Grinning Ghosts Come Out to Socialize

Our family loves Halloween, costumes are picked out months in advance (Matt has planned his next two years worth of costumes) and Christian has even started planning some new yard decorations for next year. We love the fall weather and the traditions that come with the holiday..both old and new. 

This year we started our Halloween kick off with a new tradition- Boo Lights! 

We have gone to Zoo Lights at Christmas time for several years now so this was a fun change to do something to celebrate Halloween with our family and several thousand of our closest friends. We even lucked out and had a very pleasant night weather wise.

One of our favorite traditions is the Bradley Family Scary food party. It is fun to get together in costumes and enjoy Blood Soup, Witches Fingers, and several other spooky food.

The next week we went to the Bellamy Family Scary food party. This time we dined on monster loaf and mummy dogs. 

The best activity of the month (at least in the kids' opinion) is our neighborhood Trunk or Treat. This year they added a chili cook off to the party! The kids loved going to all the cars, some of them even got visited three times! 

We added a pumpkin patch into the traditions this year. The kids had fun catapulting apples and picking out the best pumpkins they could find.

On Halloween I we went to two Halloween Parades, I was just grateful they were at two different times!  James was a sneaky ninja and sneaked right past me. 

We saved our pumpkin carving for Halloween afternoon, not sure we are going to do that again it was a crazy. 

Then it was off for a fun night of Trick or Treating! 

So that was our Halloween, oh and if you are in need of any chocolate please let us know, we have an abundance. 

Grinning Ghosts Come Out to Socialize!

As a kid I remember that Halloween really was one day. You wore your costume for the school party and then later for trick-or-treating. If you were lucky there might be another party that you could wear your costume for but that was only if you were super lucky.  It seems my kids are wearing their costumes to many things during the month of October, I really like that, I think it is a lot more fun. 

Red Riding Hood, Katniss Everdeen, Supergirl, Ninja, and Spiderman

My kids started planning their costumes way back in August, I think that is when I bought Matt's (Thanks Prime Day, you may have sucked for everyone else but I got an awesome Spidey costume out of it-oh and diaper wipes) and the other kids poured through catalogs their mom had sent to pick the right one. So come October 1st we were ready.

Our first celebration was with Matt's preschool. Because his teacher was going to be gone over Halloween he celebrated a week early- it was awesome. 

I loved the abundance of super heroes...gotta love 4 year olds. 

Then a week before we had our traditional Bradley Family Spooky food party. There was so much delicious food- it was incredible. Plus the kids had a lot of fun. 

I love the kids with all of their cousins. So many friends, it is great.  

Abby was a pretty good sport, I think she enjoyed the attention. 

I went back and forth and got opinions on Abby's costume this year. We ended up with Supergirl but those who voted for Wonder Woman, fear no. That costume is currently in her closet waiting to be pulled out for Comic Con this spring. Yes, I do realize that my children have absolutely no chance.

We did the ward Trunk or treat the week before Halloween. The kids had fun getting a ton of candy and playing with friends.

Have I mentioned the little kids and super hero thing? 

So we were procrastinating parents this year. We bought our pumpkins on Halloween (we tried to grow them but due to a variety of circumstances we did not get one pumpkin this year), we had to go to two different stores to actually find pumpkins to carve and we were picking the bottom of the barrel there. Lesson learned.

Laine got her pumpkin cleaned out and ready to go before everyone else. 

Matt cleaned out most of his pumpkin on his own. Just a little help from parents.

Eve had a great design but quickly learned that you need more than a sliver of pumpkin between the Jack-o-Lantern's nose and mouth. 

James picked a pumpkin that had trouble standing up (bottom of the barrel, remember?). So he got creative and carved it on it's side. 

After pumpkins were carved we went and trick-or-treated the many grandparents. The kids love it

Trick or treat!!!

..I think the grandparents do too.

Hello, we're here on a top secret mission to collect all the world's candy. 

We finished out our Halloween celebrations with a party with some of our Bellamy family, topped off with Trick-or-Treating with cousins

Even Grammy and Poppa got in on the the fun.

So happy Halloween from my little goblins and ghouls...and thanks for the sweet treats!

Happy Halloween

 Happy Halloween!!! I remember Halloween growing up and really it was just Halloween anything happened. Now it is a month long celebration, not that my kids seem to mind and I am just happy we get more than one use out of the costumes.

