Visions of Candy Corn

Excuse me, has anyone seen October?  It was just here a minute ago...

Before the month disappeared mysteriously, we did manage to have some Halloween fun.  

We took creative license to the pumpkins we got at the pumpkin patch.  Aubree knew just the face she wanted her pumpkin to have (something about missing teeth...).  She drew her picture on, and Mark helped her carve it.  Thane wailed, "Ahhhhh! Don't hurt Aubree's pumpkin!"  Aubree was an enthusiastic de-seeder.

Thane's beloved "yittle" pumpkin avoided the eviscerating fate of its compatriots, and instead got many coats of black paint in preparation for its planned transformation.  Thane loved the whole process and would have happily painted till midnight, had he been allowed.

Bryce picked out a template for his pumpkin and was excited to see the finished product.  He was not, however, nearly so fond of the process.  Mark insisted he help pull out the seeds.  After sticking his hand in briefly, he yelled, "washcloth! washcloth!" and refused to slime himself further.

Want to get a better feel for the atmosphere?  Here's a short video clip.  Try to ignore Graham's cries... I promise he doesn't cry often.

We did some fun Halloween crafts... (okay, we did two crafts...right in a row).

The marshmallow ghost craft was a huge hit.  No question as to why Thane liked it...

Bryce spaced his marshmallows far apart, hoping that whatever marshmallows he had left over he'd get to eat.  A clever ruse, to be sure, but once I informed him he'd only get to eat a set amount regardless of how many were left over, he consented to fill in the bare spots.

We also did a candy corn craft that was simple and fun.  I was impressed with how well Thane could understand and stick with the tasks.  Which makes me think I should involve him in more crafts and not just wait until he's napping to do them with the older kids...

Then it was time for the Ward Halloween/Trunk-or-Treat party.  Aubree and Bryce are old enough now to have opinions on what they want to wear as a costume.  Those friends who did pre-school co-op with us last year surely weren't surprised to see Bryce dressed up as a clown (he put this costume on at the end of every preschool class we had in our home last year).  He was excited to have the clown face paint.

Aubree wanted to be an American Girl, more specifically - Julie.  Here was our inspiration:

And the finished product:

Thane reprised the role of Peter Pan.  For weeks he's been saying, "me be Peter Pan!!"  He has no idea who Peter Pan is, but we're glad he was excited.

Thane, October 2012

Bryce, October 2010

Our ward party involved dinner (chili, soup, cornbread, and rolls), a kiddie carnival, then the trunk-or-treat.  Apparently, families in this ward take Halloween costumes seriously.  There were some very elaborate costumes, and most people did family themes.  Aubree's already thinking about possible themes we could use next year.

Graham went as our "little stinker," but proved to be anything but, as he slept soundly the whole activity.

The young men and young women did a great job with the carnival games and activities.  

Since it was raining outside, "trunk-or-treat" involved all the candy-wielding adults lining up down the hallway, and the kids forming a never-ending line of beggars.  We've never been in a ward with so many kids before...it was nuts!

kids in the primary room getting ready to trunk-or-treat

Okay, since this is my blog I'm going to take a minute to voice my opinion (not that I'm ever shy about sharing my opinion...).  I'm not a big fan of trunk-or-treat.  

I believe the original purpose of Trunk-or-Treat was as a REPLACEMENT for trick-or-treating.  You know, "give-the-kids-a-safe-place-to-get-candy-from-people-they-know"-type event.  That's how it worked in our Florida Ward; we had the trunk-or-treat on Halloween night.  The teenagers didn't like it, but it worked great for us.  We'd do the ward treating, visit a couple neighbors who were our friends, and call it good.

Now, trunk-or-treat is on a separate night and just feels redundant.  Do the kids really need the extra candy?  Is it even fun for them?  Our ward party would've been much better as just a dinner and carnival.  Down with Trunk-or-Treat!

Rant over.

Finally, came the actual night to go trick-or-treating.  The kids donned their costumes once more and ventured into the surprisingly not-cold-or-rainy evening.

As is standard protocol, Graham traveled snugly in my wrap.  Before he conked out, I had the pleasure of seeing this fabulous face grinning up at me:

All three of the older kids were untiring treat-seekers.  After getting candy, we'd prompt Thane, "what do you say?"  To which he'd enthusiastically respond, "I dot TWO tandies!" (He had a knack for getting people to give him extra treats).

And now we're heavily candy-laden.  Time to pull out what we'll use for December's graham cracker houses and let Santa decide what he'll put in the stockings.  :)