HALLOWEEN

Wow, carving pumpkins is not the way I remember it as a child. I couldn't wait to carve my pumpkin, get the guts all out and pick out all the seeds. I can remember feeling great disappointment if the pumpkin I had chosen lacked seeds and guts because then when my mom cooked the seeds we wouldn't have very many. My kids are not fun pumpkin carvers. I love them dearly but everyone has his or her own weaknesses.
First off Brayden starts gagging, seriously gagging, from the smell when the stop came off. He hadn't even put his hand inside the pumpkin yet and he was done. I had him go run downstairs and get a mask to wear and forced him to touch the pumpkin. I'm not proud to admit the frustration got to me and after a while I did most of the guts and let him scrape the rest out with a spoon. This was supposed to take the morning not the entire weekend.
Madison seemed fine with it. She wasn't excited but she wasn't gagging either so I'll take that as a success compared to Brayden. Sydney wasn't gagging but she really wasn't impressed. Even when I prepped her for a picture she couldn't help but curl up that lip in disgust. Finally Ryan took over and got to work so we wouldn't be there all day.
Where did I go wrong?

This year it seemed like Halloween went on forever. 6 days before Halloween our Ward put on a Halloween party which was a lot of fun. The kids got all dressed up and we spent our Friday night pretending it was the real deal. There was a magician, a dance party room, a haunted hallway, food and a trunk or treat. The kids scored loads of treats and we all went home happy.
The next night Ryan and I went to our first ever Halloween party hosted by friends of ours. We aren't too into the costume scene so it was a little intimidating at first but I think we pulled it off. We even brought a festive snack with us to wow the crowds.

By the time the real Halloween came we were more then ready. The kids had a lot of fun at school and I took Madison to the mall for some indoor trick or treating fun. We went with friends and had a great time. That night after dinner we drove into town and hit up a couple blocks of good old door to door trick or treating for the very first time. I know this might seem like we are bad parents never having taken our kids door to door before but remember we were gone for 5 years and they don't do Halloween in the Philippines. I feel like I'm a legit parent now that my kids have had their first real Halloween experience. We scored so much candy that it'll last us until it rots and we were out just long enough for me to remember that next year the kids costumes need to fit over snow suits. I hope your halloweens were just as fun as ours!