's not quite yet last minute, but it is getting close and we are just settling in exactly 'what we want to be this year'. My daughter has known for months, perhaps even since last Halloween, what she wants to be - "Rapunzel, from Tangled...when her hair was cut short". My son was kicking around the idea of being Anakin Skywalker, but we are exploring some other options.

For my daughter, it was easy. We headed to Wholesale Halloween Costumes and explored their collection of Tangled costumes and accessories. They have a variety of dress options for Tangled - they have a classic dress, a deluxe dress and even a wedding dress version of the Tangled costume. My daughter decided on the classic. They have tiaras and wigs to go with the costume. Since she wants to be Rapunzel after she cut her hair, there was no need for a wig - in fact, she told me that we might need to get her hair cut before Halloween if it grows too much.

They also offer shoes and princess make-up to complete the look.

We went with the largest size that they had, a medium (7-8). It gets cold here in North East Ohio and we need the option of layering beneath the dress. Plus, the kids turn their Halloween costumes into dress-up clothes - so it is good when they will fit them for a little while. As soon as it arrived, she couldn't wait to try it on. She was very excited to see herself dressed as Rapunzel. We tried on just the dress, with nothing underneath. It fit her and there is a little bit of room for putting on layers.

The dress is cuter in person than it appears on line. The skirt is satiny with a shimmery insert and a sheer, beaded overlay. The ribbon detailing on the top is capped with a 'broach', featuring Rapunzel's picture. The sleeves are satiny with shimmery ribbon accents. The shimmery tulle at the collar was a bit itchy to her. Fortunately, she will have something on underneath it and when we play dress-up, we typically leave on our t-shirts. I might see about pressing it a bit as well, so that it doesn't brush up against her. My daughter can't wait until she can wear the costume and be Rapunzel.

Now, for my son, we explored the great 2012 costume collection available on Wholesale Halloween Costumes. There are some really cute costumes out there. They have Captain America, Angry Birds, Skylanders and more to choose from. They even have 80s Rock Mullet Wig - that makes me feel old. I can remember as a kid that people would dress up like the 50s - Poodle Skirts and the like, now kids are able to dress up like my youth. They have several other fun costumes - like a piece of pizza, skeletons and more. They also have the Anakin Skywalker costume.

If you are still looking for a costume, be sure to check out WHCostumes on Facebook. They share specials on there - the most recent one was a 30% discount on all accessories.

No compensation was provided for this post. A complimentary costume was provided to facilitate the review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Harry Potter

We like to do theme birthday parties at our house. We have had a variety of them over the years. With girls, it seems a lot easier to include costumes as part of the theme. Last year, it was princesses and everyone got princess dresses to wear. For my son, it can be harder. Trying to find costumes for boys to fit the theme is not always easy. Last year was Phineas and Ferb, I'm not sure what I could have done for costumes there.

This year, it could be different. Harry Potter is the theme that my son chose for his birthday party (any ideas on a cake? - this is the first theme chosen by my kids that I am not familiar with). There seem to be a number of different Harry Potter costumes available. My son of course would want the Harry Potter one, but you can also find Gryffindor robes, Quidditch robes and even Voldemort (now if I had read a book or watched the show, maybe I would know the difference and could come up with a theory on what type of robes we could use. There are even accessories available too.

Even if we don't dress up at the party, my son has decided that the Harry Potter Robe would be part of his Halloween costume this year too. He will wear his shirt and tie from First Communion. We still need to pick up a wand and some glasses to finish accessorizing, but we have a few weeks until his party and Halloween. Here he is in just the robe:

and here is what the picture on the package looks like. The shirt and tie and glasses definitely help complete the look.