Halloween!

It's nice to look back and feel like we had a pretty normal Halloween. We went to our (new) usual pumpkin patch and carved pumpkins.

For the first time in a few years, we didn't do any type of theme with costumes. During this phase Teddy was obsessed with "Monsters", so I got him a Sully costume from Monsters Inc. Leah wanted to reuse a dance costume and go with a creepy doll theme. Juliet saw an astronaut costume at Target that she really wanted, so she dressed up like an astronaut. 

Leah and I explored online a bit for a creepy doll look using makeup, and were both pleased with the results. She looks SO BIG and mature. Tear. 

Juliet looked tough and fierce as an astronaut. She's been really into space for a while now and is very interested in joining NASA when she's older. 

The girls really wanted fondue for some reason. We've never made it before, but gave it a whirl on Halloween to try to make up for not being able to go trick or treating. They both liked it! I did, too, but next time I'm going to be more picky with the recipe I use. It was a little bland.

We staked out candy for trick or treaters and decorated the sidewalk. Initially we weren't planning on doing anything, but our driveway was such a mess that I felt obliged to the neighborhood. Usually we go through several large bags, so we weren't really sure what to buy. I think we put out 100ish pieces and brought back in all but about 3-5 pieces. Clearly everyone and their brother went to Cherry Hill Village. Oh well!

The girls dressed Chris up like some sort of goth bat. It was pretty funny! He is always a good sport about these things. 

We tried to scare the girls a bit. We did a few creepy things like disappear without warning and write "DIE!" on one of the cupcakes we had made earlier in the day with red frosting. We swore we knew nothing about it for hours. We made each kid a "goody bag" to make up for not trick or treating and hid them in the woods. By this point, both girls were scared because we'd been freaking them out, and weren't terribly happy to go into the woods at dusk. We scared them a little more in the woods, but then let them find their gifts and head back inside. 

Teddy's favorite gift was a new flashlight. Juliet liked her Barbie, and Leah loved her squishy maker. They also got a ton of candy. It was a fun night and not even a little bit sad like I originally expected. But, I hope next year looks a little more normal.