Our Halloween

We had a wonderful Halloween here in TN. Firstly, the weather was AWESOME! Nice and warm after the last two years back in the States have been so cold. We try to keep Halloween very fun and family-friendly, and we have found two wonderful activities that I think will be our yearly traditions!

I've spoken previously about Halloween on my Blog. I didn't really grow up celebrating it. We did things with church. However, our time in the military and overseas Bases meant that this time of year was a fun time for community. We decided we wanted to continue to have fun doing family and community-based things and not celebrating the actual holiday.

First up, we went to the homes of two of our friends from our homeschool co-op. They set up a trunk-or-treat in the backyard. It was such a wonderful time. The only bad thing was that JB had to work. Next year we will make sure he asks off for the weekend surrounding Halloween and not just the 31st itself!

This was the first year I have ever bought a costume. I bought the Anna costume for Abigail since she really didn't have anything to wear. Hannah already had Ariel and decided that's what she wanted to be. But the boys had told me they weren't going to dress up this year. I was a bit sad about that in a nostalgic kind of way. But I was so happy when at the last minute, the boys decided to dress up!!! 

When I asked Hannah to be a mermaid, she promptly decided to do just that!

This girl doesn't take a bad picture!

I get a nice photo by promising they can be silly afterwards.

My friend Shelby suggested a "Fish tail" braid for the mermaid. I hadn't done one of these in ages, but I pulled it off.

There were a ton of people at the Trunk-or-Treat, and they had a donut eating contest. I was so glad I knew about this because I was able to bring a special Krispy Kreme donut for Isaac so he could participate.

Sidge made me laugh so hard. The kid loves food and this was killing him!

The girls gave in quickly and used their hands!

Take a look at that donut tree!

 I felt bad because  just as the three-legged-race took off, Abigail decided she didn't want to do it. Her partner (Princess Jasmine) was bummed as it was too late to find a new partner! But Sidge and his partner won!

Isaac and his three-legged partner.

Sidge getting ready to go!

Finally getting to eat his donut.

Love this snap of Isaac. This kid LOVES donuts. So glad we have found him some that are egg-free!

Jb worked during the party pictured above. He got home at 8am on Saturday morning, went straight to bed, and met us at the zoo around 1pm for "Boo at the Zoo." This is our second year going to this event, and we had a GREAT time. Here is a link to our fun time in 2015. I managed to get a few really great pics of our family while there!

We tried something new this year. After our candy-haul from these two events, we put all the candy in one big pile and let everyone take turns picking. This allows all kids to have an even amount and to have more of the kind of candy they like. 

• Sidge: chocolate
• Isaac: skittles and non-chocolate candy
• Abigail: gum and gobstoppers
• Hannah: fruit snacks

This also meant that little Hannah didn't run out of her candy way before her big brothers because she wasn't as savvy at snagging extra candy as she trick-or-treated.

It was a great October! Two more months in 2015.