Monday, October 31, 2011
Happy Halloween!
Sadly, I didn’t have a chance for a nice costume photo shoot this year, (this is it... taken right before trick-or-treating), but more important things bumped it lower on my priority list.
Tyler got to reuse Andrew’s Iron Man costume (that chest light is the best thing for trick-or-treating!).
It’s too bad you can’t see Andrew’s extra set of arms/legs because that helps with his “Appa” costume. (There is also an arrow on the top of his head.) For a last-minute “flying bison” costume, I think I did okay.
Adam evolved into a really cool pirate, beginning with a cheap pirate kit someone gave us last year. I am proud of the ruffles I made out of napkins and sewed onto his shirt. He only wore the earring to the party, but not to the school parade or trick-or-treating because the clip-on hurt too much.
Amy asked to be a spider, just like she was on her first Halloween. Her pipe cleaner spider legs looked best on our first Halloween excursion (to our ward party). From then on, they were pretty bent out of shape.
Natalie (bless her) wanted to be a witch again. I sewed witch dresses for the girls three years ago. Thankfully, I left about a 3-inch hem in the bottom of her dress, which I took out, and the top still fits her perfectly (the ribbon around her waist was cinched pretty tightly that first year).
Taken before our ward Halloween party - Andrew was sick and asleep on the couch.
The coolest targets in the marshmallow gun shooting range were our bishopric’s faces!
When I showed this picture to Amy, she didn’t recognize me! I was a witch for Halloween. It was fun to try out black hair!
A friend in our ward looked at me very suspiciously when I started talking to Jon at our ward party... until he realized who I was. So funny!
Getting to the ward party was a feat since Jon left home early to set up the Teachers’ Quorum “haunted trailer” where they showed a video the teachers filmed on a campout... and then jumped out from behind the cloth screen at the end to scare everyone. So I had to get all the kids and myself dressed and make-upped in 30 minutes. We made it just a few minutes late. Phew!
The weather on Halloween was amazing (especially remembering last year’s rain and today’s snow)! After our Halloween meal of witch’s brew, yummy mummies, orange potatoes and Jello Ghosts, we headed out as a family. While traversing the neighborhood, Andrew exclaimed, “This is the best Halloween ever!” and Tyler looked dazed most of the time, repeating “Candy!” while pulling out the treasures from his bucket.
Our neighbors always do an amazing display of pumpkins. My favorites were in the Megamind collection. Tyler was mesmerized by the Angry Birds pumpkins.
Halloween was busier than normal since I arrived in town the day before, but everything really important happened and the kids had a great holiday. I hope yours was fantastic, too!
This Caramel Toffee Fruit Dip was yummy along with some cinnamon-tortilla chips (which Adam preferred to eat alone). This was our after-school snack on Halloween.
This year I finally figured out the best way to do our school Halloween parade. They never start on time, so Andrew and I showed up 15 minutes after the scheduled start time. (Tyler was napping, so I left him home with Jon.) All the seats were taken, of course, so we just sat down on the front steps of the stage. Five minutes later, the parade started... and walked first in front of the stage and then weaved around the rows of parents in chairs. So we got to see the kids almost immediately after their debut in the gym... and then Andrew and I took off for home! It has never been so painless, quick and enjoyable!
