Halloween Time!

 I love fall here! Here's our house a couple of weeks ago, when all the colors were just right! (The large sycamore tree in the back never changes color until late November, early December, and then it's only brown...)

 We went to the Fall Festival display in downtown Plymouth. Victoria and Karissa didn't really want to go, but they enjoyed themselves too, though they didn't get in any pics.

A favorite of Austin's and Erik's. 

A huge Mr. Potato Head- it was so cool!

Dabbing

His favorite spooky one.

Another of Erik's favorites.

 The boys and I went to the Summit for some Halloween crafts, games, and donuts and cider.

 The annual Haunted Hallways at Miller Elementary is always a hit. The teachers go all out decorating the hallways and dressing up according to their particular hallway's theme. And of course, the kids get candy!

This year for his costume, Austin really wanted to dress up in a blow up dinosaur costume. Jason and I were skeptical. For one, they're expensive, so we had to hunt for one online for the best deal. He promised that Erik can wear it next year, or the year after, even though it is "his" costume. Also, a lot of them cover the face, which you can't do at the school or church parties. We found one that shows his face, but his face is about the same color as it, so it blends perfectly! Besides his face blending perfectly, we also decided that it was a pretty cool costume and he definitely got a lot of laughs out of it from everyone watching him try to walk quickly in it!

Erik decided to be Spider man since this is the last year that costume would fit him. He was going to wear Austin's Mario costume from two years ago (another stipulation for the dino costume, but we couldn't find the hat! Hopefully we'll find it by next Halloween).

Right before Haunted Hallways. I guess I could have really gotten into and moved they candy bags. I didn't think it would look this good!

Austin's good friend. His had a clear plastic square over the face.

 Two days after the Haunted Hallways, we had our ward Trunk or Treat. More candy, but dinner and games beforehand. Karissa actually had competition practice during most of it (remember they had a couple of last minute injuries and the party was two day before competition). She and Olivia arrived just in time for Trunk or Treat!

Olivia was a Demi God and Karissa was an old stuffed bear. She created the idea and costume herself. I didn't take a very good picture of hers, being so busy with all her cheer practices. She put an eyeball at the end of a slinky to make it look like the eye and spring had popped out, and then pinned some stuffing to her sweatshirt and leggings. Super creative!

Jason and I were Napoleon Dynamite and Deb.

Victoria was a pirate.

The parade

One of her friends was a tourist and the others didn't dress up, but they still had fun!

Halloween itself brought very cold and rainy weather. It rained all morning and early afternoon. Finally it stopped around 2 or 3. It was misty/rainy and extremely windy during Trick or Treat time. Lucky for us, we had lots of plans. Karissa went to Olivia's to trick or treat, which they did, most of the time. Victoria went with her third option of plans for the night and went to a party of a boy in the ward. She was disappointed not to trick or treat the first time ever, but she had fun and stayed warm and dry! We went with Austin's friend, Kaleb, and his brothers to trick or treat. Austin had made a map to figure out the most efficient way to get the most candy with the least work. It was a good plan, but we only made it about halfway before the boys decided that they were too frozen to go any further, so we cut out the other loop. They got just as much candy as any other year, since most people gave them handfuls of candy, literally. Hardly anyone was out because of the weather. Only 2 people went to our house! We were supposed to meet up with Erik's friend, Desmond, but they went home early too, so he and I just went there when we were done, to play and warm up with some wassail. The worst part of the weather was that Austin's dino fan, that blows the air into the costume, stopped running because of the moisture, so he was a floppy dinosaur.... At least Victoria has some candy now, with all the leftovers!

Until next year!