HALLOWEEN 2008

I have so many Halloween pictures that I have been dreading this post.  But now that it's mid November already (unbelievable) I think Daniel has waited long enough to see the kids in their cute outfits.

Here's Chase as an authentic soldier.  His helmet, goggles, and holster are all of Daniels gear from last tour that they have since upgraded and issued new.  His uniform was a Christmas gift in 2006 complete with stitched name badges.  We were lucky that still fit, probably the last year though.

MacGregor was a clone trooper.  He got this voice changer helmet for his birthday last summer.  Even though the costume came with a plastic mask, he insisted on wearing this oversized head.  It was very hard for him to see as he was walking up and down peoples' porches.  He kind of looks like a dwarf with this on but whatever makes him happy.  He loves posing.

Everyone knows how I feel about Halloween costumes.  (I really don't have the energy for them and I hate spending a lot money on something they will only wear once.)  So Ainsley's costume this year was a total blessing.  We found it in my sister Brinn's closet in my parents house when my mom was packing up before the move.  Thanks Brinn, hope you don't mind.  The costume was adult size so I had to hem the skirt.  I just hand tacked the bottom of the skirt to the elastic waist band basically divided the skirt in half.  Then we added the turtle neck and I think she turned out to be a Beautiful Cleopatra.  And since it was adult size we can keep adjusting the dress to different sizes.  Do you think Ainsley would be OK being Cleopatra for the next 7 years?

And here's our LITTLE LAMBY.  She was Lamby last year but since I did buy her costume from a catalog, I made sure it was big enough for at least 2 years.  (You have to get your money's worth.)  I think she actually looked cuter this year in it than last.

They are all so cooperative.  It was impossible to get a decent picture!

Halloween was a Friday this year and the kids actually had off school.  We spent the day at Cherry Crest Adventure Farm.  It was AWESOME - and it will be a post all on its own.  Coming soon I hope.  We plan on making Cherry Crest an annual event.  

We got home from the farm around 6:15 pm, threw in some frozen pizzas, got everyone ready and walked our street (of which only about 1/3 of the people were home or had candy sitting on their porch).  It was OK by me.  Because we don't get many kids on the street, most people give out several candy bars or a full size one.  The kids certainly got enough candy and I didn't have to walk all night long.  It was perfect.  We came back from trick-or-treating, ate dinner then took the boys to a Halloween party.  We then settled in and watched our new favorite series, "Crusoe" the pirate show on NBC.  It was a perfect Halloween...really.

We also had a "trunk-or-treat" at our ward building two days before Halloween.  I honestly think the kids had more fun there.  The youth did games in the gym.  Here is Ainsley catching something great on her fish pole.  They also had one of those hidden bowls full of eye balls (grapes), a brain (mold of elbow macaroni) and intestines (spaghetti noodles).  Ainsley would NOT even go near it!!  It was so funny.

Shaving a balloon.  I was a little horrified that they were letting the kids play with razors with real blades.  I mean they were holding very slippery balloons - Ainsley did not pop hers.  I was making her be too careful.

The boys were in heaven hanging out with their friends.  They have such good friends in this ward.  Good Kids!!

With Aaron M.

With Taylor R. (as Legolas the Elf but he wouldn't wear his blond wig)

With Carter H., Nick E. and Brady B.

Ainsley even found a few friends - OK it was just Aunt Emmy and Uncle J.  It's so fun to see them at ward activities.

With our good witch friend - Rachel P.

OK here's the funniest thing about that night - It was supposed to have been outside and people were supposed to have decorated their trunks.  We had a real cold spell so it ended up being inside.  I had not decorated our house this year because our boxes were still pretty mixed up since we finished the basement.  I happened to find the Halloween box earlier in the day so I grabbed the whole box and brought it with us.  Every classroom was already taken by the time we got there so we ended up in the big primary room.  We just haphazardly put the decorations up on the podium - no rhyme or reason.  Here's Dad pretending he was giving a primary talk amongst the all the decorations that remind us of the day of the dead.  Nice Huh?

Dad stayed and passed out candy and I took the girls around to all the upstairs rooms and activities - (We have a weird building layout - the primary room and nurseries are downstairs, but all the other classrooms, the gym, RS room and chapel are upstairs.) When I came back at the end of the night my dad said someone had come down and given him this:

YEAH BABY!!!  WE WON!  

(I don't think anyone else had any decorations.)