Too Much Halloween!

Halloween being on a Saturday this year meant that we had many opportunities to participate in Halloween activities. Not only did they get to wear costumes to school the day before Halloween and enjoy their parties in class, but they got to dress up again to trick or treat the next day. Not to mention the week before when Miller hosted its first annual Haunted Hallways after school on a Thursday. The kids got to dress up and experience the "haunted" hallways of Miller, put on by the teachers, including candy given out and cookies at the end. This was a tradition of the previous Gallimore teachers. They want to successfully embrace the traditions from both schools to make everyone feel at home at Miller.

Two days after Haunted Hallways was the church trunk or treat party with our awesome Scooby costumes. Two days after that was Erik's preschool party, held at my house. Phew! There was a lot of Halloween around here!

This was our attempt to get all the kids in the same picture. 

This is what had to happen in order for Erik to cooperate, in turn helping the others too. 

The boys helped clean up the leaves in the front. 

They love our pull-up bar.

Besides parties at school, the day before Halloween which I did not participate in, I got to go to the parades at both schools. Luckily, the kids didn't get much junk at their school parties, just fun experiences in class.

Karissa and her BFF Olivia at the Gallimore parade.

Austin's class.

Evil Cat.

Grumpy old man again at the Miller parade.  Some of her friends didn't know who she was! Notice that Karissa and Austin made a costume change. It was too cold for short-sleeved Shaggy and Karissa didn't want to be Velma without the rest of the "gang".

Halloween morning was the perfect time for us to try out a cider mill called Franklin's that we've wanted to try for a while. It's sort of near the Detroit Temple. They have been reported to have the best cider around here. With dance and ice hockey in the late morning, we had to go first thing to the cider mill. So, the kids got to have donuts and cider for breakfast! Actually, I really enjoyed being there before the crowds and bees. It was cool, crisp, and quiet in the little town of Franklin. The kids enjoyed being outside and watching the ducks. The donuts were a German recipe. They are made with the cinnamon sugar on the inside instead of being covered on the outside, so it made for cleaner donuts that had a more sweet bread feel to them. They were warm and very good. The cider was excellent! I couldn't say if it was the best, since I didn't have any other to compare it with at the moment.

Franklin's Cider Mill

Trick or treating was different for me this year. Erik didn't ride in the stroller up to each step this time. He walked with the big kids the whole 45 minutes and was happy to carry his big heavy bucket at the end, especially if it meant he would get more candy! I got to stroll on the sidewalk the whole way with my friend and neighbor, Cathy, and talk to all the other parents I came across. The weather was chilly and wet, as usual, but it didn't rain too hard on us, thanks goodness! We finished the night at the church on the corner (our neighbor's church). They invited us to their party where the kids played some games and got more junk, including hot dogs. Erik was home with Jason by then, enjoying his loot and a football game.

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Trick or treating with friends. Scooby became a bucket-head for the picture. 

I decided the next day that we had had too much Halloween!