Trick or Treat

The month of October seems to last a really long time when you spend 30 days planning and preparing for Halloween.  It feels like Luke and Ruby have been dressed up for most of the month in some type of costume so they were super excited when it was finally time to wear their Woody and Jessie costumes.  The cutest thing...whenever they had on any part of their costume or we talked about Halloween, they would start referring to each other as Woody and Jessie and would immediately switch to an imaginary world.  I love watching their little minds at play.

The Saturday night before Halloween we had a preview and went to the party at the church.  The kids had the best time.  They suffered through dinner so that they could participate in the games and activities. The games were old school - fish pond, cake walk, etc. and then they had a hay ride and an electric light show.  They loved seeing their friends and teachers and it was the perfect trial run for the costumes.

My hat really has no connection to Toy Story, or any other costume.  I felt really awkward being in the picture with no costume, so I grabbed a prop and joined the family for one shot. The kids did want me to be part of the gang, but I ran out of steam for a fourth costume.  Besides, all of the good costumes were gone, I wasn't thrilled with their suggestions that I could be Ham, Big Baby or Bullseye.

Cutest Roundup Gang ever!

Monday, Halloween day, started out a little rough for both Tim and I.  We both had been feeling somewhat sick and I was worried about being able to go out to trick or treat.  Tim rested most of the day and then I came home early from work and napped so by the time the kids woke up from their naps, we were all ready to go.  It has taken us several years to settle in, but nights like this reminded me how much we like our neighborhood.  The next few hours were filled with kids, candy, costumes and so many friends.  Once again I discovered that almost any activity is infinitely more fun when I can watch my kids be part of the experience.  They loved everything about the night, but especially the candy.  Luke always remembered to say thank you and Ruby kept everyone near her entertained. My favorite part was when they got a little scared and wanted to hold my hand and stay close to me.

Perfect image of childhood

Luke was excited to take a picture with the Bishop and his wife

So many houses in out neighborhood had extensive decorations or special surprises.  Luke and Ruby spent the night in magical awe.  My brother Craig posted a picture and thanked all of the adults who made his kids' Halloween so much fun, those at carnivals, trick or treating, etc.  He pointed out that no one does it for compensation or duty, but just to make it fun for the kids.  It seems strange to have Halloween bring out high levels of gratitude, but it did and I loved all the involvement.

Only Evelyn turned out with a smile, but I promise, these three were super excited to see one another. In fact, Luke begged for us to spend the rest of the night trick or treating with Drake.

Within a few minutes of being home, Luke had sorted, organized and counted all of his candy.  I wonder where he gets a trait like that.  It made it much easier for Tim and I to choose what we wanted