When I was growing up, Halloween was a single day. A parade at school, then trick-or-treating at night. Well let me tell you, not any more! We celebrated all month long, and then some. I can't tell you how excited I was to finally put the Halloween costumes away for another year. Dressing up may be fun, but it's certainly exhausting.
Brooklyn grew so much this past year that she decided to wear the Halloween costume NomiAnn made for me years ago. She was the cutest Dorothy! We watched the Wizard of Oz in her honor and were amazed by the precision of NomiAnn's replica.
Our first Halloween event was held at Mabey's Pumpkin Patch. We'd been invited to a free event sponsored by City Creek Mortgage and weren't quite sure what to expect. It was impressive...
Albeit very muddy.
We sloshed through the fields to pick out our free pumpkins.
Some were heavier than others.
The photo booth was next.
Can't forget face painting.
Add in free donuts and hot chocolate for an evening well-spent.
Our next event: Little Haunts at This is the Place with Ruby. Ruby was the only one who remembered to dress up.
My children tried to adorn themselves with serpents instead. Wow, Talia, that snake is quite the fashion statement!
This kind of gives me the heebie jeebies. Is Annie holding one snake or two?
Next up, the pumpkin roll.
Can't forget the Halloween parade. Ruby was an adorable dinosaur.
Just not quite as large as this one. Best of all, the parade was followed by an actual candy cannon that shot out all sorts of blackened taffy.
We rode trains big...
...and small.
Many thanks to Justin, Brianna, and Ruby for inviting us to This is the Place with them. We had a hauntingly great time.
Class parties. Eli's class at Emerson celebrated Halloween early with cookie decorating, games, and more.
We sponsored the popcorn monster hand craft. So fun!
Next up, Halloween at the Leonardo. With such beautiful leaves on the trees, it was hard to want to go inside.
Fortunately, all the bubbly fun made it worthwhile.
Talia is quite the ham on green screen.
Waiting to mold sugar skulls.
Annika held an actual brain, then asked if she could hold the half brain, followed by a brain slice. Perfect for a future veterinarian, although she's going to have to get used to the smell of formaldehyde.
Girl Scout Spook Alley. You'd think the Leonardo would be enough Halloween for a single evening, but we crashed the Girl Scout Spook Alley as well where Brooklyn and Talia debuted as pirates. Eli and Annie enjoyed crafts and snacks while their sisters volunteered.
Still not satiated, the kids asked to celebrate Halloween at the Gallivan Center the next day.
This Pinkalicious fairy godmother looks ready to turn her pumpkin into a carriage.
Fun, but a bit (read a lot) too crowded for my taste.
One evening was set aside for pumpkin carving.
Our pumpkin has a visitor.
Spark thought his cage was pretty tasty.
Looking pretty good!
At last, October 31st arrived. My office at work put together quite the spooky food party.
The evening was filled with trick-or-treating, chili, cinnamon rolls, and a cauldron full of bubbling root beer. Justin, Brianna, and Ruby joined us for the trick-or-treating fun while Brooklyn's friend Chantal came over to help pass out candy. (The eighth graders decided they were too old to go door to door. Sad!)
Let's be honest. By this time, I was too Halloweened out to even bother with pictures. The kids were all pretty much the same except for Eli, who transitioned into Harry Potter courtesy of these cool glasses.
All in all, Halloween had enough sugary fun to last all year long.
