Happy Halloween

Our Halloween festivities started out with pumpkin carving.  The boys were very excited about this and kept busy planning out the perfect number of days before the ward party for the carving so they would be in peak condition on the oh-so-important night.  Another major consideration was what they would carve.  Chris helped them scour the internet to find the perfect idea that was sure to win!

Noah and Ian were also excited to do some of their own work.  With the handy little tools that I thought I paid to much for, the boys were able to do it on their own.  Ended up being worth every cent!

I helped Sage.  After a vigorous search and trying to assert her opinion amongst the boys she settled on a Hello Kitty pattern for her pumpkin.  She loved it!

 

Ian's

Noah's

Sage's 

A day or so later it was time to dress up for the Trunk or Treat at the church. Sage was a pirate princess (the princess is due to the "princess" sleeves on her dress).  The eye patch came out just before we left and she (surprisingly!) loved it.  She wore it the whole night.  (I couldn't believe it!  What two year old really does that?  And why won't she leave hair things alone?)

Chris was Moses. Several thought him to be a shepherd.  Guess that makes some sense as he is the "shepherd of his flock."

Ian was a ninja again and Noah, having picked several months in advance, got his wish to be a skeleton. He is pictured here without his hood/mask because of a little scare we had. 

I was trying to pin Sage's pirate hat on when Noah came to show me his costume with everything on.  He appeared in the bathroom doorway.  I didn't even know he was there till Sage screamed and ran farther into the bathroom trying to get away.  The hat was part of the terror apparently because she refused to wear it or look at it again.  Noah very compassionately didn't put the hood on again in her presence.  In fact, I could hardly get a picture of him because he was worried about Sage seeing him and being scared.

There were games to play and some treats to eat before the Trunk or Treat but they were of virtually no consequence to the boys.  It was all about the jack-o-lantern contest.  I cannot express in words how relieved I was that both of the boys won a category.  Ian's was announced first-Most Original.  Noah's was announced next-Scariest. And then, after the funniest was announced, Sage won Crowd Favorite. Having them all win was slightly embarrassing but it really put the gold star on the evening for the kids.  Candy and a win-perfect combination!

Now, in Greendale they are smart and start school after Labor Day but they pretty much manage to nix any good feelings about that by the time Halloween comes around because they designate Sunday as the trick-or-treating day.  To make it less fun (in my opinion), in past years, the designated time was 1-4pm.  Just this year they changed it to 4-7pm but it is still on Sunday.

Sorry, folks, no can do.  We hand out candy and consider it being a good neighbor.  This year Noah totally got into it and was super diligent about answering the door and handing out candy.  I think he enjoyed seeing some of his friends come through in their costumes.

We made plans to go with some friends to a neighboring community who still trick-or-treat on Halloween.   It was a school  night so we wanted to get started early.  I picked up a pumpkin pizza for dinner.  He kinda turned into a clown pizza in the oven.

Then it was time to get the kids dressed in costumes.  Again.

I have friends who attended several parties and activities in the week prior to Halloween and by the actual day arrived they said they were all Halloweened out.  This was not actually my problem.  I went to the doctor that morning to confirm I had strep throat and get some medication.  By the time costume time came around again I was not in a great place, having not slept well in two days and feeling like I was swallowing ground glass.

It was finally accomplished. The only change was Sage-the lion costume allowed me to layer her up against the weather and provided a hood.  She didn't have to wear a coat over her costume.

Here is Noah with his hood.  We were super sneaky so Sage didn't see!

I opted (sadly!) to stay home.  The cold weather made breathing even more painful.  Chris took them out with our friends and they had a great time.  Sage even got brave and told Chris to stay back off the porches while she went up herself to say twick-or-tweet and tank you or happy h'weeeen!

I didn't get any pictures of their loot this year but it was enjoyed over the course of several days.  I even got better enough to enjoy a snitched candy bar or two!