Family Memories: Halloween fun!

We had a fun October with lots of fun fall/ Halloween celebrations! We did some pumpkin painting at play group (where Amelia decided to EAT the paint), a trunk or treat and Halloween party at church, Claire's school Halloween parade, and of course Halloween! This year, since I felt like I had my life a little more organized than usual, I decided to steal some ideas from a couple of my October loving friends and make some Halloween meals too. The kids loved it and it was fun to make meals especially for them. Here are a couple that I made:

It was supposed to be a witch's cauldron of soup and I improvised and tried to make brooms. Yeah, it looks like a hand. Oh well.

mummy dog (so amazingly good!), boo banana, and a Frankenstein finger. The boo bananas were a huge hit. We ate them with MANY meals in October and beyond. They still occasionally ask for them. They are quite tasty and my kids eat a lot more bananas than usual because of them.

I made this Halloween night last year. I think it's our tradition now. It's just a frozen pizza with the pepperonis arranged to look like a jack-o-lanter...kind of. Fast and easy so we can get out the door and get some candy!

The kids also painted their pumpkins they picked at Gaver Farms. That night we also carved our pumpkin that we put on our porch. Claire helped design the face. Chris always cleans out the pumpkin and I carve it. :)

The weekend before Halloween, we had the trunk or treat and Halloween party at church. The primary was in charge of organizing it so there was a little added pressure. It was a fun evening though, and we all had a great time. :) Like last year, Chris's parents joined us which was really fun. It was nice that they got to see the kids in their costumes and got to see Claire do her part in the primary program at church the next day.

There was face painting so Claire got some added bunny teeth.

The missionaries carved this one in honor of one of the elders who had just been transferred.

Completely not Halloween related, a couple of days later Maddie started having trouble walking. Her hip was in a lot of pain and she could barely walk. It made me really sad for her and I was really worried. She also had a fever. After calling the ask a nurse, she said I needed to go to the ER as it could be a very serious problem that would require surgery in the next 24 hours. She said it could just be a virus causing the problem and it would resolve itself, but given the symptoms, tests needed to be done to be sure. So, I took Maddie out to the Annapolis pediatric ER for a long night at the hospital. This child had a ridiculous the amount of energy especially considering it was way past her bedtime. She was not only playing with toys, but she was riding a tricycle around the hospital for almost an hour while we waited for an actual room. (While I was very tired of chasing her around, I was glad her hip seemed to be feeling some better. It was a good sign.) Earlier in the day she had an x-ray done and blood work done, but more blood work needed to be done at the ER. Finally, after many tests and hours of waiting, it was decided she just had a virus that causes fluid to pool in the hip joint causing pain. They said it would resolve itself in a couple of days and to continue giving medicine to keep the fever down. I was tired but relieved when I got Maddie back home around 2AM. (She was awake the whole time until we drove home. I, on the other hand, slept in the hospital bed cuddling her while she watched tv. I always wondered why they have kid shows on at ridiculous hours of the night, and now I know why. Thank goodness for them.)

This was Maddie playing with her toy she got with a token there at 1AM very early Wednesday morning.

This was Maddie about 34 hours later on Thursday at the playground. She wasn't 100% yet, but so much better. She could actually run and play. What a relief!

Back to Halloween. My kids LOVE to play dress up. It's one of their favorite things to do. So it wasn't strange that on Halloween, after school, the kids were playing dress up before the big night. They even included Amelia in the dress up. (She is wearing bunny ears.)

On Halloween day, Claire's school had a Halloween parade outside where everyone wore their costume. After seeing the numerous Elsas and some Annas from Frozen, I was glad we convinced Claire to go with something other than Anna.

Claire chose a little bunny costume and wore her dance outfit with it. I gave her a carrot as a nice prop.

Halloween night, we took Amelia out in the wagon and went around our neighborhood. We had a great time, and the kids got a ridiculous amount of candy - enough to totally fill their pumpkins. I was going to donate some of it, but got busy and forgot to do it right away. Instead, here it is almost February, and they still have a bunch of the candy. I think it's about time to get rid of it. :p Here are the kids ready for their trick or treating.