Halloween ~ 2014 Style!

Jedi's and Wonder Woman...oh my!  

Halloween was slightly different this year.  Ben had marching band rehearsal and wasn't able to dress up.  He was disappointed, especially since he and Luke were planning to dress alike.  Oh well...what can you do?

Luke couldn't wait to try on his costume as soon as it arrived! (Grammy made it and I brought it home from St. Louis!)  Ben tried his on too so they could compare!

 And have a light sabre battle!  I love my Star Wars loving boys!

That has to be the cutest little Jedi I have ever seen!

He was more than happy to let me take pictures of him in all kinds of fun poses!

And...my favorite superhero girl!  Wonder Woman!!  How cute is she?!

I was super excited to make a tutu for Abby! I told her I would be happy to make her Halloween costume as long as it included a tutu!  :)

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I got to take these cuties out trick-or-treating!

Even though the marching band had rehearsal, some band parents came up with the brilliant idea to plan a trunk-or-treat event as a surprise at the end of rehearsal.  It was so much fun!!  The kids were surprised and the parents had fun putting it together for this hard working group of kids!

Even though the kids weren't allowed to dress up, Ben and his friend, Ben, dressed up as twins.  Do you see the resemblance?

I love Halloween!  Such a fun, fun night!

YIKES!!

 Who needs Halloween to put up Halloween decorations when you've got the real deal?!

 

I hate spiders!  But look how amazing that web is!

HaLlOwEeN 2012

Luke couldn't wait for Halloween this year!  Abby made him a chain to count down the days when there still 40 something days to go.  It was a long wait for the little guy!

Knowing that I was due to have foot surgery at the beginning of October, I knew that all of the kids had to be something fairly simple. I wasn't planning on doing any sewing this year.  Luke's costume was a no-brainer.  Back when Ben was in preschool he was Woody.  Of course, I saved the costume and hoped that it would fit Luke.  It was perfect and Luke was thrilled!  Abby took it upon herself to call Grammy and ask her to make a Raggedy Ann costume.  Thankfully Grammy said yes!  Ben knew that he wanted to be Captain Hammer (I have no idea who that is!) and assured me that he would take care of it.  Perfect!

As it Luke wasn't excited enough about Halloween, he found out, at school, that he would get to wear his costume to school on Halloween.  I can't even tell you how excited he was to tell me this big news!  Halloween just couldn't get here fast enough for this boy!

The day finally arrived and Luke couldn't wait to get his costume on and head to school!

It was so cute to see all of the kids (and teachers) in their costumes!

Party time!!

Me and my cowboy!

I was so proud to see my anti-crafts boy doing something crafty!

The kids even got to go trick or treating at the church offices at school!

Apparently this is what Captain Hammer looks like.  ???  It worked for me since all I had to do what the shirt.  Simple enough!  Ben was pleased with it and that's all that really matters! 

Ben had very different plans this year.  He was asked to go to a Halloween party at a friend's house. Jon and I were both a little bit leery, but after asking lots and lots of questions and thinking about it for a long time we decided that it would be ok.    A party at the home of one of his band friends with other band kids where the parents were going to be home, no girls and not out roaming the streets...It sounded legitimate.  I'm so glad we let him go!  It sounded like he had a great time!  My baby is definitely growing up...

Abby's costume turned out perfect!  Grammy did a SUPER job!

How cute are these two?!?!

This is Miss Emily Jessie.  She is the children's ministry director at our church.  She and Luke are good buddies!  Luke kept telling her that she should be Jessie for Halloween.  I love it so much that she actually went with it!  These two were absolutely adorable together!

This year our church put on a Trunk or Treat event.  Ben and Abby weren't really thrilled with the idea, but I figured that if they wanted to go out with a (responsible!) friend, they could do that.  I knew this kind of thing would be perfect for me, since I couldn't walk, and perfect for Luke since it would be much simpler that going from house to house.  It was great! Abby came for a while and then headed out with some friends later.  Luke LOVED it!

Luke came in second place in the costume contest!  His prize...TEN Rice Krispie Treats!  Oh boy...

Abby, Anna and Elizabeth enjoyed Trunk or Treat for a little while before hitting a neighborhood together.

These kids are just growing up way too fast!

Luke inherited this great pair of bat glasses sometime during all of the Halloween festivities.  I wish I had taken a picture of his in the dark.  There are glow sticks that make it look super cool in the dark!  Luke was a big fan of these glasses!

This is probably my very most favorite picture of the night!  We got home after a long night of Halloween fun and Luke dumped his candy on the floor and just laid there in front of it.  This picture was not staged!  That is just one adorable boy with one huge pile of candy!  I think we are going to have candy around here for a very long time!

Everyone had a very fun night in all of our various locations. It was strange to not all be together, but I guess that's what happens when kids grow up...

