Halloween

Time flies. Here is a report on our spooky Halloween just a few weeks late.

We did a little pumpkin carving. I was surprised that my kids didn't love scooping out the "guts" more. It seems to me that getting sticky and messy would be really cool to a 5, 7, and 9 year old but . . . not so much. I ended up doing most of the scooping - Nate helped a little. He DID think getting sticky and messy was pretty cool . . . too cool. I had to set him down off of the counter after a little while.



We had a lot of fun carving. They had all planned out and drawn their designs on their pumpkins a few days before for a fun Family Home Evening Activity. So they were ready!




We did our carving at a little (maybe I should say big) pumpkin carving party at a friends house. They had lots of fun and they all turned out great.


This year we had homemade costumes (except for Nate's which was a hand-me-down from Michael). I think they turned out pretty great and the grand total was under $20.



(If you are one of those individuals who is wondering what you are looking at: Sarah is Toad (from Super Mario Bros.), Michael is Percy Jackson (from the book series by Rick Riordan), Emma is Yellow Toad (from Super Mario Bros.) and Nate is a china man.)

We attended the annual events like the ward Trunk-or-Treat. Sarah and Emma are posing with their friends Mario and Luigi.


Ben is manning the trunk. (It was really cold that night.)


Sarah's preschool had a little costume parade that Nate and I attended. She even got to hold their class "pet" Honey Bear.


We also participated in the parade around the pond, in the Grove.


Trick-or-Treating took dedication this year. It was pouring rain. Feet were wet and cold, fingers were frozen. Nate only lasted a few houses and then he and Ben went home to pass out candy. The girls and I lasted about an hour carrying our umbrellas.


I had to let go a little this year. Michael didn't walk from house to house holding my hand. He ran from house to house joking, smiling and goofing around with a couple of his friends and one of the friend's very kind fathers. I love it that he had such a blast, but it's hard to see him getting so independent and grown up.

Halloween was really fun but also a little tiring. Luckily we have lots of candy just in case we need a little sugar buzz to keep us awake.