Smith Family: Halloween Rocks!

So we decided to do a group theme again. Everyone was surprisingly agreeable this year. I started with Emmrey, giving her some options, because she's only 8 and I wanted her to be excited about her costume. She didn't have any one thing her heart was set on, so I didn't have to work around that. When I showed her a picture of an 80's rock band...she liked it and it just evolved from there. We made Mark join us [although he is always a good sport], some years he ends up being his regular self and the girls were not going to let that happen. So here are the 5 members of our 80's Rock Band....

Emmrey and Bailee did not want to wear a wig, so it is a good thing they both have a lot of hair. Karsyn was not having any ratting or teasing done to her hair to make it BIG, so she rocked a wig with Mark and I.

But before all the festivities we had a school celebration. Emmrey's school dresses up and has a parade. In Cody they always had a carnival before Halloween and they didn't dress up at school. This takes me right back to my days at Rolling Meadows.

Her teacher had asked me to coordinate the snacks/activity. They really don't take a lot of time out of the day to have the party, so we had literally 30 minutes until the end of the day. I had lots of willing moms to bring snacks and we only had 1 treat and the rest was healthy foods. The kids devoured it!! One of the mom's had a bracelet craft she brought for the kids to make and it worked out perfect....just the right amount of time for it.

Emmrey won one of the pumpkins that Mrs E had brought from her garden. She was ecstatic, but couldn't carry it. It was all she could do to hold it for a pic:)

Our little town has a Trick or Treat down Main Street after school. They really advertise it as something for grades 6 and under. Bailee wasn't home from school yet, and Kars didn't want to go and be the "oldest kid there", so as soon as Mark got into town [right about 3] we took Emmrey down for a little bit. It didn't feel quite as festive as we were used to in Cody, but the nice thing was it also wasn't as crazy busy.

We went home and got everyone else ready, ate some chili and hit the streets. We allowed Karsyn to Trick or Treat with a group of girls she's become friends through school and church who live in a nearby neighborhood. We met them at the park and let them wander around "by themselves". It made me a little nervous, although we were in the same neighborhood.

Evie, Natalie, Preslee, Kars, Eliana

While they ran around, we did some Trick or Treating the "old fashion" way. Bailee really didn't want/need to gather candy, but she was a good sport to go to the doors with Emm.

We heard about this one house in particular. Apparently, the man that lives there loves Halloween so much he turns his back yard and garage into a Spook House. We met Kars and her friends there to check it out. They had already been through it and failed to convey that it just might be a little too much for Emm [or me for that matter;] It was done pretty well! Emmrey was actually fine and she got a full size candy bar at the end....

And I thought I loved Halloween!!

We didn't stay out long. Although it was the nicest Halloween weather we remember having in a while, it started to get a little chilly and we really don't need all that candy.

We had plenty as it was....