Halloween 2017

Same place, new year, new costumes.  We love Halloween!

 Sadie has been wearing this costume around the house for years.  Last year I told her it was still too big for her.  This year, she finally got to wear it.

 Dylan fell in love with Harry Potter last year and so this costume was a no-brainer.  Especially since I had all the stuff except the glasses from when Kylee liked Harry Potter and was Hermione. 

 Kylee talked about doing a group costume with her friends.  I gave them ideas, they shot me down.  Finally I offered this nerd costume I had used a few years ago and she was happy with it.  Score.  Three costumes down and the only purchase I had made so far was the round glasses for Harry.

 That brings us to Kaden.  A quick Pinterest search for toddler costumes pulled up a train and I knew immediately that I had to make it happen.  This kid loves trains so much!  He looked at the pictures with me and got really excited.  I got online and found the engineer costume, which was super cute in itself.  Then I started a game plan for the actual train.  A big diaper box and ice cream tub (from my neighbor).  Another Amazon box cut in half, a small round oatmeal container trimmed.  I bought a push-on light which was super cute and fun, but too many little hands played with it and ran the batteries out before trick-or-treating started.  Besides that, the toddler was done trick-or-treating before it got dark. And he refused to wear his train while trick-or-treating, so no harm done.

BUT, look how stinking cute it is!!  Red, black and gray paint.  Some duct tape, and done!

 He was the cutest walking around with it saying, "choo choo".  Kaden loved Halloween.  He loved seeing all the "scary guys" in the stores (especially the big glowing one at Sam's Club).  He loved the witch that crashed into the house at the front of our neighborhood.  He loved seeing everyone else dressed up.  When the kids were getting ready for school he kept laughing and saying, "you guys look so different."

We went to the school earlier to help with Math in Dylan's class.  About 12:30 Kaden told me it was naptime.  I said, "actually we are going to the school to party instead!" Lol.  He did okay, had fun watching the parade, but during Kylee's class party he crashed on my shoulder for an hour.  Then of course wouldn't nap any longer at home so I knew he was going to wear out fast that night.

The parade at the school is fun.  The kids walk by so fast.  It's funny to watch how the costumes get scarier as the kids get older.

 Then after the parade, we partied in Kylee's class.  I'm one of the room moms and I organized the party.  Grandma Cheryl was in town this year (usually they leave for warmer climates before Halloween) so I asked if she would come help in class.  It was great having her there and I think she had fun with the kids.

 Eating worms from a plate covered in whipped cream without using hands (Kylee had to use her hands to hold her hair).  It was supposed to be like a Fear Factor thing, but really just fun and yummy and messy.  Kaden begged and begged form worms until I gave him gum and he fell asleep. Poor kid.

 I guess my kids are old enough that they take off by themselves now.  Dylan went with Jaxen (Dr Strange).  They ran hard for maybe an hour and a half.  Then Jaxen grabbed his bike so they could go the back of the neighborhood.  Dylan said it was a bad idea and he didn't get his.  He knew their capes/robes would be too long.  Well, Jaxen's cape got stuck in his chain before they made it over the canal so they walked back to his house.  His parents told him he had to stay in.  And instead of going off alone or trying to find someone else to accompany, Dylan chose to stay in and hang out with Jaxen.  He already had a lot of candy, though he had eaten a good amount, and shared with Dad (good kid).  But I think he regretted that decision a little later when he saw how much Kylee and her friends brought home...

Sadie started with Kaden and I, but immediately ran off with Brynlee and Cambry once we got to their house.  So that left just Kaden and I, and we hung out with Jen and Porter (Porter is a few months younger than Kaden).  So that was fun.  We just walked with the toddlers.  Jen had a stroller to help Porter.  I made Kaden walk.  He would run most of the time, but then he had to stop to eat candy so he would get really slow.  It was quite cold out there!  We made it around our block almost and he decided he was done.  No more candy.  No more houses.  I needed to carry him the four houses home.  Well, I had his train in one arm and a slippery coat on so that wasn't easy.  But we made it back.  He ate some candy and watched TV and fell asleep before I realized it and we had to wake him up to brush his teeth.  The excitement is not easy for a toddler.

 Kylee and her friends were gone for two hours or more.  Averi was a shoulder angel/devil.  Sydni was Cassia, the girl on the cover of the book Matched.  She had a jacket in her pillowcase but she never put it on.  Crazy!  It was too cold for me without hat and gloves.  They ran around and hit everyone house north of the canal.  Then came home and dumped their haul.

It was a bit ridiculous!  They had fun sorting it and playing around until friends had to go home. 

Yes, Halloween is super fun.  When you're a kid.  Honestly, I had a hard time getting excited about trick-or-treating (or answering the door to all the people knocking on ours).  I made chicken broccoli rice casserole early so the kids could eat and get going.  Kylee and Sydni liked it.  Dylan said, "I don't care what it is, I'm going to just eat it fast so I can go."  And he did.  Sadie, on the other hand, whined.  She had a cute friend waiting for her and she was taking forever.  Kaden didn't love it either.  I can only assume part of that is because they ate junk at school.  Kaden makes himself gag when he doesn't want to eat something.  He will tell me beforehand, "I'm going to spit it out."  Before I even give him a bite.  He had a couple bites and did fine and I was pushing him to eat one more.  It was quite a battle.  I finally got it in his mouth, and sure enough, he gagged and spit stuff out all over the floor.  A minute later Sadie pukes up all over her hands, costume dress, etc.  I stood there shocked thinking what on earth?  Is the food rancid?  But the rest of us ate it just fine.  I guess Sadie saw Kaden's nasty stuff and caused her to gag too since she was struggling with a bite already.  Ugh.  I sent Trynleigh away so she wouldn't have to wait anymore.  Ryan cleaned up Sadie's dress and threw it in the dryer, and I told them to eat a bunch of veggies instead of the casserole so I would feel better about them getting so much candy.

So yes, as I was leaving in the cold with a toddler, I kept telling myself "Halloween is so fun.  I love this.  I do."  I almost believed it.  But we survived and the kids had fun and they looked adorable so WIN!