Halloween 2014

The concussion severely curtailed Halloween prep this year. We didn't get the decorations out of the closet or pick out pumpkins or visit a pumpkin patch or carve pumpkins, make pumpkin seeds, etc.... Luckily I was on top of the costume situation early so the kids were prepared, but there was really no additional prep.  Luckily the kids didn't even complain that we hadn't done these things.  That is, until yesterday. We were at the store getting candy for the trick or treaters and they saw the pumpkins and it suddenly dawned on them. It was the last day and we hadn't carved one yet. Generally we only carve one pumpkin and the kids each design  one part of the total: eyes, nose, and mouth.  But this year I just wasn't up for it so I sadly told them no. As luck would have it, a few hours after returning home from the store, the kids were outside bouncing on the trampoline when our neighbor called over the fence inviting them to help carve THEIR pumpkins. Apparently they had too many and needed help. I was so grateful.  The kids sat around the neighbor's outdoor table with their friends and each got to carve their own. I assisted vaguely and helped with clean up. I also took control of the pumpkin seeds so they could be dried and then sautéed. We'll bring them over to the neighbors house as a thank you later today.

Also, the kids decided they would decorate the house themselves, so I got he big orange plastic bin out of the closet and they went to town. They did it up right, even creating a mini-graveyard out of old concrete stones that they found in the garage. I was pretty impressed. 

So, anyway... back to Halloween.  Since I was already planning to make tacos for dinner, and had more than enough to feed a small army, we invited the neighbors over for dinner. We ate early, with our kids, the neighbors, and a few of Jake's friends. Then we piled the kids in the back of the truck and headed to the Merc to meet up with some other families. 

Jake was Michael Jackson, Tanner was a "scary old person", and Faith was a 50's girl. They rocked their costumes this year, if I do say so myself. Jake met up with about 15 other 6th graders and was on his own with plans for ending up at a friend's house for a sleepover. We kept track of him via text and after trick or treating for a few hours he ended up back at a girl's house with a bunch of friends, trading candy and listening to music.  Ahhhh... the beginning of the tween years. Tanner's friends were accompanied by lots of parents, all of us with some sort of beverage in hand. Faith and Abby, her best friend, came along too but only lasted about an hour before deciding they were done and heading back to Abby's house for a sleepover. The boys stayed out until just before 9PM, then ended up at our house watching The Sandlot. 

It was the best I have felt since I hit my head and I was able to stay up until after 10 (woo hoo!) with only a minimal headache. The kids all had a great time and now we have enough candy to last us for a year if we were normal people. For us it will probably only last a few weeks since we are all low on the willpower and high on the sugar addiction.