Who wore it best?

 Mia

 Sophie

Lydia

And one of Mia with her wings... Thanks so much Aunt Abby for alerting us to the fact that she wasn't wearing any!

Halloween 2015

 

 As has become tradition, we start thinking of Halloween costume ideas months in advance.  Great ideas poured in from November to September, but when October arrived Jon and I encouraged Lydia and Sophie to pick a costume and stick with it. We tried to explain that we needed at least a little bit of time so that we could get things to come together the way they wanted them to. 

A week before Halloween we got to go to a party hosted by one of Jon's coworkers.  It was at his family farm and designed for kids of all ages.  There were loads of games to play and Lydia and Sophie threw bean bags, knocked over stacked cups, and tried to pin stickers on a pumpkin's nose while blindfolded.  There was a hayride that was so wild it could easily have passed for a ride at Lagoon.  My stomach was not prepared for the off-roading we endured that night.  I'm not sure Mia appreciated how tightly I held her.  She was pretty tough for most of the ride, but towards the end she'd had enough.  About halfway through the tractor driver stopped to tell some spooky stories.  He said something about puppies turning into werewolves, which has given Lydia lots to think about since then.  Being a dog lover like she is, I'm sure it's a wee bit disturbing to think of a puppy becoming something horrifying.  There was a piñata and a potato sack race.  The sack races were broken up into age groups.  Sophie didn't participate, but Lydia won her age group.  No need to mention that she only had one competitor to race with. ;) There was a also a costume contest.  We were actually going to leave earlier than we did, but were informed that Lydia was winning the costume contest for the kids group.  We couldn't take off early knowing that!!  Lydia did indeed win, and was awarded a medal, which she wore happily around her neck and talked about how wonderful it was all the way home.  She also got to choose a prize and picked out a lovely mask.  Such a fun night.

The Monday before Halloween the girls got to choose a design for their pumpkin (which they would be choosing from Day's Farm later in the week) as part of family night.  Lydia went with a dog, a Beagle to be precise, and Sophie went with a kitty. 

Tuesday night the girls chose pumpkins.  Mia got one as well.  Not as big and not to be carved, but it would look lovely sitting on our front steps.  Thursday night Jon started on the pumpkins with lots of help from his girls.  The plan was to have the girls dig out the pumpkin guts and it was going okay at first... Lydia was about ready to throw in the towel though and just watch either Mom or Dad dig out the pumpkins when Jon stepped in and loosened the insides.  It was just what the girls needed.  Sophie was a little more determined to clean out her pumpkin with or without help, but in her enthusiasm she was getting a little carried away with her big spoon.  We were hoping to avoid dents on our kitchen table so loosening the insides made everybody happy.  By the end of the night the pumpkins were ready to be carved but as it was so late that would have to wait for another day. 

Saturday morning Jon woke up earlier than everyone else and spent his morning transforming our beautiful pumpkins into something more.  He used some pottery tools he'd kept from a ceramics class he took in college and that helped expedite the process.  He's definitely got skills!! And the girls were in love. Also, I'm in love with this photo.  This is what they'd call their working on their "goofball island."

We took some pictures before heading off to Grandma and Grandpa Blackhurst's to trick-or-treat.  We love this new tradition where the girls get to look for a book and a toy in a room at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  They were really excited about their book Wherever You Are my love will find you by Nancy Tillman and Sophie went to bed that night with the cuddly panda bear that went with it.  We stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Dobson, and tried to stop by Grandma Duse's but she wasn't home.  Finally we went to Grandma and Grandpa Frazier's.  There was a mummy sitting on the porch, but the girls weren't terribly bothered by him.  When Grandma opened the door with the bowl of candy she sort of held on to the center of it when she realized it was us.  They have one of those bowls with a green witchy looking hand in the middle.  When you put your hand in the bowl the hand grabs at you and if you aren't prepared for it, it's rather startling.  Frightening, really.  Lydia nearly flew off the barstool when we were all inside and Grandma showed the girls how it worked.

After we ate dinner at home Uncle Tophe came over to pass out candy so that Jon, Mia and I could all accompany the girls trick-or-treating.  So nice of him!!  While traipsing through the neighborhood Lydia reminded Sophie several times, "Soph! You have to say 'trick-or-treat' or you won't get any candy!!" There was sincere concern in her voice each time she said it.  After each house she'd turn to Jon and ask, "can we still go trick or treating?" And, "is it still Halloween?"  Somewhere along the way and in between houses I heard Sophie's little voice say, "and the hand said 'I want some candy!'" Apparently Grandma Frazier's bowl left quite an impression on her.  Sophie also needed to be reassured that, "after Halloween it's Thanksgiving, right? And then after Thanksgiving it's Christmas, right?"

 

As the night went on the girls lasted quite a bit longer than I imagined they would.  We reached the opposite end of our street and the girls went up to the house on the corner.  We all noticed a ginormous spider leering at us from this family's front porch, but it didn't do anything when we approached it.  It was clearly plugged in, so we asked about it when our neighbors were passing out candy.  The mom came over and showed us how it worked, which nearly sent Lydia flying backwards down the steps.  Sophie's fingers immediately popped into her mouth as she stood there in silent terror.  They didn't admit it at the time, but they were clearly spooked.  We made it down the steps and the girls seemed fine, but as we continued walking home (they were tired at this point and we planned to go home, but the interaction with the spider sealed the deal). Sophie insisted on walking on her own and carrying her bucket by herself.  She was such a trooper the whole night, but I suspected she wasn't doing as well as she wanted us to believe.  After we were more than half way home she finally started crying.  She was both exhausted and terrified of that gigantic spider, and so she finally consented to let Dad carry her. 

All three girls really enjoyed themselves.  I just assume that Mia did... Lydia and Sophie will tell you that they had a great time.  Such a fun night.  Fun week, really. I love seeing them enjoying themselves so much.  And they all slept really well once they finally fell asleep that night. :)