Pine Lakes

Earlier in October, we went camping with the Trapp family to Pine Lakes Campground in Illinois. We found this campground last year when we decided to go to Springfield and see the Abe Lincoln sites. We enjoyed our trip to Pine Lakes so much that we decided to go back there this year and then hit Hannibal, MO on our way home. They have a bunch of Halloween activities during the month of October. The kids love it:

First, they have a pumpkin patch. All the kids get to go and pick one when their number is called out:

Claire with her pumpkin

Emilie and Noah

All the girls back at our campsite with our silly face suckers :-)
Elise, Chloe, Sofia, Emilie, and Claire

We brought paint and other crafty things to decorate our pumpkins with:
From left: Sofia, Claire, Noah, Rylan, Elise, Emilie, Chloe

Later there was a costume contest. Emilie won her age group for her Hermione (from Harry Potter) costume:

Chloe opted to be a kitty cat again this year. Sofia's in the background with her frog costume

Claire in her Katie Bell (Harry Potter quidditch player) costume

Elise as Sleeping Beauty

After the costume contest was Camper trick or treating (the kids favorite part)

The whole gang: Claire, Noah, Elise, Sofia, Chloe, Rylan, and Emilie

In Hannibal, Emilie's getting in touch with her inner-Tom Sawyer

200 year old oak tree- it took all 7 of the kids holding hands to stretch around it

Inside Mark Twain Cave- the kids thought that was really neat:
Chloe, Emilie, Sofia, Elise, Claire, Noah, Rylan

Chloe panning for gold (and other rocks)

Emilie holding up her find