Matthew was lucky to have a Family October Birthday party in conjunction with Thanksgiving, cupcakes just with us on his actual birthday, and a kids party the weekend before his birthday.
He has been really interested in magic this past while, so we decided to do a magic theme. He got right into the part. We had fun making bunny cupcakes, and had little construction paper black hats for them to pop out of.
Andrew is now really into doing magic tricks too and is saying he wants a magic theme for his next birthday!
All the boys had a chance to be assistants for some of the tricks. Here is Matthew helping out.
The white bird appearing out of a balloon was a real hit.
Happy Birthday to our now 8 year old boy!
The finale was the rabbit in a hat pinata, followed by a soccer game. We were lucky to be able to get outside with the mild fall we have been having.
This year Andrew went as a very sweet looking pirate, not too fierce at all. 
Matthew was a little more sinister as a Ninja, posing here with a schoolmate dressed as the Grim Reaper.
Emily was a penguin, and boy did she get into the Halloween thing in a hurry. She has always loved a costume. We could barely catch her racing up driveway after driveway, and she lugged a heavy candy bag with her. 
Penguin Close-up.
Here she is at music class with all the others in their costumes. 
We are all set to get out Trick or Treating.
Emily holding her loot, while Matthew has some of his spread out on the floor. He counted something like 130 treats. He still has a full bag, even after we have removed all the peanut/nut things.
This pirate is pleased with his treasure!
