Halloween Festivities 2014

Halloween festivities lasted nearly a week for us this year. Every year, our church holds a 'Trunk-or-Treat' in the parking lot for all of the kids to have a safe place to show off their costumes and get some candy. Some areas also have chili cook-offs and games prior to the trunk or treat.

 

I am now back to using their real names. Their personalities change so often that keeping up with a good nickname was difficult and ever-changing. It was originally intended for privacy but became more of a headache. Besides, it's mainly family and friends reading this stuff anyway.

 

This year, Bridget wanted to be Elsa from Frozen (just like every other little girl on the planet!). Halloween was so warm this year that I didn't need to buy her any covered shoes to match her costumes. She was able to wear her summer time church sandals! She felt super regal every time she put on her costume. She even got to wear some makeup we had leftover from her ballet performance.

 

 

George wanted to be something that "roared", so I was very excited to find this dragon costume for him. He would get into character each time his costume was put on. The very first time his hand went into the "claws", he'd stare at them and wiggle his fingers. I know he was thinking how awesome it was to finally have dragon hands. He is such a fun, wild boy!

 

Liam became the third baby to wear this pumpkin costume for Halloween. He looked just as cute as his older siblings did. I love his smile!

Here are the older kids after the trunk-or-treat. As I rarely have given my kids candy (cookies and cake, yes.. candy, no), George really had no idea what all the packages in his bucket were. Bridget remembered from last year, though. Once we got back to the van, he got to try some. His life was changed forever.

Later in the week before Halloween, we headed down to my in-laws' to attend their trunk-or-treat. They had a lot more going on for the kids there, and we all had a blast.

Finally, the day of Halloween arrived. We typically stay indoors and have our own family fun. My dad brought over a huge pumpkin with some stickers to decorate it with. The kids began decorating themselves, and Bridget put this sticker on Liam. I couldn't resist taking a picture. I'm so glad he was happy about it.

I like to make a Halloween-themed dinner to make things fun for the kids. This year, I made "Ghoulash", using my husband's grandmothers recipe for Austrian goulash, and veganizing it (taking out the beef and changing the spices and adding a few more vegetables to make up for the lack of meat). It was so good and the kids got a big kick out of it. I kept the heat to a low so that the kids could enjoy it, but I personally would have liked to have more cayenne pepper. I can't wait until they get old enough to handle some heat! Oh wait, yes I can. STOP GROWING!

Our Halloween dessert: chocolate cupcakes with orange frosting and festive sprinkles. George couldn't wait to dig in!