BOO!

"Darkness falls across the land, 

the midnight hour is close at hand. 

Creatures crawl in search of blood 

to terrorize your neighborhood."

At least that is what I was thinking as I made Steven and William up for the halloween party.  Steven was the living dead and William made a terrifying Count Dracula.  My favorite part of William's costume was that he dressed himself in his church clothes and did not once complain that they were making him sick.  Amazing what the promise of candy can do for undesirable clothing.  

The girls took a softer approach to Halloween.  Sarah took the historical route and dressed as a colonial girl.  Both Rachel and Geral wanted to be ballerinas this year and lucky for me we had two leotards and tutus.  Geral was willing to admit that it was too cold to be running around in a leotard and added a layer of pants and a long sleeved shirt underneath her costume.  Rachel insisted that the cold didn't bother her and refused warmer clothes so I just had to put them in the car for when nature got the best of her.

The party at the church was lots of fun with games to play and prizes to win.  Steven ran the booth where the kids were to toss a ring onto the sword.  Sarah worked behind the fishing booth.  I failed to get a picture of her hard at work.  Games were followed by chili and hotdogs then the much awaited trunk-or-treat.  Candy was abundant as well as some really fabulous fake teeth.

Sunday we stayed a lot calmer.  At church Sarah gave her first Sacrament meeting talk.  Her topic was integrity and she did an excellent job.  She said she didn't get nervous until after she finished her talk and sat down.  Lauren, who leads the music each week, was nice enough to remain on the stand and give her sister moral support.  Their dad and I enjoyed watching the two of them up there.  We do have some pretty girls. 

Ralph and I sneaked out Saturday evening and bought some pumpkins for the kids to carve after church.  They wasted no time getting started on them when they got home.  I had been thinking we would have lunch and maybe a nap first but since I was delayed by a meeting after church I got vetoed and the fun began immediately.

The kids did a great job.  I had to help the two youngest with the scraping and the carving but the others did it on their own.  They set themselves up with bowls to collect the debris in and the mess was kept to a minimum.  I might actually enjoy pumpkin carving again.  Recent years it has been such a challenge trying to help so many eager, demanding kids all at once.  Today was downright pleasant.  Three cheers for growing up.

And the results were fantastic!  From the left, Stevens rendition of a Chuck Norris pumpkin;  Sarah's creepy spider web;  William's vampire of his own design.

Geral's owl in the moonlight, Lauren's werewolf, and Rachel's laughing skull.

Hope you all had a fun and spooky Halloween!