Halloweentime

We are feeling crazy busy this year.  Like we’re a little bit in over our heads crazy.  I don’t know if it’s the idea of a new baby coming or the hormones or if it’s the fact that I work 25 hours a week now or if it’s just getting used to each of the kids having separate schools and separate activities on their separate schedules.  Not sure, but I’ve been feeling more than ever the need to nap at nap time and less than ever the time or ability to do so.  So there you have my overgeneralized excuse for not posting more frequently.

That said, the things that are important to our family still stay that way.  Like celebrating holidays. 

We carved an award-winning jack-o-lantern together this year.  It was “Jack” from the Nightmare Before Christmas movie, carved from a white pumpkin.  The kids loved it, because they recognized Jack (or “Sandy Clause”) from the Haunted Mansion ride in Disneyland.  Although he is as friendly as any skeleton could be, the kids found him to be sufficiently spooky, and they felt like they had to be a little brave every time they even passed him by. 

Gabe and Ari helped with cleaning out the pumpkin.  Bella wasn’t so enchanted with the idea of putting her hand in the goop so she helped in her own little way by keeping us all entertained.

    

Did I happen to mention that our jack-o-lantern was award-winning?  Oh, just checking.

  

We went to trunk-r-treat in the church parking lot and got to socialize with all the cool people we see every week but rarely get to really talk to.  And there was a chili dinner with nearly thirty pots of chili (bonus, right?).

Aaaand, Gabe got to fight his nemesis once again in the flesh.

On Halloween night, we attended our annual Lantana Halloween Block Party, which I feel so so lucky to be a part of each year.  Every year, they close off our street for a huge soiree with a Halloween feast, costume contests, jack-o-lantern contests, hayrides, and merrymaking.  We then go off trick-or-treating as the child-free adults on the street stay out and pass out candy for all the houses with children so all the parents can accompany their kids around the neighborhood.  It’s one of our traditions that we always invite our good family friends, the Edwards’ to join us.  It’s an awesome time every single year.

I had two Disney princesses:  Cinderella and Snow White <3. 

  

Gabe was going to be a knight (to go along with the royal theme), but he desperately wanted to be Obi Wan Kenobi.  I caved and let him have his way :).  He really got into character.

 

We went out trick-or-treating.  They had a blast.  I barely got any pictures of them, because the crew paraded at least thirty paces ahead of us, in quick pursuit of their next piece of booty.  Nobody was timid of soliciting the candy and ringing doorbells and greeting new faces anymore.  Not even Ari.  She was all smiles, all the time.  However, they were all very imaginative when it came to the neighbors’ spooky decorations.  Some were found to be fascinating, while others were at times downright terrifying to Gabe and Bella especially.  It’s nearly Thanksgiving, and I’m still hearing about the who had which scary ghost that came up from behind a gravestone, or a caged man (don’t remember this one myself), or a courtyard full of spiders.  Anytime Bella encountered dry ice sublimating, she began to worry that Ursula was in the process of stealing her voice.  They like the thrill of being spooked, and I love watching it.  That is, after all, the point of Halloween I think.

 

I’m starting to believe that the kids eat more candy with each passing year than they did the year before…

  

But with the increase in candy consumption seems to come a corresponding increase in fun.  And for only one day a year, I am good with that.