Halloween 2020

 We made the most of Halloween this year. My kids really love Halloween and we let them do as much as was allowed/possible during this time. 

Friday night we went to a special drive in that we signed up for months ago. It wasn't at an actual drive-in, just at the soccer fields, so it was a little hard to hear, but luckily it was the movie Hocus Pocus (which we have all seen and love) so we didn't need the volume to be perfect. The kids were given gift bags when we arrived and they all snuggled in the back of Cinnamon while Jason and I shivered out on the camping chairs. It wasn't too cold, but cold enough! This was the first time any of them, except Karissa, had been to a drive-in. They're not really big around here, so we just never had the opportunity. I really liked having all our family together for a Friday night activity, something we haven't had for a while. My girls love their social lives, especially during covid!

Halloween being on a Saturday was a blessing this year. Also, the nice weather we had! We usually have rainy and very cold weather on Halloween, but it was sunny and pleasant. Austin had a soccer game that the parents dressed up in costumes for and some of us brought baggies of candy, which made the players' day. They won as well, so that's always nice!

Coach Garfield stretching with them!

Meanwhile, Karissa was carrying out the party that she had been planning for her and a few friends for months. She made cake pops, for the first time, and weren't a huge success in appearance, but tasted great! She put together a live game of Among Us that was a big hit with her friends. I made mummy dogs and ghost meatloaves served with mashed potatoes, carrots, and peas. After being here for 3 hours, Jason drove them to Olivia's house for trick or treating. They knew for sure that their neighborhood was doing trick or treat, whereas, in ours, we didn't really know. The church on the corner of our street had a trunk or treat, so I think a lot of people from our neighborhood went there. 

They're all comic book characters, so I don't really know them very well. Karissa is in the rollerblades in the middle as Poison Lilley.

Jason and I took the boys to Austin's friend Owen's house whose neighborhood was doing trick or treat. We enjoyed walking around with Owen and his little sisters (one is Erik's age) and their dad. They couldn't believe how few trick or treaters there were compared to other years. I couldn't believe how much everyone went out to make it nice for the kids. There weren't tons of houses, but about 1/4 of the houses had candy out either in a bowl on the ground, on a table, or in some other creative way. Some were on the driveway, some on the walkway or some on the lawn. One house had bags of candy, chips, and fruit snacks on bamboo sticks all over the lawn. The kids took a bag (or a few as they were told to) and put the sticks in a box before leaving. Another house had a literal buffet of candy, chips, juice boxes, and fruit snacks on trays and bowls at all levels on the edge of their lawn. Most people had signs that said how many bags of candy the kids could take, usually more than one. Lots of people were outside by their fire pits and told them to take as much as they wanted, and a lot of the candy was full size. One lady, who was at the end of a street and couldn't see what other houses were doing was very concerned about whether or not the kids were getting enough candy. I assured her that they were!

Pirate Erik, Bank robber Owen, All-State insurance guy Austin

candy trading at the end

Tower of candy!

Victoria went to a friend's house during Karissa's party and they walked back when Karissa and her friends left. She had three friends over and they ate the food we had prepared and passed out candy to the two or three families who came by, while watching shows. (Since no one had set up tables in our neighborhood like in Owen's, I didn't know about that good idea, so Victoria just passed it out candy the old fashioned way). 

Mad Hatter, Minnie, and Reindeer

With the blue moon and the time change, I thought that maybe we'd wake up to some magical morning of life back to normal, but we didn't. Oh well. Happy Halloween!

Before Halloween, I got to go to my High Fit class dressed up. Karissa's bow went nicely with my old uniform. 

The boys dressed up for "school" on Friday.

Still have our traditional pumpkin carving!