Halloween season

So called because Brynn dressed up for four different Halloween events and the other kids dressed up for three.  Here she is as Mary Poppins!

 

"Oh, it's a jolly holiday with Brynnie!"

 

At Brynn's school on Halloween they have a "Literature Parade" instead of a Halloween parade.  So you dress up as a character from a book (has to have been a book first - no Disney princesses).  I think it's a great idea, but if that's not what your kid wants to be for Halloween you have to come up with two costumes.  I got lucky this year that Mary Poppins is a book. :)

I re-made the dress from a Southern Bell costume, and it turned out alright!  As long as you don't look too close....

 

My boys.  Bryce is going to be so ready for school.  I think it's torturous for him to watch Brynn do all these fun things from the sidelines.  He thinks he is just as big as her.

Gabe's funny wrinkly nose smile.

That night was the trunk-or-treat party.  I have mixed feelings on trunk-or-treats.  They are a safe alternative and a fun party, but kids fly past with their bags open, grab their candy and run for the car in the next parking stall without even looking you in the eye or saying a word.

I love this - everyone has a mouth full of candy!  I also love the part on last year's Halloween post about "let us never speak of being pregnant at Halloween again."  It was hilarious to be pregnant two Halloweens IN A ROW.  But I couldn't fill out my basketball costume from last year very well, so I just went with maternity. :)    At least I wasn't stuffing my face with candy all night like last year.  Too sick. Actually I spent the night dry-heaving and hiding out in my up-stairs bathroom trying to avoid the smell of chili I had stupidly made for the chili cook-off.  I don't even know if it was good, I didn't take a single taste.  Marty got the very rough job of taste-tester.  And now it's time to stop talking about chili because it actually sounds gross here in my third trimester, too.

Big sister helping out previously mentioned sick mommy.

The kids also dressed up to get a discount on Schnepf Farms.  I can't believe we've been living next to a carnival for four years and finally just paid to ride everything!  Mostly we go there for the peach season and train ride, and to just walk around the beautiful, mature trees that are so rare in our development.

Mostly the little guy and pregnant lady sat out the rides, but this one seemed harmless enough.  I didn't know if he'd even really notice what was going on, but he LOVED it!

And finally, the much anticipated Halloween night!!!

Yes, the eye crossing is on purpose.  He thinks it's hilarious.

Ooh, scary!

Brynn was talking in a British accent all night and kept saying things like, "Spit-spot!" and "Up...up...and away!"

Trick-or-treat!

 

The other exciting part about Halloween is when one of my kids was stung by a scorpion.  I knew it was only a matter of time.

 

The story:

Sometimes I let Bryce go without shoes when we take Brynn to school in the afternoon.  He usually just falls asleep on the way home anyway and I carry him to his bed.  Bryce likes to squash bugs.  I am totally positive we have talked about not touching scorpions, I just don't know what was going through that little brain of his.  Well, he wasn't wearing shoes and he squashed this scorpion in the garage on his way to the car.  Sadly, the scorpion got him back before it died.  It was sad and scary.  Bryce screamed bloody murder for about twenty minutes and hardly took a breath the whole time.  Since my neighbor's little girl had just had a horrible reaction to a scorpion sting, I was afraid we were going to be spending Halloween in the ER.  But, I eventually decided to just take Brynn to school anyway and continue dealing with the situation when we got home.  But Bryce fell asleep on the way home (which poison control assured me was a great sign) and he didn't mention being bothered by it the rest of the day.  The end.