tricks and treats

Halloween night was the coldest we've had in a couple years, so we all had to bundle up before we headed out trick-or-treating. We stayed in our own neighborhood this year, and the kids had fun seeing neighbors that they know. We were out and about for about 40 minutes, and of course the kids made a haul. When we got home, we turned our lights on for the kids that were still out...Olivia loved handing out candy almost as much as collecting it herself!

Sleeping Beauty and Tuck the Turtle ready to head out

Our first stop

A quick stop for a picture in front of the crazy "Halloween House"

Sorting through their loot after we got home

harvest party at school

Jackson and Olivia had their Harvest Party at preschool on Thursday. They got to wear their costumes, bring treats to pass out to their classmates, and play lots of fun games...and I got to attend the party, too! It's always so much fun to see them interact with their friends in school- much different from watching them with friends at home. They're growing up so fast!

So for Halloween this year, Jackson decided that he wanted to be Tuck the Turtle from The WonderPets (a Nick Jr. show that he absolutely loves). He often pretends to be Tuck, so it wasn't really much of a stretch. Olivia decided on November 1st LAST YEAR that she wanted to be a princess this year...she just needed some time to figure out which princess suited her best. She ended up going as Sleeping Beauty, and loved every minute of it. And since she spends much of her time at home dressed up as various princesses, it wasn't much of a stretch for her either!

Tuck the Turtle and Sleeping Beauty

I had to get a picture of the back of Jackson's cape...too cute!

The class posing before the party started

A classic face...reacting to the story of all the gross things

that were going into the witches brew

Taking his turn adding ingredients and stirring the brew

halloween

Choosing Halloween costumes for your young children is kind of a high pressure responsibility. You may think that sounds silly, but last year I chose a monkey for Jackson and a ladybug for Olivia. They were adorable, but Olivia had numerous meltdowns in the days before Halloween because SHE wanted to be the monkey. Well, I couldn't very well put Jackson in the ladybug costume, so I went back to Old Navy to exchange the ladybug for another monkey. Bummer...no more monkeys. She wore the ladybug, and she ended up being OK with it, but she still preferred the monkey costume. I vowed to buy two of the same costumes for them this year (and every year going forward, until they could be trusted to choose their own).

Then I saw a cow costume at a garage sale this summer. It was cute, cheap, and in perfect condition, so I bought it. My plan was to find a second cow costume for child #2. The one from the garage sale seemed to fit Jackson better, so it was his. Once that decision was made, Olivia insisted on being a pig. I don't know why, but there was no way she was going to be anything else (so much for my "everybody's going to be a cow" plan). Maybe she was stuck on the farm animal theme...maybe she likes pink...or maybe, as my sister Cole suggested, she thought of her favorite books about Olivia the pig (Ian Falconer), and wouldn't dream of being anything else. No matter what, once she's made up her mind, good luck changing it (wonder where that comes from?). Anyway, I had to bite the bullet and order a pig costume online (why couldn't Target just stock it so I could pick it up instead of having UPS deliver it to me?). And $36.57 later, we had a pig costume, and she was absolutely thrilled! We'll see what happens next year...Olivia has already announced that she is going to be a princess, and Jackson has every intention of being Thomas the Train. Halloween costumes are a racket, let me tell you.

For the 3rd year in a row, we spent Halloween with Jamie, Wendy, Josh and Julia. We were lucky enough to have Nik and Rod, and Connor and Jaci join us this year, too! We got together early to have pizza (and drinks, of course!), and then went out trick-or-treating as a group. It was such a beautiful night- no need for winter coats or mittens this year! We pulled the wagon along for Jackson, so that he could make it for the whole trip- he's still building up to marathon distances (but is well on his way!). Olivia took off with the big kids, and Jackson stayed with mom and dad so that he wouldn't get run over...kids on a candy mission don't often stop for a wee one who topples easily (not even his sister). They had so much fun running from house to house, squealing at the scary decorations and checking their candy buckets to see what they got.

When we got back to the house, there was the fully anticipated feeding frenzy- Jackson and Olivia tried Milk Duds for the first time, which was really funny. I think it took each of them about 10 minutes to get one down. The kids played for awhile, and when the sugar crash started, we put the girls to bed in Julia's room, and the boys in Josh's room...a segregated sleepover of sorts. Jackson was out within minutes, but the girls giggled and talked for quite awhile. Once they were all down, the adults busted out the Wii. We bowled, boxed, and played tennis. Nikki was the boxing champ, but I'd like a rematch once I can move my arms again! It was a great time, and we're so lucky to have such good friends to create memories with!