Happy Halloween 2012

I have a love/hate with Halloween.  I love that my kids get to dress up, but  I hate having to come up with costumes every year.  It can get so expensive.  I feel like we should have set some ground rules in the beginning.  Rules like: You have to wear something we already own.  We've let them be whatever they want to be and very year they have a specific desire to be something.  I feel obligated to make it happen and then we end up spending so much money on the costumes.  But then when you see them all dressed up cute on Halloween Day, it kind of makes it worth it.....key words, kind of.....

Peanut Butter M&M's - the world's best Halloween candy - rather the WORLD'S best candy!

Halloween 2011

Halloween was a whirl this year. I think it is every year. It follows a couple of birthdays in our family and this October was exceptionally busy. We had Fall Break in the middle of the month and spent most of the week at Disneyland and then we came home to celebrate Brynn's birthday. Five days later, we headed to a cabin near Zion National Park with my parents and some of our mutual friends. We came home to celebrate Isaac's birthday and then the next day was Halloween. Whew!

We have a closet full of costumes (not kidding) but every year the kids want to be something other than what we have in the closet. Usually I cave and grant their requests, adding to that closet, but this year I decided to put my foot down and declare that we were using things we had. I am tired of the frantic run trying to find all the perfect things for them to wear one night and then be done with. The kids obliged and except for the fireman costume I bought for Aaron at Costco (yes, the one he wore for a week straight, but wouldn't wear on Halloween), everything came from things we already owned.

Brynn wanted to be a mime, but driving home from Zion on Sunday night I said, "Brynn we've got to come up with something else. We are in no way prepared to make you a mime." I suggested she be a marathon runner. She was excited to do that and she looked really cute.

Abby decided to be a good witch, using a skirt that she borrowed from Grandma's costume bin, her hat from last year, and some of her own clothes. She was a very cute good witch.

Aaron woke up and put on his race car costume from last year. Total floods, but I have no pride anymore. I was really hoping he would wear his fireman costume. He looked so great in it, but no such luck. I'm choosing to let him exercise agency. :)

Isaac wore the pirate hat and cape in the morning for a few minutes and in the evening he became Peter Pan. I think this was the third year he was Peter Pan. Aaron used it for about two years and it was a dress-up that Abby wore before that. Annette gave it to us when Abby went through a 9 month phase where she wouldn't let us call her anything but Peter Pan. It's one of my favorite costumes. I wish it came in my size. I LOVE Peter Pan!

It was a crazy day! I got the kids off in the morning and then rushed to the school to make it there for the parade. Aaron joined the a.m. kinders and then got confused and lost at the end (neither of us realized he would be joining the parade until the teacher pulled him into the parade enroute through the school). After finding him with his friend's mom, he looked at me with a tear-stained face and said over and over, "I didn't know what I was supposed to do." He's all about following procedures and when he doesn't know a procedure or when we shake things up a bit without warning, he becomes undone. After we reunited and talked things over, we hurried home to get the musical activity ready that I had promised to do for his class party. While I prepared, he and Isaac made a HUGE mess putting cereal all over the counter and floor. I was in the same room, but couldn't stop things fast enough. By the time I finished and the preparations and fed my tiger cubs it was time to get Aaron to p.m. kinder. I had yet to shower, but there was no time for that. After the class party, school ended so we headed home to get ready for the kids to go to choir and then after choir it was time to go home to clean the house for Trick-or-Treating. Did we eat dinner? I'm not really sure? I vaguely remember purposely feeding them something sugarless, but who know's? I'm not even sure what the kids wore Trick-or-Treating, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't what they wore to school. I had a relaxing evening at home handing out candy while Joseph traipsed through the neighborhood with the kids. I was happy to say farewell to Halloween and hello to monitoring the kids sugar intake. Halloween is a love/hate for me. I love Fall and Halloween is part of Fall. I love seeing people use their creativity, get outside of themselves, dress-up and have fun. I am not creative and I hate having to think of costumes and spending the money on things they will wear for one night. I hate the fact that they are given a truck-load of stuff that might turn into a soft addiction, ruin their teeth and make them sick. 'Til next year...cheers to you Halloween!

