Trunk or Treat and Halloween

This year the entire family got into the costume craze. We started the planning somewhat early this year. A lot of ideas were passed around from going as: the Incredibles, as farmers with vegetables or animals, or the Cat in the Hat with Thing 1 and Thing 2 and the goldfish or Nick and Sally.

In the end we went with a Bee theme.

It took a little convincing of all those involved. We were worried that Noah was a little too old to dress up as a bee, but he was more than willing and even really excited to go as our bee hive.

Dan designed his costume. I felt a little bad for him as some kept calling him a robot.

Jack's costume was really easy to find, there were a million choices on eBay.

The hard part was getting it on the cheap, I can't believe how much some are willing to spend on costumes.

Grandma was kind enough to buy Zoe's costume for her.

She made a pretty "Queen Bee". We had to stress this aspect of it. She was originally disappointed that her costume didn't have a stinger, we informed her that real queen bees don't have stingers either. We pointed out that Jack's costume didn't have a stinger. I thought she'd be more disappointed that she didn't have wings, who knew a stinger was so important?

Dan and I decided to go as Bee Keepers. (sorry, no individual shots of us)

I made our hats, I even sewed bees on to the netting. Then we just wore gloves and disposable painter coveralls.

This year our ward combined with the other Fernley Ward for Trunk or Treating. It was so much fun. I loved seeing all the different costumes. Plus the kids got a ton of candy with very little effort. I think the best part was that there were prizes given out this year.

They awarded a 1st and 2nd place for best "Family Costume". I think it was originally supposed to be an individual award, but two families really got into it this year. There was a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize for the chili cook-off. They awarded prizes for the best pumpkin drawings. A very clever idea to keep the kids occupied while food was being set out. Last, but not least, they handed out a prize for the best decorated vehicle. All in all it made for some good competition.

Our Family took 1st place in the Family Costume Category. Our prized included this crazy Afro Wig and a $10 gift card to Chili's. We can't wait to go get dessert. The kids were so excited to run up and get our prize.

The second place family was from the other ward, I can't think of their name, but their little boy is in Noah's 1st grade class. They dressed up as Scooby Doo. The mom and dad were dressed up as Fred and Daphne, the kids were Velma and Shaggy (who carried a stuffed Scooby-Doo). I'm not sure what their prize was, but I thought there costumes were amazing. They even took it one step farther and decorated their van as the "Mystery Machine" and handed out Scooby Snacks.

Dan took 2nd place in the chili cook-off for his Pumpkin Chipotle Chili. Our ward managed to sweep this event. I hope we combine next year. Everyone seems to have had lots of fun, the only ones who might disagree are the ones who were in charge of the activity.

As if school parties and Trunk or Treating weren't enough the kids had to go Trick or Treating on the actual day as well. Dan was surprised they tired so quickly. He was willing to another street, but Noah was done. They came home with a ton of candy and then had fun passing out candy to the neighbor kids. We had a lot of kids this year. We weren't that prepared, but my kids were very willing to give out the candy they received at Trunk or Treating when we ran out. According to them they had more than enough and I would have to agree with that. I made sure we kept their good candy and handed out the less desirable kind.

Here is a picture of Jack going through his loot. I've never seen such a little kid so excited about candy. More proof that he loves this holiday.

Got to love the toothpaste in one hand and the M&M's in the other hand. He would not let it out of his hands or sight. He was too afraid we'd take it from him.

The kids kept things separated for about a day or two, then it all got combined. A day after that we went through and sorted it. We bagged up all the Tootsie Rolls to give to Grandma Sandi, the Bottle Caps to give to Auntie Tiffany, and the M&M's to send to Cousin Garrett (who is in the MTC and couldn't go Trick or Treating).

We are already thinking of ideas for next year's costumes.