Halloween Fun

We had several days of pure Halloween fun. I will have to admit that once it was over, I was a bit relieved... :) But the important thing is that everyone had fun. The Thursday before Halloween I got to help out with Rachel's class party. So, me and four other moms (wahoo - lots of help)! went in and put on a little party for the kids. Hopefully it's the first of many more opportunities to help out in Rachel's classroom. It was fun to spend some time in Rachel's classroom and meet the kids that she plays and learns with. I was a bit nervous about sending Rachel to school with her costume on for 5 hours. But it worked out and nothing got spilled or ruined...

I had to laugh when Rachel sat down at a table full of boys:

Look at that concentration - making her own candy necklace:
Rachel so proud of her mask and necklace:
Ready for a story:

Friday morning we headed to the Children's Museum. Children could come in their costumes, go trick or treating, and do various other Halloween activities. Just a side note, I was surprised at how many people knew the girls were Dutch girls. Maybe I'm out of the loop, but 3 years ago I probably wouldn't have known what a little Dutch girl would look like in traditional dress. Only one person got it wrong and she thought they were pilgrims, which isn't too far off since the pilgrims came from Holland. Anyhow, the girls had fun gathering their treats. They also enjoyed an art project...

And frosting and decorating sugar cookies:
All dressed up outside the museum:

Friday afternoon my friend Karla put together a Halloween party and invited us. So, the fun continued...

Tongue out - we're working hard!

My girls are totally obsessed with babies right now. Here's Audrey with Baby Jake:

Rachel with Baby Weston:
Most of the gang:

Friday night we carved pumpkins. Well, Andy and I carved pumpkins while the girls played in the backyard. Halfway through carving we asked each other exactly why we were carving pumpkins... But it was fun for Andy and I and the girls were quite impressed with the finished jack-o-lanterns. We waited until Friday because here in hot, humid Texas jack-o-lanterns don't last too long. Mold takes over and they cave pretty quickly. Plus, it had been a super busy week for Andy.

The girls not too sure about the pumpkin guts:
One touch and she was done!
Lots of fun!
Audrey's pumpkin - nice and simple - I'm not too creative:
Rachel's pumpkin - a bit more creative:
On Saturday I had to make sure I grabbed a picture of the girls in their Halloween shirts:

Saturday night we headed to our church carnival and trunk-or-treat. The girls all dressed up with their wooden shoes (just for pictures!):

Audrey loving her black cat bag full of candy:

Andy probably only took the girls around to about 1/3 of the cars. They had enough candy and Rachel was so happy to help pass out candy the rest of the time.

Rachel with her friend Kasiana:

On Halloween I decided, being motivated by a high school friend who always makes the holidays so special for her kids, to make a fun dinner. So, we had mummy hot dogs, carrot fingers, and ghost bananas. And I'll have to admit, I'm a fan of the mummy hot dogs. :) The girls had fun that evening passing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. And they didn't even mention wanting to go out themselves. We had enough candy anyways! We got a fair amount of trick-or-treaters this year, probably around 25. In years past we've had like 5... Anyhow, here are the girls Halloween evening dressed in their cute pajamas:

Halloween was lots of fun this year. Busy, busy, busy, but fun. The girls enjoyed their Dutch outfits and they are still enjoying their candy! :)