Happy Halloween!

Halloween is one of those holidays that when it's over, it's over.  I can't get those scarecrows into the storage room fast enough.

I keep my fall stuff out, but the bats and jack-o-lanterns get boxed up pretty quickly.  And, then, I know that if the windows haven't been washed yet, I'd better hurry!  Hence, the reason it's taken me so long to get to the Halloween post.....been busy boxing up bats and washing windows.

I'm glad I got most of their pictures posted, but we can't forget the real deal- Halloween itself!

Even after three days of dress up, we were still ready for more come October 31st.

Saving their best for last, and with no further adieu....presenting Miss Anabella the beautiful ballerina and Mr. Dan the Man Spiderman.....

Don't you love his Spiderman pose?
(totally his own doing- that boy!)

Besides celebrating Halloween at school, they also had a visit from the fire company that day (rescheduled from a previous date),  so they had the chance on Halloween to meet some firemen, learn all about their equipment and even check out the trucks. Fun! And, if that wasn't enough, they each came home with a foldable block, which they used to tell us all about what they learned. In addition to some Halloween treats, of course.

After lunch, a few Halloween books and lots of talk about firemen, it was time for a quick nap before we had to pick up S and S from the bus stop. Since they'd informed me on Monday they wouldn't have homework, I thought ahead and had an "activity" planned for the four kiddos.

While I would have normally planned something crafty for Halloween or decorated cupcakes or something a little more "fun," I knew I was having company in the next hour, so I planned for a quiet low-key popcorn at the movies instead. Figuring they all needed to rest before the big night and all.  Not all selfish on my part. :)



Since they never watch TV together after school, watching cartoons while eating popcorn was the perfect treat! Perfect for me, too, as I finished up some last minute things before everyone arrived.

Allie, Erik, and Erika arrived during the kids' movie event, and D and A were excited to see them and to open their Halloween goodies. 

Shortly after S and S left, Mom and Dad arrived with more Halloween goodies. This kept Daniel and Anabella occupied while the grown ups ate dinner. I fed the kids earlier in an effort to speed things along, knowing they'd be excited and not likely to eat much with everyone there. Plus, I wanted them to eat before putting on their costumes.

Just as we were finishing our chicken tortilla soup (Allie's favorite, otherwise not a good choice for this unusually warm late October evening) and chicken enchiladas, the doorbell rang with our first trick or treaters- Ian & Hagan, our friends from across the street.

They apologized for starting early, but the boys were so excited (hello, so were we), they just could hardly wait!

Since we could hardly wait either, out we went.....even before I could get my act together enough to get pictures.

Thankfully, everyone else took some with their phones, so here's what we have:

Between grabbing the wagon, a half a dozen umbrellas (it was starting to sprinkle- nooooooo!), the dogs' leashes, the camera, buckets for candy (those bags they were carrying were cute but wouldn't hold much), Belle's basket and Toto (can you believe in all the commotion Dorothy forgot Toto?!), I almost forgot to leave the treats on the porch!! Ahhh........it's a good thing Halloween is only once a year! Oh my.

Meanwhile, Dad had already started down the street with Dan the Man Batman, who had already started going door to door. Donning a skeleton shirt for the occasion, Dee was all about taking his grandchildren from house to house. It was cute.  And, we were happy to have the extra hands! For Chip and I, it was our easiest Halloween ever (after we made it out the door with everything).

I guess it was because Dee had started them, but they wanted Dee (who Anabella is now calling Granddaddy) to go with them to ALL the houses.

"Come on, Grandaddy," Anabella would say if he wasn't moving fast enough.

Here are some pictures from the evening. Between the drizzle and the flash, the photos aren't the best quality, but the subjects are cute, nonetheless.

Oh, I forgot to mention why else we needed the Radio Flyer- Princess Shilee.

Our neighbors really get into Halloween- we enjoyed all the lawn decorations- the kids especially liked this jack-o-lantern.

Well, look what the cat (no pun intended) dragged in......Miss Catherine, my after school helper.
They were so excited to see her. I heard Anabella ask her more than once, "Want to come trick-or-treating with us?"
 

Dad said that Daniel always chose Reese's cups.  Sure enough, when we got home, he did have a lot of Reese's cups.  

Our destination was to make it to the end of Bridlewood Dr., to the house we'd been talking about visiting all week, the one with the giant spider web covering the yard. After visiting our street, and the one across from us, Batman decided he needed a rest.

Stewey (Allie's new pup) was dressed for the occasion and happy to come along (not needing the comfort of the Radio Flyer like Princess Shilee who we'd already returned home- she and Solomon are not very good trick-or-treaters.)

While they were interested in checking out their candy, they both listened well and didn't open anything until we returned home.

Funny story here- our laugh for the night- notice where Dad is standing. Did you see the Modern Family episode where Gloria, the beautiful wife of the old Married With Children guy, hands out candy in an outfit better suited for the bedroom, which she's practically falling out of? Well, she was at this house handing out candy. Oh my. When we saw her from the street, we all laughed that Dad would be going to this house. But, no, he said he was scared and stood back while D and A walked up alone.  Ha! It was scary. Come on now, this is a family night, people. Save it for after your porch light is off, please.

TaDa!
This is the house!
The one where Spiderman "spinned" (as Daniel says) his web (and left the spider!)
 

After this, they were ready to go home.
We all were.
On the way back, Anabella said two things which summed up on our night (and made everyone chuckle):  "This was a fun night. Wasn't it, Mommy?" (funny b/c of what she said and also that she added, wasn't it, Mommy- always wanting validation from mommy)
and stating....
"We had a wonderful Halloween!"
Yes, Anabella, thank you. We sure did!
Couldn't have said it better myself. :)  

Back at home, Anabella couldn't wait to get Solomon and Shilee the bones she picked up from one of the houses.  Before she'd even emptied out her own candy.

What a Happy Halloween Week! The next day as I packing away everything batty, including our collection of Halloween books, I decided to take a picture first.  So much of what we do and enjoy the most on a daily basis is behind the scenes, so to speak, from the stuff I post in our blog. They wore their costumes for a few hours a day Halloween week, but these books....we read these books once a day.  The ones in the second picture were favorites- read twice a day! (once before naps and then usually again before bedtime- then I would hear them again in my sleep some nights- and a time or two, they would even take them to their beds as well). 



I included the Monster book (starring Grover), but didn't pack this away since it's really not a Halloween book. Since it starred a MONSTER (heeeee), we read it a lot during the month of October, but we'll read it again in February, too.  It's one of Daniel's all time favorite books.  



These were the favorites.
Who Said Boo? and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat! were rhyming books and by the end of the month both D and A could read them to us!

 

Something tells me that even though the bats, jack-o-lanterns and Halloween books are packed away, two children in this house will still be running around "dressed up" for some time to come....like all this week....trying to keep them from running around the house in dress up is like trying to clean up the crayon I found melted in the windowsill this morning- seriously, I found a crayon this morning in the office window when I lifted the blind to begin cleaning it. So, what did I do?  I left it and finished this blog post instead. :)