And Finally....

It's over. That was the longest Halloween week ever. Don't worry, I tried not to let my bad attitude spread to my kids. They still managed to enjoy the holiday. It was a little cold, wet and rainy for trick-or-treating, but they were undeterred. The little kids came in a little early, but the oldest 2 kept going as long as usual. Our trick-or-treat numbers were down a little but we still had a pretty steady stream all evening long.

Here's the crew before heading out. Peter had no idea what was going on but once the other kids headed out the door he followed just like he always does. Once he figured out the "hold out your bag and look cute and you get candy thing," he was in heaven. He came home with more candy than I had expected, that's for sure. And fortunately, he's not really big enough to ask me for it.

Jonas as a lego. (He never did get that extra coat of paint. Oh well.)

And, a lego with feet.

Samantha being abducted by an alien.

Amelia as the tooth fairy.

Duffy as Little Bo Peep.

We tried the duck costume on Peter and he made it very clear that he did not want it on.

However, I have him so well trained that when I stood him at the "picture wall" and pulled out the camera, he stopped his fit just long enough for me to take the picture, and then started right back up again.

In the end, he went as an elephant, (and seemed perfectly happy about it, too - once he saw himself in the mirror.)

A little post trick-or-treating fun. Peter loved playing in the lego and hiding his candy in the cups inside.

A little confession: even though it was Sunday, I spent some of my afternoon taking down the Halloween decorations because I couldn't stand it another day. Now I just need to get all of the costume pieces sealed into the boxes and put those away, too. Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

I Wish I Liked Halloween....

...but I really don't. It's too bad, since I'm usually pretty big on holidays and making them special and memorable, but I definitely think that going to Disneyland last year for Halloween was one of the best decisions we've made. There are still a couple of days to go and I am ready to be done with Halloween - pack it all up and put it away. We've already had a primary party, a neighborhood party, school parades and classroom parties and we still have trick or treating to do. I don't like to dress up. I don't particularly like carving pumpkins. (Not that I had any part of it this year. It was ALL Shawn at the neighborhood party.) There is so much drama over Halloween costumes every year, mind changing or indecisiveness. I have various pieces of various costumes from the costume box spread in EVERY room of the house. No matter how many times I pick them up, they are magically spread around again. And I can't really put the costume box away until Halloween is over and all of the costume pieces are back. (We have a little storage problem and the work involved in getting the box in and out is far more than I am willing to do more than once.) Every year, someone is still undecided the night before needing a costume and it always involves Shawn and I staying up late to make it happen. Then there's the guilt of only being able to attend the parade at one school since they take place at the same time. Jonas totally gets gipped. There were also plenty of complaints from Amelia because I was going to Samantha's class party but not hers. She ended up being sick anyway and not being able to go so I guess I signed up for the right one after all. ( I'll go to Amelia's class for Valentine's Day.) And don't even get me started on those darn "fun size" candy bars. I can walk past the regular size candy bars in the store every time without even an inkling of regret. They don't speak to me at all, but for some reason, I get a bag full of mini candy bars and I find myself popping them into my mouth all day long. I don't know why. Apparently, "fun size" tastes better and it also means you can eat lots of them. And that's just me. I don't even want to think about the amount of sugar that my kids have been ingesting over the past week and what's still to come! OK I'll (mostly) finish up my rant here and post a couple of pictures.

Jonas as a lego and Samantha as "Alien abduction." Apparently she is no longer happy with this costume and wants to switch for trick-or-treating. (Oh, for the love!) Jonas is hoping for another coat of paint since we ran out. Still waiting to see if that will happen.

Megan as Little Bo Peep. (Yep, that was yet another parade and program to attend - smack in the middle of nap time.)

The craft we did at Samantha's class party. They turned out pretty well - for most of the kids, anyway.

They got to make a tasty witch's brew.

And have mummy races.

A couple of photos from the neighborhood party. I was mostly absent since I was watching puppies be born so I missed all of the carving photos. Our neighbors go all out on decorating their garage and setting up tables and carving implements and then award trophies to the best pumpkins. Not to mention that dinner is provided as well, we just bring a side dish or dessert to share. Not a bad way to spend an evening - as long as I am eating and socializing instead of carving - and the decorations are amazing!

And the finished products - several days later. I think I like Jonas' cannibal pumpkin. I guess he gets points for creativity.

No photos yet of Amelia since she was home with a fever (poor thing) and Peter, who apparently doesn't like dressing up much either. ( He has also expressed a great dislike for masks and wigs. The other kids have been having a great time exploiting this fear.) I suppose those pictures will be forth coming. I guess it's official, I am a Halloween Scrooge. (Maybe I can blame it on genetics.)

Fall Activities

Jonas on the soccer field.
Fall was full of soccer. Jonas did Impact Soccer Academy this year. This involved a lot of time. We were all relieved when the fall season finally ended. But Jonas did have fun playing on the team with his friend Stuart and his cousin Robbie.

Of course, fall also involved a trip to Red Butte Garden for Garden After Dark.

The kids went to a primary party where the dress-up theme was cowboys and cowgirls.
Samantha, Amelia and Megan in their "duds".

As always, here in our own personal land of trees, fall involved lots of leaves. We loved the warm weather and Megan and Amelia especially liked to be outside. Everyday after sending Amelia off to school, Megan insisted that we eat our lunch out on the front porch.

And last, but not least, fall included dressing up for Halloween and going trick-or-treating. This was the first year that neither of us had to go out with the kids. They all went with friends or neighbors. It was kind of a nice change. It's been years since Shawn and I were both home on Halloween night.
Megan was an elephant although she did not want to wear her costume trick-or-treating. She just went as herself. It still worked though, as far as I know, she got candy at every house she stopped at.
Amelia was a pumpkin. She loves Halloween and talks about her costume, sings songs, etc.. for weeks in advance and then is very disappointed when it is all over.

Samantha was a gnome on a toadstool. We saw this costume in a magazine at the dentist's office and she decided that was what she wanted to be. Somehow, we managed to make it work and it held together until she got home.

Somewhere Jonas got the idea that he wanted to be a mop. (It could be because that is what we always call him - due to the amount and length of his hair.) At least it was an easy costume to pull off. He especially enjoyed spraying everyone with his "mop and glo".
And that is the quick version of October at our house.