Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! This year was the first Halloween that Rachel really "GOT IT". It took a lot of explaining over and over, but once she put on her costume and went trick or treating she lit up and I could see the wheels turning in her head, "OOOOOHHHH so THIS is Halloween! I can DIG THIS!!" We started out the festivities on Monday with a PUMPKIN family home evening. We had pumpkin-shaped pizza for dinner...

pumpkin pie for dessert...

and carved pumpkins for our activity. (Can you guess which Y...I mean ONE is Paul's?)

Then on Wednesday we went to the library/county building for trick-or-treating. That's when Rach really figured out this whole Halloween thing.

Finally-tonight we had our ward Halloween party. Paul dressed up in his Dodgers garb - and I was about to call that a costume-cop-out until we showed up at the ward and ALL the men were dressed up in jerseys. I was going to have him stand next to Bro. Barton who was dressed in Red Sox garb to take a picture and call it "World Series Wannabe's" but they wouldn't let me...still a touchy subject I guess.

After dinner and carnival games we went out to "trunk or treat". Whoever invented the idea of "trunk-or-treating" needs to run for president. It took 10 minutes to walk around the parking lot, fill the princess bucket to OVER FLOWING and call it good.

No more walking around in the dark cold night for an hour or more. No more going from house to house and telling the kids "don't go to that house because we're not sure about it". No more trying to corral the kids together and keep them from running in the streets dodging cars. It was GREAT!! There are a lot of "the-way-things-used-to-be-isms" that I really miss - Elementary school costume parades, Halloween class parties, etc. etc. With all the safety issues they don't do those anymore here. Kids can't wear their costumes at all to school! That's makes me sad. But I don't miss trick-or-treating. TRUNK-or-treating is the way to go!

My "Gypsy" costume is actually a CHITENGE from Malawi. A sweet sister in my branch there would wear this dress almost every Sunday to church. I would always tell her how beautiful she looked and how gorgeous her dress was. On my last Sunday in church there, before I went home, she came to church with this dress wrapped up and gave it to me as a goodbye present. It was wonderful. I cried and tried to give it back but she insisted I take it to remember her and to remember Africa. I wear it ever year and think of her.

Windy and I were pregnant with these two at the same time so we found it serendipitous that they were Tigger and Pooh for Halloween!

Have you ever seen the movie "Ever After" with Drew Barrymore? Well Rachel and I watched it the other day. She loved it. I would point out the characters and explain the story line as it happened and how it mirrored the Disney Cinderella movie. She loved the part where Drew Barrymore comes to the masquerade ball dressed like an angel. When she got her angel costume on tonight I said, "Oh Rachel you are such a BEAUTIFUL ANGEL!" She said, "NO Mom, I'm Cinderella DRESSED as an angel!" Oh yeah, sorry, I should have known! Duh Mom!

Ben got hold of Rachel's blue raspberry ring-pop when she wasn't looking. WHAT A MESS!

We hope you all have a Great Halloween (and a good dental plan---SHEESH!)