Halloween!

Here are some great pics of Halloween this year. James was Batman. (Don't we love these superhero PJs! Great way to reuse something. Great for the environment, since that seems to be a big theme lately around here.) Rebekah was a witch. She decided shortly after last Halloween that that is what she wanted to be, and we stuck with it, much to my surprise. I guess it helps when you buy props on the clearance shelves the day after Halloween and then don't let the kids play dress-up with them for a year so they anticipate getting to wear them in 11 months...well it worked this year anyway. We went to a church party, complete with chili dinner, karaoke, carnival games, and a trunk or treat.

Then both Jason and I got to attend Rebekah's first Halloween parade at school! (She's in the middle of the parade photo.) Talk about flashbacks to my childhood! James loved watching all the kids. He is SOOOO in love with skeletons and scary faces. He starts laughing! It's so funny.

Then on Halloween day, we went to a pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin. It was free if you wore a costume so the kids came dressed up. But the wind was REALLY bad and the driver of the trailer had to trust us that the costumes were there underneath all the winter gear...we were wishing we had prepared better and vowed that next year's costumes are going to be super warm! I think Bekah said something like "I'm going to die!" (which actually happens about once a week), but all was back to normal once we got hot chocolate and fresh apple cider donuts. Too bad the pumpkin was rotted through in 24 hours. But the experience was a memory we'll always have and hopefully a tradition to continue in the future, although better prepared next time.

Finally, on Halloween night, we got down to business. Almost...almost...we didn't go trick-or-treating. The kids were having so much fun standing by the door begging people to come take candy! It was so cute. It seemed like one of the first times the kids were doing something together and still happy. (James has reached that stage where he likes to play with others, and Rebekah is taking full advantage of whatever times she gets where he'll do what she wants.) It was a great night. Then, of course, while James was going to bed, Rebekah HAD to stay up and sort the loot. Actually, it was even a homework assignment. How cool is that! She had to group it by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s and find other ways to group the items. It was a great dad and daughter project. Too bad it has to end up in our stomachs :)