Halloween 2015!

What a gorgeous night for trick-or-treating!  We got all gussied up and headed out with our friends to bring in some loot!

Uncle Kyle and Lindi came along as Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.  How cute are they?!

Emily was a purple minion, Christian was a ring wraith (LOTR), Kari was Kit Kittredge, Juliana was a "rainbow butterfly,"and Britta, of course, was the cow.  Quite the group!

Emily and Brooklynn--yellow and purple minions

My beautiful rainbow butterfly!

Britta walked quite a ways--I was surprised at how well she did.  I timed it just right that arrived back home just as she got tired and chilly.  Cubby and the other children stayed out a bit longer, each bringing in a good bundle of candy.  It was a great Halloween!

School Halloween Parties

 I was fortunate enough to be able to head up to the big kids' school to be a part of their Halloween parties.

When I arrived, everyone was in an assembly...making a human hot dog of their new principal!  He seems like a quiet man, but, obviously, he's a good sport to have not only ketchup and mustard squirted on you, but also chili and a 2 liter of coke to top it all off!  Yuck.

Since I had a sitter at home with the little girls, I was really able to float around to each of the classrooms and take part in each of the kids' parties!

Kindergarten is just so darling, including Kari's teacher!  Mrs. Doster is just wonderful.  She is not only extremely sweet, but she is incredibly in-tune to each of her students, their individual needs and how they learn best.

 Em's class party was extremely well-organized and, for a party, it was pretty chill.  The kids all had a great time though--their class has a lot of very nice kids!

 And then there's Christian's class...I walk in to them all dancing to the Whip-Nae-Nae.  Hi-larious to watch 3rd graders do it.  They're having a ball and they know how to par-tae.

 Christian loves to goof off--funny selfies with his buddy, Alex, and finding the Hersey kiss in the whipped cream!

Again, such a fun little afternoon and I was so happy I could be a part of it!

Halloween Storytime

Time for our library's Halloween story time and trick-or-treat!  Our little cow and butterfly were ready for action!

 There are SO many people that show up that Ms. Mary uses a microphone and a very large story.

 A selfie of the crowd behind me!  (Us veterans know to arrive early for a good seat.)

Britta was entranced.  (And she got warm so we took off her cow jacket.)

After trick-or-treating around the inside of the library, we are lead outside to trick-or-treat up and down our city's downtown area.  Shopkeepers hand out treats and police and firemen are on the scene to direct traffic and keep everyone safe.  We have SUCH a fantastic town.

Juliana's Preschool Halloween Party

 Preschool Halloween parties are so cute.  The kids and their little costumes are darling and any type of game impresses them!

 This is one of Juliana's teachers, Mrs. Marshall.  (She was also one of Kari's teachers.)  I just love her.  She just radiates joy and love for teaching and her little students.

Halloween Preview--Emily

Em got invited to a Hallween party and this year she's going as a purple minion from the movie Despicable Me 2.  I think her costume turned out so great!  She had a lot of fun at her party too.

Is That Kari or Kit Kittredge?

For Halloween, Kari wants to be the American Girl,  Kit Kittredge.  Isn't she just beautiful??  She was so excited to get a skirt that's exactly like Kit's.  She even had matching red socks, shoes, and a headband.  She is so feminine and girly and I just love it.  So adorable.

Switch Witch

What do you do with all of that Halloween candy??  Technically, we could let the kids eat it (or, let's be honest, be sneaky and eat most of it yourself.)  But, having seen what the sugar rush does to my kids' behavior and, having just had a baby and wanting to lose weight, we had to get the candy out of our house FAST.  Enter the Switch Witch.

See, the kids all pick out their 10 favorite pieces of candy.  Then, we put the rest in a bag on the front porch a night or two after Halloween.  Then, the "Switch Witch" comes and takes the candy and leaves a toy for each child.  Now, when I first broached this idea with the kids, I was sure they wouldn't go for it.  Boy, was I wrong!  They jumped all over it and were so excited.  Even Christian, who hoards his candy and still has some from LAST Halloween.  (Never underestimate the power of a new toy!)

So, the kids were very excited the next morning.  The Switch Witch was smart and brought craft-type toys to keep everyone occupied most of Sunday morning.  (Cue the heavens opening and the Hallelujah chorus.)

We will definitely be taking the Switch Witch up on her offer next year!

"Juliana's" Halloween Party

Juliana and Miss Mary, the story time librarian

 Juliana had been hearing so much about the big kids' school Halloween parties.  So, when I told her that we were going to the library for a special story time and trick-or-treating, she was super excited to go to "her" party!

Our library does a wonderful job of planning this event and a LOT of people show up.  After the story time, the kids all trick-or-treat through the library and then head outside to go trick-or-treat at the local businesses in downtown Papillion.  Sooo nice--we're so lucky to live in such a great town!

Here's our beauty doing the "Itsy-bitsy spider"

And here she is doing, "Slippery Fish," one of her favorites.

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!