Halloween 2008

We had a great time with the whole Halloween experience. We decorated the house, and the kids are always especially excited about putting out our inflatable witch who pops in and out of her cauldron on our front lawn. We also attempted to go to the pumpkin patch at Boone Hall Plantation with my friend Sara and her kids. Unfortunately, the week before, it had rained 8 inches here, so it was very muddy, and poor Sykes got attacked by fire ants, so we didn't stay long. Then, the kids had their class parties, and since I am the room mom for both classes, I got to be there for both. Carson's 4K class had fun eating their snack, digging through spaghetti "worms" for prizes, and playing Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin. Sykes' party was totally nuts! You would think compared to a 4K party, a 1st grade party would be more organized and calm, but it was crazier! Maybe it was because it was later in the day, or there were more kids, or maybe because they all know each other very well by now. Not quite sure, but at least we were able to get them to play some games as well. The funniest game they played was a race to wrap one of their teammates in toilet paper mummy style. What a riot! Then, they also played Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin, and finally, some sort of beanbag toss. Of course, that evening was Trick or Treating. What fun! Carson wanted to be a ballerina princess, and since the ballet costume she already had was not "fancy" enough, I found myself gluing thousands (and I mean literally thousands) of sequins to it. But, it turned out beautiful, if I do say so myself. She absolutely loved it, and she looked gorgeous. Sykes had originally said he wanted to be a remote control, which I thought was a very creative idea. However, after a while, he decided he really wanted to be a police officer. So he was our little cop for the night. I also dressed up as a witch for the entire day, and the kids were excited! I had originally told Sykes I wanted to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but he said he would be too embarrassed if I showed up at school dressed like that. Apparently, being embarrassed of your parents starts a lot earlier than the teenage years. Josh really didn't need to dress up--he could have just taken off his shirt and dressed as a hairy monkey (he he--sorry Josh), but he decided to go a different direction and bought a mask. I think he was supposed to be Confucius, but none of us could really figure it out for sure. We embarked on our Trick or Treating mission on the golf cart a little before dark and stopped at the grandparents' and great grandparents' houses first. Josh and I also call it Drink or Treating because when we stop at friends and neighbors houses, they always give us a beer or a glass of wine. So, usually by the time we get home, we are pretty relaxed and silly. We did manage to go to quite a few houses of people we did not know this year, and the kids were going up to the doors by themselves with us watching from the golf cart by the end of the night. Carson was ready to just barge up to any door, but Sykes was more apprehensive at first. She eventually talked Sykes into it, and a good time was had by all. I was sad the day was over, as it is always such a fun time around here. In fact, I will use my sadness as the excuse for some of my decorations still being up around the house! : )