This Halloween was all Fun & Games

Halloween was all fun and games this year. 
Literally since all of our costumes were different times of games. 

This theme was so fun but so much work. I made all of our costumes and it took hours. 
However, Chris was gone for most of October so I had lots of time in the evenings to work on costumes since I was home with kiddos so much. 

Everyone loved their costume and how they turned out. 

These kids are my favorite and I love our tradition of coordinating Halloween costumes and fun themes. I hope they never outgrow it. Although I would be ok with a theme that required less work for me. 

I was the game Twister. I used my silhouette machine to cut out lots of circles and then I ironed them on to a white dress. I cut out a small twister spin board to wear as a bow and I cut the letters for the word "Twister" out of vinyl and ironed it on as well. 

Chris was the game "Operation" and I was able to cut all of his out using heat transfer vinyl as well. We also had him wear a red clown nose and carry a pair of tongs. It was pretty funny. 

Tanner's costume was one of my favorites. Tanner is unusually good at Rubik's cubes so this custom was perfect for him. I created each section of the Rubik's cube using black foam board. Then I cut squares of the different colors from card stock. 

Bailey was Mrs. Monopoly. She loved her costume. Between her mustache and her little bag of money- she was quite thrilled with her outfit. She really did look very cute.

Tucker's costume was another one that was aptly picked. He is also unusually good at using an etch-a-sketch. He is able to make these amazing pictures of buildings- especially different temples from around the world. It's really incredible. So naturally we had to make him an "etch-a-sketch" costume. 
He loved it!

Then there was Benson's costume- he was a "Claw Machine". 
This costume was such a labor of love. But Benson loved it so much. He couldn't wait to wear it. 

I made the box and covered it in this checkered duck tape. I cut out the flap for the prize and attached a smaller box for the joystick and buttons. I also attached a claw inside and we ziptied a bunch of little stuffed animals inside. 

I loved our costume theme and so did the kids. 

I also got to go to Benson's Halloween party. He loved wearing his costume and it caused a lot of attention. 

We had snacks, did a spider craft and played games at his class party. 

Benson loved wearing his costume around and he got so many comments from teachers and staff at school. 

Tucker attended an after school Halloween party that the PTO puts on for the middle schoolers- but it wasn't on Halloween. It was a few days earlier. Then on Halloween the teachers asked the kids to dress up like "Waldo" and surprise the principal. So when the principal walked around school he kept seeing Waldos everywhere. Tucker said it was pretty funny. and he looked pretty cute as a "Waldo"

Tanner also didn't wear his costume to school. Because band rules our lives right now, Tanner even had band practice on Halloween. However, his friends and him decided to dress up for Halloween and they picked a group theme. They picked "Mystery Incorporated" and Tanner dressed up as "Fred". 

They were pretty cute all dressed up together at band practice. They even won award for best group theme. 

Halloween night was a little more busy than usual. Tanner had band practice until 6:30 pm. Bailey was invited to a Halloween party and trick-or-treating with friends. So we took her to her friend's house and then went to pick up Tanner from Band. Then we went home to start trick or treating. Tanner decided to stay home and pass out candy so it was just Chris and I taking Tucker and Benson out to trick-or-treat. However, Chris couldn't stay long, he had to leave to drive down to Little Rock for drill. 

Eventually, I went to pick up Bailey at her friend's house and then we grabbed the boys and all drove to "Andy's" to get our free sundae. They offer free one topping sundaes to all kids in costumes on Halloween. It's one of our favorite Halloween traditions. 

Then it was time for bed. We still had school the next day so we couldn't stay up too late. 
Halloween was awesome. Tucker and Benson's costumes were a huge hit with all the neighbors and they got lots of full-size candy bars. Bailey had a great time with her friends and Tanner actually enjoyed a quiet night at home with the house to himself. 

Happy Halloween everyone. May your kids' sugar high end soon and may your costumes be a hit!

Fall and Halloween Fun

We have been enjoying the fall and having lots of fun in preparation for Halloween. 
Sadly, Dad has missed most of it because he's been gone to school in Virginia. 
We went to McGarrah's pumpkin patch. It was the perfect fall weather and we had a great time playing together. 

The zipline is always a hit with everyone. 

Bailey, of course, loved the donkeys and mules. 

Benson really loved the jump pillow. 

Bailey and Tucker rode the mule train together and laughed the entire time. The train driver loves to go in circles and drive a bit crazy. It's always entertaining. 

Then we went over to the corn pit and let the kids play. 

The boys had so much fun burying each other in the corn and they came out with corn in every hole and crevice. I couldn't stop laughing. 

We also played baseball and football for a bit.

Then did the bubble station. 

We had a great time but we missed having Dad there to play with us. 

Luckily, Dad got home in time for some other Halloween fun. We got to go on our traditional "Trail of Fears" drive with hot cocoa and lots of spooky Halloween music. 

I made sure to take the kids by the Hutchings' house where I worked and spent hours setting up the huge Halloween decorations. 

Another night we watched a Halloween movie and I made us a Halloween charcuterie board. 
It was a huge hit. The kids really devoured it.

Then we decided to do another themed movie night and we watched the new "Bettlejuice" movie and made jack-o-lantern pizzas. 

I made these jell-o cups.

and these spooky eyeball drinks

We had cupcakes  and candy coffins as well. 

 

It was pretty fun and the kids loved it. The movie was pretty dumb but the food was good. 

I think the kids' favorite part was the drinks. They were pretty delicious. 

My favorite thing is always the homemade pizza.

Then finally, I hosted my annual Halloween movie night. I invited lots of ladies and I supplied stuff for a soda bar and everyone brought a snack to share. 

 

We watched "Quiet Place- Day One" and it was pretty good. I love movies that are suspenseful and a little scary but not dark or evil feeling. I think we all enjoyed it. 

Now it's almost time for Halloween. I can hardly believe how fast October flew by, especially since Dad was gone for most of it. We still had fun and I was able to finish all the Halloween costumes on time. Stay tuned!