Halloween

How did it get to be Halloween already? I mean really, isn't it still August? This is the first year ever that I haven't had any desire to decorate or even bake (gasp!) for Halloween. When I finally pulled the HW box out on the 30th to look for a wig Aeryn wanted to wear my gut reaction looking at everything was "Ugh. I so don't want to look at any of this stuff." My fall has been spent thinking about Ellie's birthday instead so Halloween has just felt like a little bit of a nuisance that happens between her birthday and Thanksgiving. I blame working. Well, working and a lack of dark chocolate in the house.

Though admittedly there has been a bit of crazy excitement for Tate's first Halloween mixed in with my indifference. I mean, I may be stressed and busy now but I'm still a completely sappy mother.

Tate was a tiny T-Rex. It was pretty darn cute, even if it did look almost exactly the same as the million or so green dragon costumes we crossed paths with.

Aeryn wanted to be Catty Noir from Monster High, but the costumes for sale don't come large enough for her anymore and she didn't get super excited about me making it for her. We went looking for fabric and picked some out but ended up leaving without it because the cutting line was ridiculously long and slow moving. In the car on our way home the creativity started flowing.

I had suggested being a Vet, since she loves animals to an extreme level, but it was quickly vetoed. Then we got home and Jim suggested being a Vet and she jumped all over that idea. It seems mom's ideas are just not cool. Somehow it was all forgotten though and she decided to recycle last year's Aphrodite costume with one small change. Instead of the pink scarf and blond hair she wanted a blue scarf and brown hair. I was a bit of a stinker though and wouldn't buy a new wig. In the end her Athena costume looked pretty much the same as her Aphrodite one and I was glad that all my challenges sewing the dress last year actually proved to be worthwhile.

Our ward doesn't throw Halloween parties. Well, they did, until last year when some unfortunate scheduling put the ward party on the same night as a Duck football game and we had to cancel. That was the end of the ward Halloween festivities in these parts. One family decided they wanted a gathering anyway and recruited ward contributions to put together a little celebration complete with chili cookoff, games, and trunk or treating that took place in the building classrooms instead of the parking lot because of rain.

Tate spent most of the evening playing with the bars underneath this table and Aeryn ran off with friends and did her own thing. It was really fun and I think the activities committee was happy to enjoy the party without the stress of running it.

We walked around with Aeryn and a bunch of our neighbor friends trick or treating in our apartments. Every year I am surprised how many people make our apartments a key destination in their trick-or-treating because they are filled with BROKE COLLEGE STUDENTS. It's not like we're the ones handing our super amazing candy. Half of the residents are international students who don't really understand the point of this holiday (truthfully, I don't either) and give out completely random stuff they find in their kitchen cupboards. It is always an adventure.

Evidently we were the "big candy" apartment this year because I bought boxes of rice krispy treats from Costco to give out. I thought I was being cheap because it cost less than the good chocolate, but I suppose the larger size was impressive to some of the cute little ones. The only problem is that my hubby doesn't get to raid any Halloween leftovers which makes the cheaper choice a failure on that count. Lesson learned. Next year I'll buy both and hide the good stuff from the kids.