Halloween Recap

Yeah, I know. We are almost to Thanksgiving - but you've come to expect that in me, right?

Halloween was a blast this year! It came and went and we didn't have time to carve pumpkins, go to a pumpkin patch or eat any fun halloween treats. I usually host a Halloween party, but once again, I didn't this year. Jeff's MBA takes up a lot of our time (yes, mine too...someone has to be home while he is at school!). Luckily, our friends invited us to a Halloween party. It was a blast!

I was a flower, if you can't tell. I put glitter on my eyes. A

dalyn told me I was beautiful. I didn't know that was all it took! ;)

Here's the guy that won the costume contest. Ol' Abe himself!

We went to the Halloween parade at Jake's school. This photo (above) is proof that I actually dress my children up for holidays. But usually, by the time we leave the house, someone's hairbow is missing, socks dirty and clothes have been changed. For some miraculous reason, none of those things happened this day!

He couldn't wear his mask to school, so I guess a lot of people asked what he was. Duh! Hasn't anyone seen Transformers??

Saturday finally came and we started our evening festivities. We headed to the Wright's to say hi, then we booked it down to Mimi's to trick or treat.

Juliana was a cute princess. She was all ready with her trick or treat bag!
For some reason, this little girl knew what she wanted to be months before Halloween. I really, really, really wanted to make her a costume this year (I've had my eye on a witch dress for years) but she would not deviate! I found this cute costume at Disney store for 1/2 off. Once she saw it in the window, she booked it out of her stroller and into the store. By the time I found her, she was in the dressing room frantically tearing off her shirt to try this dress on! I've already gotten my moneys worth! It has been worn to the store, the library, the mall, and yes, even church (for primary practice rehearsal.)

And we had to get the matching shoes, of course!!

Now can you tell? He's Optimus Prime! This was the first year that Jake went trick or treating with his friends. His best friends' cousins live right across the street from my parents. As luck would have it, we tend to meet up there every Halloween! This year, his friends asked if Jake could go trick or treating with them around the neighborhood. The girls were done, so I let him go with the boys (don't worry, it was around the neighborhood, and a dad went with them). It was a "he's all grown up" moment for me. I kept sticking my head out the window to watch for him. I hate how fast they grow up!

We were orignally going to come back to our house to finish our trick or treating, but, like always, there was something exciting to do there. Daren started a tradition before he left on his mission. He brewed homemade rootbeer, placed it in a metal box and buried it in the garden. We opened it up when he returned from his mission. Ryan also did the same thing before his mission. Halloween seemed the perfect night to dig it up, seeing as how it's called "Operation Blackbeard."

Everyone (but me) took turns digging. It took a very, very long time. Things sped up when we realized that we (ok, they) were digging in the wrong spot! Ryan finally went inside, found Dad's photos of him placing it in the ground and announced we were digging about 2 feet to the east of the actual location. We finally hit the jackpot! (And this was only the beginning on the gleaming booty!

Then we popped the tops, took a shot glass and drank it up! Was it any good you ask? Depends on who you ask. I thought it tasted like bed dough mixed with cough medicine. Strangely, my girls couldn't get enough. (And before all you uptight people start commenting, it isn't possible for it to become alcoholic. You have to add more ingredients. So calm down!)

But that didn't stop everyone from pretending it was spiked! The "drinking games" began! ;)

It was a fun, fun night!