We had a crazy whirlwind of a final week of October.  We had parties literally every night but one and we also had the stomach flu. So, not everybody attended every party, but still. Plus, we had our annual Halloween production, if you will. Check it out!

First, our costumes. I made/assembled all the costumes except Josh’s. He was the mastermind of his own attire!

Carter and Fay each had parties at school and little parades to show off their costumes. I only took a video of Fay’s and it isn’t great. But here is Carter’s adorable preschool class!

I also didn’t manage to take any pictures from the party we hosted. But it’s okay, because the party was really all about The Haunt. So here is a little tour of Josh’s creation!

First, he set the stage as you arrive at the house with a grave yard!

Then you see the official sign for the laboratory!

Next, the grand entrance with the terrifyingly evil Mad Scientist!

When you walk into the entrance, you find yourself surrounded by questionable experiments.

Next, you move through a maze of creepy hanging items accentuated by a flashing strobe.

Followed by creepy, radioactive activity. (None of these pictures are doing the experience justice, by the way.)

Finally, you enter the final room where the Mad Scientist himself greets you and then explains what his laboratory is all about. BUT, there is a problem! And only YOU can save the lab!
Josh always makes it an interactive game experience along with your standard fun, creepy haunt. I feel like it sets his haunts apart from the others I’ve seen.

Anyway, we were all very pleased with how it turned out! And we’re even back to parking in our garage again, so we’re even MORE pleased. 🙂

While all of this excitement was going on at home, I got to take the cuties trick-or-treating. I LOVE taking them trick-or-treating and watching how excited they get with each new candy put into their bag! I was enjoying it so much, in fact, that I didn’t document it at all. One of my favorite parts this year was watching Portia just munch on the candy she got from the ward trunk-or-treat in the wagon instead of going to collect more treats.

I have a tradition of allowing the kids to eat all the candy they want between trick-or-treating and bedtime. I feel like it is good for a child’s soul to just get exactly what they want every now and again. I think it is also good for my soul to be able to just say yes instead of being responsible.

Here are the kids enjoying their sweet freedom!

Anyway, we had a marvelous Halloween season and Halloween day! And now we are enjoying taking moments each day to share the things we’re thankful for!  I LOVE holidays!