Halloweek

Is it just me, or do holidays get more crazy every single year?  Long gone are the days I spent pouring over my sewing machine crafting the perfect costume for my sweet baby girl.  Long gone are the days I strapped my new little son in a stroller and watched as my toddler girl skipped around our small neighborhood, delighted with the ten houses that gave her candy, and none the wiser that bedtime still happened at 7:00.  Long gone are the days rummaging through the house to find the capes and the drapes and the pillows and the paint that could transform our family into something new.

Now Amazon Prime is my best friend and I spent a total of 15 minutes selecting and clicking and ordering those costumes that came right to my door.  No face paint.  No crazy hair.  Just put on your costumes and let's go, folks.

And then I remembered that we have a fourth child.  The day before the trunk-or-treat I stopped in my tracks and realized that I had not put one ounce of thought into that sweet baby boy.  So overalls, a plaid shirt, a bit of eyeliner makeup and glue in his hair turned him into a makeshift scarecrow.  And while we were at it, me and Brian, too.

He was delighted.  And the trunk-or-treat was a success.

Next up on the docket: carving pumpkins.

Also, remember how I used to really pay attention to my pictures?  Not this post, I'm afraid.  Almost every one of these is fuzzy and weird.  But most of the time I had a toddler on my hip and about 4 seconds to get the shot off before I lost my subjects.  So, just a fair warning... these are what I call 'memory photos' - their entire purpose is to preserve a memory instead of please the eye.  So, here we go.

Brian was in charge of buying pumpkins this year due to a silly back problem I have.  Couldn't lift the darn things from the grocery bin into the cart this year.  So - - - warty pumpkins!  They were fun, but the skin was tough and I am quite impressed we came away with all of our fingers. 

And then, school.  It's fun to have these kids back in public school where they plan parties for you and help create those special memories.  This picture just illustrates how giant Miles is compared to his classmates.  He is in the 98th percentile and towers over all of his kindergarten friends.  Plus, he's one of the babies of the class with a late June birthday - good thing we didn't hold him back a year. Isn't that little miss Dorothy the cutest thing you ever saw?  Good thing she has a ninja to protect her.

That night, back into costume for the school carnival.  They sure put a lot of work into this thing, and the kids came away with happy smiles and cheap toys.

Finally, it was Halloween.  By this time, the third dressing in costume, TK was a pro.  When I asked him if he wanted to go do his nose, he stuck his lips out in a pout and said, "Ohs, ohs," ready for the paint.  I'm afraid he'll be disappointed now that this isn't the daily routine anymore.

Kenz and I ran into a problem when we realized that she needed to tie this tie - and Brian wasn't around.  So, I called my dad and asked him to walk me through it.  He did great... and so did I, ifIdosaysomyself. Even though I had to do it twice because the first time I didn't notice that the small end of the tie hung about 8 inches below the fat side.

Then, outside to take a couple of pictures before our trick-or-treating. 

Seriously, could this boy be any cuter?  Even with that fake smile.

And, we were off!  We headed over to the Larsons to trick-or-treat around their neighborhood because we heard they had the best around.  We were not disappointed.  HANDFULS of candy at almost every house... and, not to name drop, but Gladys Knight had the most gigantic spread you have ever seen in your life.  Gladys Knight's husband shoveled double handful after double handful after double handful into Miles's pillowcase of full-sized candy bars with a huge smile on his face.  Gladys Knight had blow up toys for the kids to jump in, a mini ferris-wheel for them to circle in, and a train to pull handfuls of kids around in at a time.  It was impressive and so, so fun at Gladys Knights home.  Gladys Knight.

Our partners in crime:

By the end of the night, Carson had so much candy he didn't even walk up to the doors anymore.  He was exhausted.

Miles couldn't even carry his bag by the end of the night, and Becky and I had to trade off with it to try and prevent injury.  I had to bribe him to hold it up just for this picture.  I bribed him with candy, and it totally worked. 

Brian and I, of course, took our tax from the kids and ended up quite rich ourselves.  Over 50 full-sized candy bars, mostly from Gladys Knight's house, to eat over the next long, long while.  Please don't send any candy our way for ... forever.  If you trick-or-treat at our house next year, be prepared to receive some of this in your own pillowcase...

But since most of it is from Gladys Knight, maybe you'll be okay with that.