Trick or Treat! | Halloween 2016

We were able to trick or treat with friends again this year, which was so much fun...for the boys and for the adults. One big improvement this year, though...the boys did not RUN the whole time. They actually walked from house to house.

How cute are these four?

We got them to take a few photos before we got started by telling them we wouldn't go trick or treating until we got our photos! Ha! We are mean moms!

Christina and I were both witches...although I like her costume a lot more. I just wore all black and my witch hat (which kept blowing off ALL night). 

This year we didn't have to do any reminding about what they were supposed to say after the door was answered...or after they received their treat. They all knew the drill. 

It was fun when the boys would talk to the other neighborhood kids about their costumes or which houses were answering their doors.

One of the houses was giving out glow necklaces instead of candy and those were a big hit! Right after this photo we went back to our house and the boys dug into their candy. We handed out some candy to the few kids who were still out and about. And then we all called it a night and the adults started the really fun task of getting excited and sugar-filled kids into bed. Because this is a school night. (Boo.) 

Trunk or Treat 2016

This year Trunk or Treat at church fell the night before Halloween. And it was one of the best Trunk or Treats in years. They added a fall festival to it and the kids really loved it. It helped that it was organized really well, so everyone had fun...not frustration.

This year, since the boys were Star Wars characters, we did a "Star Wars" trunk. I put that in quotations because it barely qualifies as a Star Wars theme...or a decorated trunk. But hey, we came, we had a trunk, and we passed out candy. I just did not have the drive to do anything spectacular with our trunk this year, so I made the sign, bought the starry backdrop and gathered up our Star Wars plush and toys. Done. Moving on...

Casey and I usually do not dress up. We've only done it a couple of times, but this year, we already had the makings of Leia (on Hoth) and Han Solo costumes, so we did it. The boys were SO excited, so it was worth it. We were a Star Wars family last night. 

Mimi and Pop were there and saved us a parking spot right next to them...in the shade. That was a huge plus because it was actually really HOT that night. Oh, Texas. 

When two or more of your friends dress up at the same time, you take a photo. Actually, I don't need an excuse to take a photo with these ladies...they are my people. We missed getting Christina in the photo, but she was there later!

Ethan was so proud to get candy from Mimi to start his trick or treating. Logan actually had a bit of a melt down at this point and said he did not want to go. So, I went around with Ethan and left him behind. Casey said he followed behind us a few minutes later...on his own. So I have literally no photos of him getting candy. That kid. 

Casey stayed behind at our trunk to hand out candy. He is fantastic at this job...he loves the kids and they love him. 

After making their rounds at the trunks, the boys dug into their treasures. I am wondering who thought it was a fun idea to hand out whistles. I know the event was outside (thank goodness), but they brought those things home. (Except after they went to bed last night, I confiscated them.)

We rounded up the boys' friends so the moms could get a photo...they've been attending Trunk or Treat together since they were babies!

Ethan decided he wanted to hand out candy for a short time. When the festival part of the event opened up, he took off to do that. 

I thought the planners did a great job of organizing the festival part. They had a card for each kid that had a checklist of treats and activities for them to do. This ensured that they didn't do anything twice and that they knew what they had left to do. It was brilliant and our boys loved it.

They had several carnival-type games and each kid got a tiny prize when they were done, which thrilled them. (I was less thrilled about all the little trinkets coming into our home, but there are ways of dealing with that too...) There was also a bouncy house and cotton candy machine.

And a snow cone station. Our boys are still wary of snow cones because they are too cold. Seriously. But, they each got one and kind of waited for it to melt a little. (Insert eye roll.)

How do you think that pristine white karate shirt held up against that purple snow cone? Yeah, not very well. And with Halloween one day away...we just wrapped it around him the other way tonight for trick or treating in the neighborhood. Sigh. 

As the evening came on and the sun set, the weather became really pleasant...and that's about when the event ended! But it was a really fun night...everyone had a blast. 

Carving Pumpkins 2016

We left our pumpkin carving to the last minute this year. Well, I guess we could have done them tomorrow...but since it's a school night tomorrow AND Halloween, there wouldn't be any time. 

This year the boys participated more than ever on designing and carving their own pumpkins. After the very difficult designs we chose last year, we told them they could just draw their own jack-o-lantern faces this year. They loved the idea. 

One thing I did help them with was cutting out the top...it's hard to get the angle right so that it fits back in without falling in. 

Ethan was totally grossed out by the seeds and strings. Haha! So funny!

He complained pretty much the whole time he was scraping out the inside. Casey and I did help him separate the junk from the sides of the pumpkin, but I made him scoop most of it out!

We've always used my biggest mixing bowl to catch all the pumpkin guts.

Logan was not grossed out at all...he thought it was awesome! 

The biggest difference this year was that they got to actually use the knife and do the carving (most of it) themselves. 

I was actually a little nervous to give them the knives, but they're pretty safe, actually. 

Ethan did really well and actually carved almost the whole thing by himself. We just helped him on the bridge of the nose and between the eyes because they were so close together. 

Logan did some of it but still had a hard time being effective with the knife, so I carved a good bit of his for him. 

Here's what we ended up with. Ethan's is the big one on the far left...and it has glasses! Logan's is the traditional jack-o-lantern face with the green light inside (they actually both had flashing LED lights that changed colors). I carved the two smaller pumpkins according to their directions...Ethan's was a heart, Logan's a ghost. Happy Halloween! We are ready for tomorrow night...since this is our only porch or yard decoration at all! 

Halloween 2016: The Force is With Us

We've known what the boys wanted to be for Halloween this year almost as soon as it was over last year. They are still really into Star Wars so it was a no-brainer. 

We didn't get down to specific costumes until last month, though. Ethan was very particular about being Luke "in Episode IV." A quick search on Pinterest yielded plenty of ideas and we were able to get his costume together pretty easily. I really love how it turned out!

Logan wanted to be Darth Vader...and there's only one costume for that, so his was even easier! He did have a helmet (you can see it in one photo below), but I convinced him to set it aside for the photos so I could see his face!

As is usual with our costume photo shoots, they actually really enjoyed it! But their favorite part was when I let them duel...

Darth Vader could not resist using the force to choke Luke...

One is on the Light Side, and one is on the Dark Side, but they are just two cuties to me! Halloween night, here we come!

Fair Family 2016

My mom wanted to do family photos this year with all of us. We try to do it every two years now that the boys are not babies. But this year we tried something different to see if we could...we used my camera and tripod for the group shot and then I hand shot the others (with the exception of the two I am in...and my dad did those.) And they all turned out great! I wish the boys expressions and smiles were a little better, but you never know what you're going to get with a 6 and 8 year old even on the best of days. Either way, our family is documented, my mom has photos for Christmas cards, and the whole thing took less than 20 minutes total. Win-win-win.