Brownsville Halloween

My sister invited us to celebrate Halloween at her kids school. The kids got to dress up and play carnival games and go trick or treating. It sounded fun so away we went. We arrived some time before my Sister and her entourage, but we had fun watching Lizzy play the games. She was a great shot! Most of the games you had to throw something. When Jessica showed up we all went down the trick of treat lane. Some of the teachers were hiding an used scary gloves to pass out the candy.

Steaming: It all started with a skirt

Daniel and I have been interested in the Steam punk genre for a while now. While we were still in St. Louis it came to our attention that Seattle hosts the worlds biggest Steam punk Convention SteamconIII! And it was in October just after we moved back to Bremerton! Kismet! So when Amanda Myler gave me a bag of random sewing things along with a green skirt originally given to her from Sue Hodgeston I took one look and knew I had the makings of a great steam punk outfit.
 Daniel's outfit was fairly easy, He wanted to wear Knickers so I found a great video on how to modify pants. Sew easy! Here's how they turned out:
Then Daniel got to work making goggles out of leather. They were so cool. Here is the pair he made for Lizzy:
Ours were similar. I stamped flowers onto mine and had Daniel add ribbon and a different nose piece. Daniel made a leather octopus to put on his. The theme this year was 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Then I got to work on my outfit. I found a pattern at Joann's that I liked and went for it full steam ahead. After I made the corset (which was a bit of a challenge) I focused on the spats and hat. I found a wonderful video on how to make spats and used some fun techniques to make my hat. Then I visited Micheals for a little inspiration and came home with a fun cameo that I turned into a broach and some vintage keys.  Daniel made a cuff and arm band for his costume and I had my brother Steam out my guns. They are awesome! Here's a few pics of the various accouterments:

Then I got to work on my jacket. After a small miscalculation it turned out great and I was ready for the ball!

From 2011-10-16 Steamcon3

It was an awesome night. The minute we stepped onto the lobby floor the air was electric. I have never seen so many Steam punked people in my life and I loved it! I started taking pictures right a way. This was the third year of Steamcon so most of the attendees had been before. We just soaked it all in. There were workshops and music and so so much eye candy. We toured the emporium and the art gallery. We learned about making props and weapons from the gentleman who made Castle's arm for him:

From Aug

 That was pretty cool! Then we searched and searched for a place to eat dinner. Not finding anything we settled on Daniel's Broiler up on the 21st. floor. The dining area was full, so we took a cosy table in the corner with a great view. We didn't think to ask for real menus so we ordered some appitizers and dessert. It was all wonderful, but the scallopes took over 20 minutes to get to us. We watched the sun set and talked. Then after a quick pit stop at the car to drop of a few things we headed up to Captan Nemo's ball. It was an hour of social dancing. We danced the star trek which was great fun and the waltz. Then we decided it was enough and headed home. It was wonderful night.

I have strange kids

Here is Charles, he just picked up the hammer and I thought, "Thor!"

From 2011-10-08 Dancing Thor

Isn't he cute? Then Lizzy had to get in on the action:

From 2011-10-08 Dancing Thor

She just loves getting her picture taken. Also a cute moment as the two of them were dancing together:

From 2011-10-08 Dancing Thor

Later Lizzy showed off her amazing skills as she fearlessly rowed one handed down the hall:

From 2011-10-14 row row row

I love how creative my children are. Every day is an adventure!

From 2011-10-14 row row row

War!

For my niece's eighth birthday we had a World of Warcraft theme. I had the distinct privilege of being a Mage:

From 2011-10-03 Taylor's birthday

I got to inform the magi how their powers work. The guests got to choose between Mage, Warrior, Hunter and Priest. Each had a special ability. Magi throw fireballs, we used soaker balls sans water. Later I became one of the beasts they had to slay. I was a two headed ogre. Here's Lizzy my little helper:

From 2011-10-03 Taylor's b

We hid behind the ogre and shot Nerf guns at the kids.Then after the second wave of intrepid warriors came through Lizzy and I followed them down the water soaked terrain. I was not prepared for exactly how water soaked the terrain was. I lost both shoes to the muddy recesses. I recovered them with out too much difficulty and just went barefoot the rest of the time.
 Once they crossed the bridge they had to face a demonic robot intent on taking over the world! My sister threw projectiles at the assailants. Then after defeating this mighty foe they had to "blow up a door way":

From 2011-10-03 Taylor's birthday

The kids loved popping all those balloons! And finally they had to face My Brother in law, Daniel and our friend Pat to finally win their quest. It was pretty intense. Check out the video:

I think everyone had a great time. Taylor got a ton of nerf guns and Legos.

 I can't wait for the next battle!