Halloween ~ 2011

As a kid, my mom always made our Halloween costumes. Now, I don't believe there is any other way for my kids! I am not opposed to store-bought costumes! I just enjoy making my kids costumes!

Having said that, last year after Halloween I bought Luke a Yoda costume for this year. He loves Yoda and I couldn't pass up the bargain. (How do you resist 75% off?) As we were thinking about what each of the kids were going to dress up as this year, I tried the Yoda costume on Luke. Everything was looking great until I tried to stuff his head into the Yoda hat. The child does not have a small head! So...now I didn't have a clue what he could be! As I was searching my obsession for Halloween costumes ideas I came across a cute idea for a box of popcorn. It looked super cute and fairly easy to accomplish.

I think it turned out great! Is this not the cutest box of popcorn you have ever seen?!

On to Abby...She didn't have a clue what she wanted to be for Halloween. She finally decided that she would just be the clown that she was a few years ago. I was fine with that since it was something that I had made and was pretty proud of. I loved the fact that she would get more wear out of it. Well, while searching for costume ideas I came across something very fun and colorful that I thought Abby would love. I was right. She fell in love and immediately decided against the clown costume.

Abby's hot air balloon costume turned out SO great! She loved it. I loved it. It. was. a. hit!! As Abby was trick or treating, I can't tell you how many people asked to take Abby's picture! It was crazy! As she was walking around people kept telling her how awesome her costume was! (Yes, I was a proud mama! Thankfully the Lord has forgiven me!)

Ben wasn't so sure whether he would go trick or treating this year. He thought he might be getting too old! I assured him that he wasn't too old, but that if he was going to go, he had to wear a costume. (I hate it when kids try to get candy without dressing up!) He decided to go as a hiker/backpacker. I liked it! (Sadly I didn't get a picture of Ben by himself.)

There they are. My hiker/backpacker, my box of popcorn and my hot air balloon. :)

Trick or Treat!

Abby and her ninja, friend, Anna.



Silly boy!



Checking out their loot!


I think the kids all had a fun night! Ben went trick or treating with some friends. Abby's friend, Anna called and asked us to all come over there so we could all go together. Luke has been sick all week and I was concerned that he wasn't even going to be able to go trick or treating, but he made it to about 8-10 houses before he was ready to be finished. I'm glad he made it!

We are already thinking about next year's costumes! :)

Halloween - Rounds 2 & 3

Because Halloween was on Sunday, some neighborhoods opted to do trick or treating on Saturday night. We opted to go out for both! Not just for more candy, but so that the kids could get more wear out of their costumes. Plus, it's just so much fun!
Our Halloween fun started by my friend, Deborah, bringing us this super cute basket of treats! So cute!! (I told you she was crafty. She made the tags! Click on this picture to see, up close, how cute they are.)
I have the cutest farmer,
Jedi,
and fireman around!! I know this isn't a great picture of Luke, but it's the only one I got with his hat on! He wouldn't wear it, but it looked SO cute on him! (There are much better pictures of Luke to come!)
Abby's friend Anna went trick or treating with us on Saturday night.
Ben is ready to go!
(See, I told you Luke wouldn't keep that crazy hat on!)
And we're off!
One of the houses we went to was passing out freshly made cotton candy! YUM!
Me and my little fireman! All that walking made him very thirsty!
Luke had to take a break. He was such a good boy out trick or treating! He loved it!!

After church on Sunday and a lazy afternoon we were all ready to hit the streets again! But first I had to get a few more pics of the kids in their costumes.
(I know, I'm turning into my mom!)
It is SO hard to get a good picture of Luke! He's way too busy to sit still for two seconds!
He's better with action shots! :)
My sweet farmer girl :)
Grammy made this awesome Jedi costume for Ben!
(This is actually the second Jedi costume Grammy has made. I guess Ben will be a Jedi for the rest of his trick or treating years...)
Yes! I finally got the Jedi to smile! He thinks they are serious all the time!
Like I said, it's hard to get a great picture of Luke because he's always on the move! We were definitely bribing him with candy here!
We noticed a spider that was making a web in the tree in our front yard. It seemed very Halloween-y to us.
I really don't love spiders!
And we're off again! (Without Ben this time as he went out with one of his friends. My baby is growing up. :'( )
"Trick or Treat!" Thank you Miss Tiffany!!
Such a big boy!
More than anything, he just wanted to ring all of the doorbells!
This house was super cool! The clown was making balloon animals and swords. Not only was he passing out candy, you could also choose as granola bars or juice boxes! Hooray for creativity!
I think my little fireman is officially tuckered out! He did a GREAT job!
The loot!
I loved how my porch looked when I got home from trick or treating and of course I had to take a picture.
Pathetic, I know!

We all had a fun Halloween weekend! It was a good, safe, candy filled time! Abby is already talking about what she wants next year's costume will be. We'll have to see how many times that changes between now and then. I know Luke really enjoyed it because he is constantly asking to go "tricky treating"! :)