Trunk-or-Treat and Halloween 2014

I'm only a month (or so) behind!  Not too shabby considering how crazy things have been (and how tired I am at the end of the day and not having any energy to even get onto the computer!)  So, I'd better get this post completed before Christmas comes and goes too...

Halloween time this year was great!  We had a beautiful fall and all of the kiddos had fun dressing up and heading out.  Emily was a "fancy vampire."  Christian was a Creeper from Minecraft (and yes, I made his costume.  *Thank you, Pintrest!)  The little girls were, of course, Elsa (Juliana), Anna (Kari), and Olaf (Britta).

First up was our ward's annual chili cook-off and trunk-or-treat!

A good time was had by all...

Ju Ju is full of spunk!

Once the band started playing, Kari found the music entirely too loud for her liking.

Emily was so busy running around with her friends I hardly saw her long enough to snap a picture!

The music did not phase Britta, who slept through it all.
She also won "funniest" costume.  (Thank you, Pintrest!)

Juliana LOVED dancing to the music.  She found no shortage of friends and family to dance with...

Still too loud, says Kari

Christian won "Best" costume!  He was thrilled!

Cubby grew a little mustache and also dressed up like a "creeper" (just a different kind ;)!)

Next up, Halloween!  Our wonderful neighbors, the Hofers, had everyone over for a potluck dinner.  Here's the crowd this year!

The weather was a tad chillier this year and so Britta and I opted out of trick-or-treating.  The gang went out and had a great time.  Juliana refused to wear a coat stating, "Elsa doesn't get cold.  She has powers."  Hmmm...her logic is solid....

 Britta and I went over to Gma and Gpa's house instead.  It was her first visit over there and we had a fun (and stayed toasty!) time.

 After trick-or-treating was over (and Juliana was sufficiently "Frozen"), everyone came over to Gma's and we played for a bit longer.  Halloween was on a Friday this year so it was nice not having to worry about school the next morning!

 There you have it!  Our Halloween celebrations in a nut-shell.  Whew!

Trunk-or-Treat 2013

Even a trip to KC couldn't keep the kids away from our ward's annual chili cook-off and trunk-or-treat!  It's an activity that we all look forward to so despite my fatigue, I took some ibuprofen and off we went!

This year I actually convinced the kids to follow a theme!  Everyone was something "Spooky."  Emily was a witch, Christian was a mummy, Kari was a black cat, and Juliana was a skeleton.  This picture was the only group shot I got of everyone in their "spooky" costume.  By the time Halloween rolled around, Kari had other ideas and became Snow White while Juliana wanted to be the black cat.  (Inspired by a friend's little girl's black cat costume, I added a tu-tu and fuzzy tail and ears to the black cat costume so it got a lot cuter!)

Juliana could hardly wait for the band to start!  Yup, the band was back!  She was their #1 fan and when they would stop or take a break, she'd walk up to the stage and do the sign for "more!"  This girl LOVES to dance.

"The band"--so much fun!

Gma and Kari got in on the dancing action too!

Our friends, the Dicus's, in their Peter Pan themed costumes!  Aren't they cute?!  Britany is such a talented seamstress and made the parrot, Tinkerbell, and Peter Pan costumes!

Hat's off to Mom and Harvey!

Spooky, Christian!

Juliana and her little friend, Eden (who I got the cat costume idea from!).

Kari and Juliana, cutting a rug together!  Love the sister-love!

Quite the look, Emily!

Cubby and his friend, CJ (he and his family were "flappers and gangsters"--see HERE for my friend, Tessie's blog to check them out!)

 And what night would be complete without the limbo?!  Yup, that's me above, getting my limbo on!

And...here's Christian "limbo-ing"...more or less.

After our full morning/day/evening, we were BEAT!  But, it was a great night and the kids enjoyed all of the festivities!

Trunk-or-Treat

Last weekend was our ward's Trunk-or-Treat and Chili Cook-off!  Great fun was had by all.  Our friend Ella came along too!  Since the rule is "no masks,"  Christian had to do a different costume.  Can you guess what he went as?  A blonde-haired little boy and his pet tiger??  Calvin and Hobbes!  Yup, he was just as cute as ever too.

 Part of the evening's entertainment was a live band!  They got everyone out of their seats and Kari could not get enough of the dancing!!  That girl would dance until she dropped--and almost did!

 At long last it was time to head outside to trunk-or-treat!  It was a nice evening and the kids all had fun going from car to car practicing their "trick-or-treat!" and getting candy.  There was even a hot chocolate stand going on and with different creamers and whipped creams to add to it, so yummy!

 Love this picture of Kari!  She's going through an awkward "I don't know how to smile at the camera" stage and so this is a rare gem.  (Love how little Miss J is sneaking into the shot too!)

And this is how we all felt after we got home!  Juliana was definitely one tuckered-out little cow.

Trunk-or-Treat

Last night was our ward's (congregation) Trunk-or-Treat! We invited our neighbors along and a fun time was had by all! Before the candy-fest could begin, we had a chili cook-off; Cubby's chili got "Spiciest"! (And, by what I heard, it got rave reviews for it's "slow burn".) I didn't try it--I like white chili versus a more traditional fare.

After dinner, the band started up! Yup, there was a live band! (Some of the "old men" from our ward who are quite talented!) The Young Women's presidency was in-charge and you could definitely tell--from the cute table center pieces to the flavorings for the hot chocolate, it all flowed together so well and all of the little details were covered--band included!
This was Kari's reaction when the band started playing. To say that she loved it would be an understatement! This girl LOVES to dance and she and Grandma really kicked up a storm.
Here she is, moving and grooving!

Boogie, Baby, Boogie!After dinner and dancing, came the Costume Parade! Here are some of the girls, moving along to "The Monster Mash." (Christian was in the bathroom :-) ).

Here's our boy, though! My friend, Julie, gave us this costume last year when they moved. Isn't it fun?? Christian has been very excited about being a spider!

This is the back of his costume--he was creeping and crawling, apparently. (Actually, the kids were all pretty tired; they'd been up and outside running, literally, all day. We carried them out after it was all done!) This is the whole Motley Crew. They were all anxious to get outside and bring in some loot!

And so it begins....Happy Haunting!