We did have a few Halloween activities packed in this week and it started with a Halloween party. Even Matty had fun making spooky pumpkin patches. He was so proud he made the "dirt", added the cookies, and placed the pumpkins.

 The cousin party was fun. We had two Olafs, Two Annas, Two Elsas, and a Jedi. I would like to point out that they are all owned by Disney now so I feel that they all fit together. But yes Frozen mania had entered our house. The kids decided six months ago what they wanted to be. We tried to show them other costumes and they stuck firm. Laine did change her mind but by then the costumes had been ordered so it was too late to change. It all worked out though, and they looked cute.

The Halloween Parade was fun this year. Matty was so excited to see his brother that he tackle hugged him in line. He was very upset that he couldn't go with him through the line. 

We carved our pumpkins, this year using templates. I loved it. So easy and awesome. 

Halloween means trick or treating to grandparents, we visited five this year. The kids loved it and I think the grandparents enjoyed it too. 

So happy Halloween from our Frozen clan to yours. 

Oh and if anyone needs any candy, come visit. I'll trade you the peanut butter cups for Bottle Caps. 

Happy Halloween

I debated all month how to do this post. Should I post about each Halloween activity individually or should I wait and just have a picture heavy post at the end of the month. I decided to go with the picture heavy post and that may have been the right decision, who knows. 

So we kicked off the Halloween season with a party at Grandma's. We loved her Halloween party and were so happy she was home this year to throw it, we have missed it the last two years while she was in Germany.  The kids were excited to put on their costumes a few weeks early. The girls even treated us to an epic battle of ninja verse pirate. Still not sure what girl won. 

All year long I look for fun Halloween food to do. This year we went easier than we have in past years. We did a carrot pumpkin patch....oh and I realized I need at least one Halloween serving tray.

And Frankenstein pudding cups. The first time we did these we did vanilla pudding dyed green. The second time we did pistachio. Anyway it was fun and Eve loved decorating the cups.

Grandma lead the Halloween parade around the house. And the kids seemed to thing it was fabulous.

The second party was at Grammy's. It was a bit smaller but still lots of fun. Matty loved the mummy hotdogs and loved the attention he got from his older cousins.  Oh and the big bag of M&Ms he got sure didn't hurt.

The week of Halloween was a busy one. We did our pumpkin carving. Christian and Matty decided to draw their pumpkins this year and Matty was content to carry it around forever. Just a moment here to talk about my awesome husband. When the boys decided that they were going to be minions this year he decided to be Gru. The man shaved his head for this, talk about committed to making his kids' halloween fabulous. I am so happy that I married him and so grateful for what a wonderful father he is.

Laine is really into moustaches this year, so of course her pumpkin had to have one.

James' needed to be as toothless as he is.

And Eve's was beautifully designed, also with a moustache.

Finally it was time for the neighborhood party. It was at this party that Christian made his first appearance as Gru complete with minions and freeze ray.

The kids loved the neighborhood party. It had a delicious chili bar, a parade, a spook alley, and a trunk or treat. I gave out more candy at the trunk or treat then I did on Halloween.  The kids loved going around to the cars and getting candy, then they even donated some of it to Primary Children's.

Finally we made it to the big day. matty had been preparing for this day all month. Everything was spooky with ghosts or witches.  He also watched every Disney Halloween special possible and made many references of going to treak or treat mountain.

We went to the kid's Halloween parade, where you go and sit for an hour to watch twenty minutes of a parade, reminds me a bit like Disneyland. Matty spent the time playing.

He really did love Halloween and it was fun to watch him. He wore the witch hat quite a bit so he could be spooky.

After school we went trick or treating to all of the grandparents. The kids loved it and I think the grandparents loved it too.

Finally it was time for the big night. After a dinner of eyeball hamburgers we put on the costumes one last time and got ready for trick or treating. Laine was determined to spend the whole night trick or treating, "for the good of the family" she claimed. She may have a point since we have a community treat basket where all the kids candy goes. 

So we had Laine, the super ninja.

James, the head minion. 

Matty, the cute little minion.

And Eve, the swashbuckling pirate. 

All accompanied by Daddy Gru. 

They were off on an adventure while mom stayed home to hand out candy to the few trick or treaters we got. 

So from our little spooks to your Happy Halloween.