Halloween 2014

Do you want to know a secret? I sort of hate Halloween. Stress finding/making the perfect costumes, goopy, gross pumpkin guts, enough candy to induce a coma.... Really, why do people like this holiday?

 But then the big day comes and I find myself feeling as excited as the kids. It helps that they all look so darn cute in their costumes.

 We've been reading the Harry Potter series with Anna and Kate before bed for the past few months. It's been so fun to share it with them. They're not allowed to read ahead-- we just read all together for a few pages each night. It's something we all look forward to. So of course we needed a Hermione for Halloween night.

 Kate, of course, did not need a costume to be an angel. It's just her modus operandi. But, who can resist a big poofy skirt and halo?

 Eve's class had Dress Like Your Favorite Book Character Day before they went off track. (my kids were not in school on Halloween.) We had just finished reading Charlotte's Web with Eve and she insisted on being Wilbur. So I made her costume, thanks to this tutorial. Then I kind of tweaked the tutorial to make a Charlotte the spider costume for Abby.

 This picture was taken later that night but shows off her spider legs a little better. One year olds are hard to photograph! Too many places to go I guess.

We trick or treated with our cousins this year which made my children SO HAPPY. I guess I've been the Halloween Scrooge making them trick or treat in our home neighborhood. I missed the photo of all the kids together, but this is a great one of Anna and Bailey, her best friend cousin. There was a huge horde of us--12 kids plus parents-- all traipsing around a Grandma Nancy's neighborhood. My mother in law is seriously the queen of holidays, so she had lots of fun stuff like spider web seven layer dip, jack-o-lantern pizzas, and cupcakes with zombie hands sticking out of them.
It turned out to be a great night. I'm going to try and remember that next year when I start feeling those anti-Halloween feelings.