Halloween – Page 4 – M. Sullivan Photography

October 30, 2011October 31, 2011 M. Sullivan Photography Daphne, Family, Photos

Halloween Preparations

We spent the weekend getting into the Halloween spirit by attending Glensheen Mansion’s Halloween Spooktacular event, carving pumpkins and prepping Halloween costumes. I just have to start with this photo because I think it is my favorite of the weekend. We also found out from the veterinarian that Daphne’s tumor was benign and the margins were clean. She is a healthy and happy Boxer!

Back to the Glenshen Spooktacular ~ With hundreds of Jack ‘O Lanterns illuminating the seven acre grounds of Glensheen mansion, we couldn’t help but go and get inspired for our own pumpkin carving. There were many of the traditional carvings and some that caught our eye including SpongeBob, Tinkerbell, pirates, owls and other amazing designs. Without a tripod, it was impossible to photograph the glowing pumpkins. We did take a few photos along the way using flash so that we could capture some of the unique pumpkins.

The outdoor tour ended with roasting marshmallows over a fire pit and making yummy s’mores. The perfect way to end a chilly evening.

Today we started the day by gutting our pumpkins and then jumped right into carving. Sebastian and Sophia enjoyed getting their hands inside the “guts” and pulling out all the stringy mess including the much coveted pumpkin seeds. We saved every seed so that we can roast them in the oven. Mike and the kids enjoy the salty, crunchy treat.

Sebastian carved his pumpkin by himself. Mike helped tape the pattern on the pumpkin and Sebastian took it from there. Here is his finished spooky pumpkin.

Sophia chose a Dracula pattern for her mini pumpkin.

And because I needed an extra challenge this year, I chose a Boxer. It was time-consuming, but not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.

I don’t think Daphne was quite as excited about her pumpkin portrait as I was. However, she did feel the need to lick the boxer pumpkin’s ears…but I guess that’s not unusual. She licks everyone.

Can’t wait for costumes and candy tomorrow…

October 25, 2011 M. Sullivan Photography Daphne, Photos

And We Shall Call Her Frankendog

Daphne had a quick procedure this morning to remove a tumor/growth on her forehead. She did very well and was more bothered by the noise from the clippers as they removed her fur. She didn’t flinch when they gave her shots of ladocaine to numb the area. She didn’t even mind the actual procedure except that she had to remain pinned on her side. I was able to be with her through the whole thing and it seemed to help keep her calm. The tumor will be sent out for pathology and we will know in a week if it is anything serious. In the meantime she is all set for Halloween with shiny new staples in her head that will remain there for the next ten days. I have lovingly been calling her Frankendog. Perhaps next year we can just buy her a costume, it would’ve been much less expensive.

November 1, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos

Mr. Bones – Our Milk Jug Skeleton

I was taking Daphne for a walk a couple of weeks ago and noticed a cool Halloween skeleton hanging from a neighbor’s porch. The skeleton was made from translucent gallon milk jugs. The next day I Googled “milk jug skeleton” and found a few different sites that had instructions and/or photos showing how to create one. I was actually hoping for a pattern or template that I could trace on the milk jugs, but couldn’t find one that would make it that easy. I printed off a few pictures and a couple of sets of instructions, sent out an email to co-workers begging for them to save their milk jugs and hoped that I could collect enough to make the skeleton.

I receive one milk jug from a co-worker the next day and our Chef at work had four more. Sophia and I made plans to start our skeleton when the boys went to the Friday night hockey game.

We cut out most of the pieces that evening. Head, chest, pelvis, leg bones and arm bones. Our hands were sore from cutting, so we hung up our scissors for the night.

We didn’t have time during the week to finish, so we left the pieces on the dining room table. It was a bit creepy having his skull laying there. Finally on Friday night, two days before Halloween, we cut out the remaining pieces. Sebastian was at a sleepover, but I was able to convince Mike (and Sophia) to help put him together. We used a hole punch to cut a hole in each piece and tied the bones together with fishing line.

We had a great time making Mr. Bones and will be able to use him again next year when we decorate for Halloween. Now we just need to find a place to store him. I think we may “hang” him from the ceiling in our storage room…or maybe we should find a box and tuck him away until next year.