Our Halloween 2014

It's Halloween!

So much to do!

Time to carve the pumpkin!

I cut off the top and pulled out all the seeds before the kids did their stuff.

They marked their plans with pen, but then changed their minds. I used Magic Eraser to get it off. Works great!  

Textures fascinate me, even on the inside of pumpkins.

I did the finish work of making sure no pumpkin pulp was hanging out of it. There is a mini flashlight hung inside by its cord, which is wedged between the pumpkin and its top.

Here's the Jack O' Lantern, a few smaller pumpkins (one carved, two adorned with Sharpie marker), and two ceramic. Some of them are lit by battery powered tea lights. Note the cement blocks at right - they spell Boo.

I went to Walmart today and bought four marigold plants to brighten up the garden path with Halloween colors.

I also bought myself a bag of sugar free chocolates so I wouldn't be tempted by the kids' candy. I've always exacted a Chocolate Tax from them. This year? None! Still no sugar! I've got my Russell Stovers.

I'm on the go a good part of the afternoon and evening, keys in pocket, purse in hand.

Little Lady is a zookeeper, complete with a name badge and a monkey to hang around her neck.

Teen Girl is a nerd. The girls decided to go to the Trunk and Treat at the local Methodist Church where we went to the pumpkin patch last week.

Giving the gospel.

Carrots or candy?

Tropical themed treat table.

Free snow cones!

Beautiful sunset on the way home. Teen Girl snapped these photos out the van window.

At home, the two younger boys are getting ready to go out. 

I drove the boys to the next neighborhood over for their trick or treating. They took my phone so they could call when they were ready for me to pick them up. My oldest son joined them a little later with his Superman t-shirt.

The girls went trick or treating with neighbors.

I mostly stayed home to hand out candy.  We didn't get many trick or treaters until after 8 PM, and then they came in bunches.

My own kids came home with piles of sweets, which they dumped out on the floor to trade. This is one child's stash.

Now she's had the sense to bag up almost all of it for me to hide in my closet so she doesn't eat it all too fast. Good girl.

I'm certainly not going to take even one bite.

Happy Halloween, y'all!

P.S. We didn't really let the kids go trick or treating (except for at a few friendly neighbor's homes) until just a few years ago. When our adult daughters were young, we'd let them dress up in cute costumes with stuff we had at home, and we would have a party just for them with fun games. We might also attend harvest festivals at local churches. The younger ones have enjoyed the change in protocol for these past four Halloweens, and other than the sugar rush, we have never had a problem with it. I know that people of faith have many different opinions about this. This is just how we do it. :-)