happy halloween!

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays. There are so many fun things to do with kids. This year I tried really hard to tone it down from my usual level of craziness. I think I did pretty well. I wasn't nearly as exhausted afterward as I usually am.



Ashton's "super scary" jack-o-lantern

I was in charge of Alex's class party (note: don't put your name on the room mom sign up sheet if no one else has signed up!) Rob came dressed in a scary costume and told the kids a way too scary story that he made up on the fly. It was a really good story, but I thought some of the kids were going to cry. Alex was pretty popular that day. The kids all thought Rob was really cool. I helped with Ashton's class party, too, but I forgot to take my camera.

The kids getting ready to go trick-or-treating (sorry! I just realized the pictures are kind of out of order) We were glad that Ella joined us this year.

Joseph and Kelsi

Ashton in his ghost costume (with makeup) getting ready to go to the school carnival and then the ward party. My kids costumes were really awful this year - long story - but they didn't care, so I tried not to either.

We had an impromptu halloween party for the boys. They invited some neighbor kids over to watch a movie and play. It was really fun, and much more low-key than last year's extravaganza.

I found this candy foot at the store while I was with the kids. It was "100% edible with crunchy candy bones". It was truly disgusting. The boys totally freaked out at the store. They cried when I put it in the shopping cart. Actual tears. When I told them we were going to eat it at the party, you would have thought I was torturing them. They wouldn't even walk by the shopping cart, but every once in a while I would see them glance sideways at it. The rest of the day they kept asking me "that candy foot is just for decoration, right?" Of course I didn't make them eat it, but we had fun the whole day teasing each other about it. I'm not actually sure what Alex was. He just wanted to be scary. He started out being a dementor (from Harry Potter) and then switched to a grim reaper, I think. Whatever. A black robe is pretty versatile.

dancing to thriller in the strobe light turned into a giant dog pile - that's how we knew it was time for all the kids to go home

Our annual halloween feast includes: witch fingers, eyeballs, and other assorted vegetables,

chili cooked in a pumpkin,

and spider potion among other things.

I was sad this year that the boys didn't actually believe me when I told them we were drinking blood, etc. They were wise to me, but it was still fun.

getting ready for trick or treating...

Mara wasn't happy to be wearing her costume. She perked up when she got to take her purse trick or treating to a few houses. She loves taking her purse anywhere, and she got treats to boot.