Our BIG Surprise and the Trunk or Treat

On October 30th we had a big day, followed by another big day on October 31st. My parents drove in to town on October 30th with cousin Delaney in tow. Brynn had no idea Delaney was coming. It was a fun surprise for her. I wasn't entirely sure either. I texted my mom late Thursday night and told her to call me before they left no matter how early it was. When I called her around 5 a.m. on Friday she told me that they had Delaney with them. When they arrived on Friday afternoon, my parents came in first and gave Brynn a note from Delaney expressing her congratulations and how she wished she could be there for Brynn's special day. She then told Brynn to go outside into the backyard because she had a surprise for her. We all walked into the backyard and Delaney was jumping on the trampoline. Brynn almost started hyperventilating. She didn't really know how to respond. I think that she was in literal shock. She was so excited and happy to have Delaney here. It was a real treat to have her with us.

We had our ward Trunk or Treat and Chili Cook-Off that night, celebrated Isaac's first birthday and made last minute preparations for Brynn's baptism on the morning of Halloween. It was one full weekend, but a very special one for us.

I actually dressed up for the Trunk or Treat but took my costume off because I was so hot (think temperature). I borrowed the idea from Wade and Sara. I dressed up as an AIG Executive at a Resort and Spa with my robe, towel turban and facial mask. Teh mask started to dry and became itchy, so I wiped it off. Only a select amount of people "got it," but those who did, thought it was hilarious! Come on people, don't you keep up on your current events?

Isaac was a trooper. It's a good thing he won't remember this birthday. I was so happy that he was born the day before Halloween and not on Halloween itself, but I am beginning to see that this could present some conflicts in the future. We'll have to get creative in his future birthday celebrations! We love our Isaac!

Thank goodness he is so easily pleased!

Woodland 1st Ward "Trunk or Treat"

We had our annual "Trunk or Treat" and chili cook off tonight. The girls were thrilled to finally get to wear their costumes. We had to beg Aaron to put his on and after being at the activity for about 30 minutes he decided to concede and become Peter Pan (again, for the 2nd year).Brynn as Giselle, from "Enchanted." When she told her ballet teacher what she was going to be, Naomi (her teacher) thought she was Giselle from the ballet. Brynn gave her a funny look when she started talking about Giselle dying and coming back as a ghost.

Brynn has informed me numerous times this month that Halloween is her favorite holiday. I wonder if she will be singing the same tune 2 months from now. We'll see!

I must be 9th months pregnant, because this dress is so impractical, but I let her talk me into it anyway. She has been so excited to wear it, we did have her wear one of Dad's big shirts over it while she ate. I had to hold my breath when she started eating a frosted cupcake from the cake walk without the "bib" on. I had to remind myself, "It's a costume, Amy, not a wedding dress."

Abby was determined to be a cheerleader the second she laid eyes on this costume. It killed her when I told her that we had to wait for it to go on sale. Anxiety kicked in and all she could talk about for days was how worried she was that the costume would be gone when we went back to get it. I told her, "Maybe it will be gone, but it won't be the end of the world." We were able to get our hands on one and she was thrilled.

I had it hidden for weeks and she would say a few times a week. "Mom, can I just LOOK at the costume? I promise I won't wear it...I just want to see what it looks like." We took quite a few peeks and a couple of times I caught her trying it on. I don't know why I was such a stickler? I guess I just wanted it to look nice un til Halloween. I think she will wear it so much now, that it will be thread bare by next year this time.

Aaron tried his first cake walk tonight. He was pretty serious about it.

Look at that focus in his eyes!

Abby helped move him along when he stopped on a favorite picture for a little too long.

And then, he finally won his prize. Hope it was worth it buddy!

Brynn found her twin at the party! It was cute to see her mannerisms as she walked up to tell her friend that they had the same outfit. Brynn was very quiet for the first part of the evening. So serious and not cracking a smile. I love it when she finally warms up to people and her personality comes out. It just takes a little while to crack that shell. I can totally relate.

It was a fun night. We have a two more days packed full of Halloween activities with friends. Luckily Brynn has had school off this week, so things have been more low key around here.

Happy Halloween!