I Put a Spell on You!

Two years ago, I bought a Jim Shore Witch Figurine and it's our favorite Halloween decoration. By "our," I mean Brady's and mine--not Zachary's. We have it placed on our bar counter, and since we broke it out, he refuses to sit at the bar. Admittedly, the witch looks a little cynical, but the truth is, Zac hates Halloween. We took a few photos just before Halloween, and I had to bribe him to put his costume on. He got tears in his eyes trying it on, but toughed it out so he could earn his 25 cent piece of junk from the WalMart coin machines. Look at the painful expression in his eyes.

My favorite line from him, all choked up: "Mom, I don't want to be Robin Hood for Halloween. I just want to be your sweet, little boy."

Kate was happy to oblige me with picture after picture. I know that I post too many pictures of her, but I figure she's going to start running away and scowling at the camera soon, too. Plus, I got this costume for her a full 2 months ago, and was DYING to see her in it. Baby girls are fun to dress!

Zac's preschool did a performance of Halloween songs for the Moms and Dads, and one song was about a "Mean Old Witch." Zachary was a little confused by this, because, "Baby Kate isn't mean. Why is she a witch?" Seriously, this little gal really did put a spell on us!Pretty pre-spooky sunset:
The toy above was a cousin gift from Logan last year. Zac loves it so much that when one of his friends broke it, we got another one. The entire neighborhood shows up to play with it anytime it's out.
Friday night before Halloween was our Ward Trunk R Treat. I was in charge with the Primary again this year. Last year, we had 330 people show up. Our building is smaller than most, so that's about as big as it can get. This year was a success, too, but smaller numbers--probably about 75 less. I'm glad it's over, although I do get a kick out of planning these things. Our Frankenstein backdrop barely survived the night and is now at the dump.
Saturday morning, we busted out the door early so we could get back in time for another Halloween gig that night. We went up the canyon, where it was dumping rain. Somehow, we missed every bit of rain on our hike and it was sunny and beautiful at the lookout. When I pack up to go somewhere with the kids, I don't seem to forget a thing. When Brady and I both pack up, we almost forget the kids. This time, it was a spoon, bib, and diaper (that we didn't need...whew), which we packed in the car but not the hiking bag. Here's our white trash solution:
For the record, feeding an entire jar of pureed food with a carrot takes a lot longer than using a spoon.

We've tested Zachary on hikes several times now, and we were confident he could at least hike 3 miles. Now that we've been on island for 4.5 years, we feel too cool for the guidebook and overly confident in our knowledge of hikes. We "knew," for instance, that the lookout was about 2 miles, maybe 2.25 miles from the start of the hike. We passed the 2 mile marker, then the 2.25, then...we finally reached the 3.25 mile marker at the lookout. Eek. Zac seemed to be fine, but going back was completely uphill and we sweated it out a little wondering if he could make it.

I fed Kate at the lookout while Zac and Brady got a head start. I finally caught up to them over a mile later when they had taken a 10 min break, worried about me! I wasn't hiking slowly, either. That was a good sign, but we were still a little nervous about him making it to the end. It turns out that "beating Mommy to the car" is all the motivation he needed. He booked it the entire way back, including running the last .5 mile. I am serious when I say that Brady and I have never been so proud! 6.5 miles for our 3 year old!!
Showing us his muscles:
Shaka:
Kate was cooperative, too:
We picked up the island's last-remaining pumpkin on our way home. We call it our golden pumpkin--the darn thing was $15! Zac's friend Olivia helped us carve it. He was still not into getting his hands dirty, but at least touched it this year.

Halloween Day was my turn for preschool, so we did Halloween party games like Bean Bag Witch Toss, Coin in the Pumpkin Toss, Pin the Stem on the Pumpkin, Hold/Cold Pumpkin, etc. The kids dressed in their costumes, and surprisingly enough, Zac didn't fight me on it.The kids did a little show for their parents and we had a luncheon. I love this picture below because it displays preschool dynamics so well.
We took Zachary through our (deserted) neighborhood where he was the only Trick-R-Treater for the night, and then to the famous Kapuka road nearby so he could see what Trick-R-Treating was all about. It was a zoo, with kids and teens everywhere, drunk parents galore, and plenty of candy. It wiped out our little witch.Anyone else notice that Dum Dums and Smarties have all but disappeared? The junk candy is Zac's favorite. (Curse those mini chocolate bars--I ate way too many!)


A friend of mine said she wishes that Halloween were like Thanksgiving--one day, one event--rather then what it has turned into. I agree, but I won't spend the rest of the time preaching my opinion on it. Instead, I have to say that while it's a weak "holiday," I still love dressing my kids up and bargaining with candy for weeks.