Halloween 2007

Halloween I must admit is not one of my favorite holidays. I know many love fall and Halloween marks the turning of the season. But, in Vegas it is still warm. That may be my favorite part of Halloween, not having to cover up your costume with a coat. I am not sold on the idea of buying $40 worth of candy that I like, to go out and exchange it for candy I don’t like. I still end up with the same amount of candy or more, but I am left with lollipops, smarties, nuts, and lots of tootsies rolls. And the good stuff like M&M, peanut butter cups, and snickers are now officially one of my children’s candies and I must now ask permission. They are quicker to offer the lollipops, smarites, and nut! And don’t get me started on costumes. With five kids and costumes costing $20 a pop I finally had to say no to store bought costumes. I just spent $40 on candy I am not spending another $100 on costumes! So if the kids want a store bought costume they have to buy it themselves. It usually happens for one year and then they are content finding what we have around the house. Madison and Sarah bought their costumes this year. (Which if you have not heard the story about the lemonade stand you’ll have to ask sometime. But, lets say it was a good lesson in economics.) It was a sad day in my life when my children figured out there was more to Halloween than the trunk or treat at church. Now we do Halloween twice!

Enough complaining. I did make a New Years Resolution to be a fun mom. It is true I actually wrote it down. So I did not complain to the kids. They had a great time. Madison brought a groovy girl outfit, Sarah was a witch, and Mijken was a princess. Lauren and her friend Heidi decided to be BYU students. However, after the trunk or treat they got asked so many times what they were, she decided to be a cheerleader for Halloween. Jared was a cowboy for the trunk or treat, but his pumpkin needed his cowboy hat, so he was a baseball player for Halloween. We carved pumpkins as a family and actually roasted the seeds. The roasted seeds were a one-time thing; they were not a big hit. We made pumpkin cookies and chocolate covered Oreos on a lollipop stick. It was a big mess, but the kids had a great time. We played different Halloween games like bingo and go fish. Add a few Halloween stories and it was a fun day. Halloween night we went to our neighborhood cookout. Our neighbor cooks up about 60 hot dogs, someone else brought chili, and we donated cornbread and drinks. Then the kids were off to trick or treat. All in all it was a great holiday.