Scenes from Halloween 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

From November 10, 2011

We had a spectacular Halloween this year.  The weather was beautiful, and everything was amazing.  We had over 600 trick or treaters, we ran out of candy at the very end, and I had to dip into my kids' Sunny D's for the last few, but we were very, very pleased. 

Family Pumpkin Carving

On the 30th, we went to the annual pumpkin carving party for Cole's family.  His Aunt Kathy and Uncle Rex are kind enough to host us every year.  We usually have soup and treats, and the cousins get to hang out and carve...

From October 2011

(Talia's hair in curlers in preparation for her costume)

From October 2011

From October 2011

My kids are pro's at this by now...but Alec especially has a creative vision...

From October 2011

From October 2011

Kyle struggles with creative vision, but you can't fault his heart!

From October 2011

Me and my Princess!

Halloween 2010

Well, the day finally arrived.  Actually, it was the day before the "real", holiday, but to my mind, trick-or-treating on Saturday night was much better than going on Sunday night.  More time, less pressure...


...and more rain? 

The rain started around 5pm.  I was hoping it would stay a light drizzle, but it steadily increased...but we were undaunted.  We got the kids all dressed up...
The "Sword Princess" and the Pirate...

From October 2010

A Scarecrow...

From October 2010

From October 2010

Shortly after 6, Alec, Talia, and I braved the rain to trick or treat.  Cole and Kyle took their places in the yard...

My little trick-or-treaters...

From October 2010

Shortly after we started, a beautiful rainbow appeared, giving me hope that the rain might stop...

From October 2010

(I was disappointed when I uploaded this pic, I forgot that I had boosted my ISO to 800 for the kid's pictures with no flash, so this image turned out grainy...bummer!)

After we were done in our neighborhood, we met up with my family and headed over to my grandma's for donuts.  I got home, helped Alec and Talia out of their costumes, and let them watch a movie while I took some pics in the yard...

From October 2010

From October 2010

From October 2010

From October 2010

Me and my scarecrows!

From October 2010

From October 2010

Then we shut everything down....and after getting the kids to bed, and getting cleaned up, Cole and I crashed into bed around midnight...

I wasn't quite sure what to expect on the 31st..but we only got a couple of trick or treaters. 

It was a good year, and now I don't have to have any Halloween discussion for the next 56 days!  It's MY break!

Preview Party...

For the past couple of years, Cole has tested his lighting and effects the night before Halloween, and we've invited friends and family over to enjoy it with us.  This year, we decided increase the scale...

We've been disappointed the last few years that there was no ward halloween party planned.  We weren't the only ones, and with the help of a good friend and her family, we decided we would have a party.  Cole needed help carving his 60 pumpkins, and we always do the lighting preview, so we thought it was perfect timing. 

If you missed it, you missed out...we had a great time!!!!

From October 2010

All the neighborhood kids enjoyed helping us carve pumpkins...

We enjoyed hot dogs, chili, cupcakes, and donuts...

From October 2010

***side note: our house is considered one of the scariest in the neighborhood.  Some of the kids never want to come, and their parents force them.  Cole figured that if they saw it in the daylight, and could look for "their" pumpkin during trick or treating, they might not be quite as scared...we'll see how that plays out :)***

Then, the lighting...

From October 2010

Hanging out while Fred roasts over the fire...

From October 2010

Good Times. 

Talia's Halloween Party...

I took Talia over to her daycare/preschool for their annual Halloween party.  It was so much fun, I felt like a loser mom for never taking her before...

From October 2010

Playing a halloween "Twister" type game...

From October 2010

With one of her little friends...

From October 2010

The pumpkin still had it's "guts", as well as some tiny plastic bugs inside.  I was totally cracking up as all the little kids tried to get each other to reach inside and touch...

From October 2010

Getting her "tatoo"...

From October 2010

"bobbing" for apples...

From October 2010

Yummy! 

From October 2010

The 2 preschool classes...

At the end of the party, we lined up to walk over to the hospital.  Every year, the daycare kids Trick-or-Treat on the main level of the hospital...

From October 2010

Lining up...

From October 2010

Trick or Treat!

It was fun, but I was totally exhausted by the end...only to have to go home and prep for the party we were throwing that night...