Happy Halloween!

This year the kids didn't have much of a say of what they were dressing as for Halloween.  I found some costumes on clearance last year for a couple of dollars.  So those were their choices.  Luckily, Ashleigh loves red.  It is her favorite color.  (Remember her cast last year? Here.) So she was excited to be the red witch.  She especially loved how the skirt had a hoop in it and boy could it spin.

 Kara thought she needed mascara for those eyelashes.  Check out how long they are!!!

 The costume I got for Kara was a little too short.  So no Snow White for her.  So she dug through the costume box and found Janiel's blue fairy.  She wanted a bun just like Tinker Bell and a little sparkle on her cheeks.  She said she needed shoes with little balls on the toes.  Sorry.  Just her Sunday shoes did the trick.

 Janiel did come up with her own idea.  I thought she was pretty clever.  She went as a "Smartie" Pants.  

 Erin was happy to be the flapper girl.  She said she didn't know what a flapper was, so she would just be a dancing girl.  (Like her pose?  She did it all by herself.)

 Friday night we had a party at the church.  It was a very rainy night, but they had planned to do it inside for other reasons.  We combined with the Naples Ward, which is huge!!!  They had a lot of fun games prepared and activities and treats.  It was a fun night.  I think the kids really enjoyed themselves.

Then on Halloween we went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood with the Lovelace family.  Let me tell you, it is different here.  I'm not sure how the rest of the world does it.  So I don't know which method is most popular.  But I now know of two different ways.  

The first way in Utah/Idaho:  You stay in your house.  This might be due to the chilliness of the weather.  Kids come and ring or knock if you have your light on.  You answer the door and give the kids treats.  Kids are bundled from head to toe.  You often don't even know what they are dressed like because of the coat (and snow pants!).  Many kids are dressed as bears and other warm furry animals.  The parents stand back, being the escorts.  

The second way is Florida:  (**We didn't do this.  We were uneducated!!!**) You park your lawn chair on the drive way.  You invite Grandma and other relatives to sit with you.  If you really get into it you have a table with snacks and drinks for your family.  You decorate all around you.  You play music and dress up!  Some houses even had a bowl of candy for the kids and a cooler of beer for the parents.  So the kids can just stroll down the street and stop at each driveway.  It actually was really convenient.  (Some do stay inside like we are used to but then you have to walk all the way up to the door!) Kids do not dress as bears or other furry animals.  They dress with as little as possible.  This is good for fairies and princesses!  The parents are dressed up too (some with a beer in hand).  Some adults with no children just wander down the street dressed up. I guess it just adds to the festivities.  I have never seen our neighborhood so alive.  I couldn't take a very good picture of the street.  So this is just one stop. (I should have done a more decorated stop.  These are our neighbors across the street.  So one of our first stops.  Didn't realize what lay ahead!)

 We just did our neighborhood.  They really raked it in.  You can see our four girls and Kylie.  Kylie was Jessie and Chandler was Buzz.  Very cute.  We had a fun time!

Wes went with his friend, Noah.  Now talk about a party.  I dropped him off at 5.  There was already a policeman at the entrance.  You can only enter if you live there or have a pass.  I guess each family is given passes to hand out.  Luckily, Noah had given Wes one.  People were getting ready as it is quite the set up.  Wes had pizza with them and then went out for a couple of hours.  Our neighborhood was done and packed up by the time I went to get Wes at 8:45.  Noah's neighborhood was still going strong.  I was amazed.  Everyone had a fun time!