Halloween 2009

My kids were so excited for Halloween this year. My girls really really wanted new costumes. It was really about time because the last couple years I've just made them wear whatever they had lying around. I know, lame. This year, they begged and begged for me to make them new costumes. I was a little hesitant because they both wanted to be Miss Kitka. Who is Miss Kitka, you might ask? Catwoman from the 1966 version of Batman (which, if you haven't seen it, you're in for a real treat. "Holy heartbreak Batman!" "No, no. It's just one of those things... in the life of... every... crimefighter"). So anyway, I wasn't sure about making two Miss Kitka costumes. Well Liah never relented, so here is the original:

...and here is what I came up with:

She was sooo excited. Jeremy was a little shocked. Emily decided last second that she actually wanted to be Erika from Barbie's Princess and the Pauper. I was secretly relieved. Yay, my little girl wants to be a little girl for another year! A couple years ago, she was the princess from the Princess and the Pauper, and this year she was "the pauper." Here is the original:

...and my version:

I even made the girls' headbands. You may notice the serious lack of frill on Emily's Erika dress. I had to "Emily-proof" this dress. She lives in her dress-ups, and consequently trashes them (i.e. plays in the dirt, spills food, etc.). So this year she got a mostly frill-free, completely washable dress. She was thrilled, and so was I since within the hour of her wearing her new dress, she spilled applesauce all over it.

I stayed up super late making these costumes the Saturday night before I went to California because I realized the girls' school party was while I would be gone. So I decided to be a good mom and actually make them the costumes they had been begging for.

Seany's school Halloween party was on the 26th. He was a fireman again this year. I stayed with him at preschool that day because he had been so sick, but I still wanted him to get to go. He was so excited to go, but didn't really want to participate in much. He still raved about it afterward though.

Decorating cupcakes:

Decorating treat bags:

Singing their fall songs... he wouldn't sing at all and it was all I could get him to do to stand up there with the other kids. I know he knows all the songs though because he sings them at home. One of the "songs" they did is "The 5 little pumpkins." For a while, he would recite it to Addison all the time while they were "going to sleep" in their room. It was so cute to hear that over the monitors because Addy thought it was hilarious and would just laugh and laugh.

Our ward Halloween party was that night too. The kids had so much fun playing games, getting faces painted, and of course trunk-or-treating.

Addy was a cowboy for the Halloween party. When Jeremy and I were in Texas back in August, we got the boys Sheriff badges and cowboy hats at the Alamo. So that's what Addison was. I think he makes the cutest little cowboy sheriff ever.

The night before Halloween, our awesome neighbors invited us over for pumpkin carving. It was so fun! I made the wolf one. That is Emily's white pumpkin that she got from the pumpkin patch with her class. She was so excited to find a white pumpkin. And she begged for the wolf scene or the "bright night", as she calls it. I thought it turned out great. Jeremy made the one next to it, which was Liah's pumpkin that she got from her teacher. She requested that design. I didn't get a very good picture of it, which is too bad because Jeremy spent so much time on it and it really did come out well.

I made this one the next day for Sean. He really wanted a "pirate punkin," but I ran out of steam the night before. He loves it.

Halloween night, we had our neighbors over for dinner. We had our usual Halloween spread of "Yummy mummy dogs" and "Creepy yummy bug juice." This year we also added pumpkin jello jigglers (orange flavor, have no fear). Oh so healthy. Perfect right before going out and getting boat loads of candy. We did at least have salad and grapes, too. :)

Here are the kids right before going out trick-or-treating. You may notice Addison is not a cowboy in the picture. The hat kind of makes the outfit, and since he doesn't actually "wear" the hat, and he would be riding around in a stroller, it wouldn't really work to have the hat behind his back like we did at the ward party. My neighbor had given me this outfit for him, so I used it. Why not. Addy was a Raider's fan for Halloween. lol.

Poor Sean had been so sick, he hardly lasted a couple houses before he was just too tired to walk. We brought the double stroller because we planned on that happening. So he rode between most houses. It's amazing the drive the prospect of endless candy can put into kids though, even when they really don't have energy. ("Got to get the candy!!!")