Halloween 2014

This year, we celebrated our first Halloween in our new neighborhood.   And it was a great holiday!!

We had already picked out our pumpkins, and then it was time to carve them.  Charlie was not very interested in the carving process, but he kept us company at the table.  Lauren was excited about the idea of carving the pumpkins, but still did not want to get her hands dirty.  She refused to put her hands inside the pumpkin and quickly lost interest.  So it was another year of Chad and I carving pumpkins!  But they turned out pretty cute.  Lauren picked out a ghost design and a witch design.

The morning of Halloween, Lauren had her dance class and they were invited to wear their costumes.  Her real Halloween costume was going to be a bit clunky, and I knew she would not enjoy dancing around in it, so we decided to put her in one of her many princess dresses.  Elsa made an appearance at the dance class that day, and surprisingly, she was the only one.

That afternoon, we decorated the front of the house and then it was nap time for the kiddos.  

                 


Once they woke up, it was time to start getting everyone ready for a night of trick or treating.  Despite  all of our attempts to come up with easier costume ideas, Lauren insisted on being Kwazii Kitten from the Octonauts cartoon.  And of course, they don't sell Kwazii Kitten costumes.  We did find a woman in England, who made felt Octonaut masks, but that was it.  So this was officially our first year with a homemade costume.  Not only did Lauren want a Kwazii Kitten costume, but she also wanted him to have a scuba helmet and air tanks...just like her Kwazii Kitten figurine!

I think Chad did an amazing job and nailed it!!

Here is what Kwazii Kitten looks like...

And here was Lauren's costume...

Lauren decided that Charlie should dress up as Peso Penguin, from the Octonauts.  That worked for us, because we just picked out an infant penguin costume at Target and put it on him.  And it turned out that the 4 month old boy, across the street, had the exact same costume this year!

Right before it got dark, we posed for some photos and took Charlie down the street to trick-or-treat at a house or two.  Then, Chad headed off with Lauren and I came back to the house, with Charlie, to hand out candy.  It did not take long before Lauren came home.  Apparently, she was scared of a life-sized Wicked Witch figure and did not want to trick-or-treat any more.  But she had a great time handing out candy and it was nice to have her around.

Later that weekend, our neighborhood had a Halloween party.  There was a large parade, a petting zoo, pony rides, balloon animals, face painting, treat bags, and food down by the playground.  It was really cold outside, and Lauren was tired, but we managed to show up for a bit before hurrying home to warm up!!

           

It was a wonderful holiday, and I really think that Lauren had a great time.  I hope we have an equally fun time next year, and maybe a store bought costume will be in our future.  We shall see!!