Halloween-ery

October is always a busy, fun time of year. Somehow, despite our best efforts, we always end up doing maybe too much. There are the carnivals at school...

and at church...

We returned to Boo at the Zoo this year (much better than my memories of it a couple of years ago). Owen mastered his stormtrooper shooting pose. Batman and Darth were friends who helped protect Princess Hadley. (By the way, I love that she was just a princess and didn't have to be a specific Disney princess!!)

The animals were definitely secondary (or tertiary?) to the candy and games/crafts. Hadley was very into the crafts; Owen was antsy to move on to his "troop", which he could see from the crafting area!

All in all, a good outing for the two! I have to mention that Owen lamented that his stormtrooper detailing ended at the waist. I must agree! Hadley's costume came out of our existing dress-up bin. Maybe next year's costumes will be more of an investment... 

And Owen's school had a 1st grade Halloween program. He's the blondie in the middle. They sang about 10 songs, and each class did their own poem, complete with original artwork. Who knew there were that many Halloween songs?

Not to be outdone, Hadley learned this poem at school and recited it on repeat quite a bit. I first heard it at the library 5 years ago, but now it's everywhere. Enjoy!

Then there was the decorating! There was always something more to add. I added the spider web and hanging ghoul one day while Owen was at school. He was so excited to see it when he got home that he jumped right off of his bike to admire it.

Hadley and I also had fun decorating the driveway while we were waiting for Owen to come home. Unfortunately, it rained black cats and werewolves about 30 minutes later, but it was fun to create anyway! Sometimes it's fun to embrace your inner child.

We did these ghost lanterns last year and enjoyed them enough to do them again. Stuff them with a strand of lights and you have an adorable, spooky porch light. (This is how much milk we drank in October!)

The kids were even gung-ho about scooping out their own pumpkin goop. Owen probably did about 85% of his, while Hadley did about 25% of hers. Scary faces were requested, of course, carved by adults, and quickly added to the porch.

Finally, it was time for trick-or-treating. We met a group of friends a few houses away, chowed down on a pre-walk feast, and scoured the neighborhood for treats! At least it was a school night, so we had to end at a reasonable time, although Owen still filled his bucket completely. Hadley and I turned in 45 minutes earlier when she got too cold to continue. Whew! Another holiday celebrated in style - check!