The Best Halloween

I love holidays. I get super excited to do the holiday-type activities that go with each one. I've learned, though, that kids get really excited for holidays, but the actual day is never as great as you expect or even hope for, at least at our house. This Halloween, however, was different. Maybe I was busier than normal (tending to an extra kid), or maybe my expectations were not as high, but when the day ended I realized that there were no big meltdowns, I didn't feel overly stressed, and we got to do everything we wanted to do.

- I got see the girls in their parade at school and still pick up Austin on time from preschool

 - Austin had a great time at his preschool trick-or-treat around the high school

Logan and Erik walking to pick up Austin

 - We started our trick-or-treat earlier than normal because it was cloudy and raining. One would think this would put a hamper on the activity, but it actually made it better. We got to got out earlier, people wanted to give us more candy for lack of other trick-or-treaters, we got back earlier and had time to bathe the kids before they ate some candy, and they still got to bed on time!

- The other good things about the day were that I got to introduce the game Clue to Victoria, which she loved, and we played 4 times (it's always been a favorite of mine). Logan was picked up earlier than normal to trick-or-treat with his brother at another friend's house, so I got to make pizza with just Karissa and Austin and not my extra 3-year-old helper. The kids and I read some Halloween books together and enjoyed some quiet time before getting our costumes on.

Here's my cuties in a leaf pile- 3/4 are looking at me with a smile!!

Before the church Halloween party the week before

Erik eating Cheetos from the party, something he discovered at a bar-b-que over the summer.

He also likes suckers...

A mummy, zombie, vampire, and leopard.

 One side note about costumes this year: Austin was going to be a scary cat, then changed to a skyscraper (something he wanted to be when he grew up too), then decided on a mummy. Obviously, he was not a mummy on Halloween. The mummy costume was hard to keep wrapped properly, so he decided to be rock-star instead. Victoria stuck with zombie for months. Karissa started with wanting to be Hello Kitty, then a fairy, and finally a vampire. She wore the vampire costume to school, then changed to the cat to trick-or-treat. Erik got to wear whatever we had for him, but was not fond with the hood on his head. He ate any fruity candy he got at the party, but does not like chocolate. Any chocolate flavor in the candy and he spits it out!

Had to pull this old costume out of the closet...

It was a great Halloween!!!