Halloween 2015

With Julia able to keep up with her older brothers and sister, Halloween 2015 was our most fun year yet.  Tyler and the girls are rally obsessed with Ninja Turtles this year.  I painted two of our pumpkins to look like Ninja Turtles.  We had family visiting from CA who joined us for our Ward's Chili Cook Off and Halloween Party.  Grandma Hallstrom joined us on our trip to the Pumpkin Walk and to the elementary school's Halloween Parade.  I taught Grandma Hallstrom to make a corn husk wreath for her front door.  She really enjoys making crafts.  Anyway, I'm glad I took the time to take each of my kids out on a little date to take some fun pictures of them in their Halloween costumes.  

Brian - The Red Ninja

 It took this 10 year old longer than ever to decide what he wanted to be for Halloween.

I finally sent Brian out with Sam to go pick out a costume.  

I'm glad Brian could find a fun costume in his favorite color.

He makes a great Red Ninja.

Julia - Super Girl

This girl is on the go all the time and doesn't usually like the dress up.  So the easiest costume I could find was a reversible cape that came with a reversible mask.  And there you have it, a SUPER GIRL costume for our Super Girl!  This is the first year that she really enjoyed Halloween.  She walked up to every door on the block with her siblings and had the best time Trick or Treating.

Tyler the Vampire

T loved dressing up as a vampire for Halloween.  

He was super excited to go on a little date with me (a simple walk in the neighborhood) 

to make these photographs.  

Belle Dress

It was one of those lazy Saturdays where I didn't want it to end without feeling productive.
So I asked my brand new kindergartner if she wanted to go on a date with me.
Katie was elated and gleefully buckled herself into her booster seat.
With the sunroof open, and kid tunes blasting, we zoomed up to the middle of town.  

We fueled up with Chugz's chicken strips and fries and then
entered one of my favorite stores, TJMaxx, for some back to school shopping.
Still wanting to be my "baby girl," Katie insisted on sitting in the cart.
I pushed that cart back to the little girl section.  

My eyes caught sight of something I didn't want Katie to see, so I sped up my push.  

BIG MISTAKE!  

Or so I thought.  

"MOOOOM!  Look!  Let's go look at those costumes!"  

"Ooooh!  I want this dress.  It's a Belle dress."

I, not planning on buying this newfound must-have dress, 

hesitantly let Katie get a closer look at the coveted dress.

Hearing her gush over every last detail of the dress, the jewels, the sparkles, the glitter, 

I knew what I had to do.  I let her try on this "most beautiful Belle dress."

My baby girl lucked out with the largest dressing room...fit for a princess.

Katie had me help her zip up the dress and perfectly place the glittery veiled headpiece.

The anticipation had built up for what probably seemed like an eternity for a 5 year old.

It was time for the FIRST LOOK.  

"Wow!  Turn around and look at yourself in the mirror!" I exclaimed.

Both Katie's eyes and smile grew bigger than ever.

She twirled and said, "Ohlala!  I feel like a princess."

With a smirky smile that never left her face, 

Katie stared at herself in the mirror and examined every last detail of the dress.

Completely satisfied, Katie giggled and said, "I want this Belle dress for Halloween."

And I, who originally was not a fan of the color, the lavishness,
nor the price of the dress, completely had a change of heart.   

Katie had me at the FIRST LOOK. 

I completely melted into a puddle when I saw the way she looked at herself in the mirror.

Every girl deserves to feel like a princess.

Costumes Bring Forth Superpowers!

Halloween is so much fun with kids! 

 My boys picked out their costumes on Amazon and anxiously awaited their arrival. 

 My oldest checked the status of the delivery of his costume and gave us detailed updates 

on where his precious box was and the exact time it arrived there. So fascinating! 

 The day finally arrived and their costumes arrived at our doorstep. 

 It was time to see what kind of superpowers they possessed by transforming 

into a Ninja Turtle, Max Steel, and a girl in her favorite Trick-or-Treat shirt.

Behold, the magic and wonder of childhood.  

May it bring forth precious moments that become precious memories.

Halloween 2013

The boys were especially excited for Halloween this year.  They worked very hard selling cookies & lemonade, doing extra chores around the house, etc. to earn money for their dream costumes… Power Rangers.  We couldn't find the proper color and size costumes that each boy wanted.  It dawned on me that my friend and neighbor, Nancy Lorrigan is really good at sewing, and I called to see if she'd be able to make their costumes.  And as you can see, Nancy did an amazing job and my boys were in heaven!  I'm so proud of my boys and their dedication of working so hard for something they wanted.

Grandma Hallstrom came with me to the school's Halloween parade.  It was fun to see the boys parade around the school in their costumes.  Later on, I took all 4 kids trick or treating at Sam's work.  That evening, Sam took the boys trick or treating around our neighborhood.  I stayed home with the girls and  had a candy picnic in the front room with Katie as we handed out candy to the kids.  

And here is Julia's costume I made.  I found the idea on Pinterest and thought it was not only cute but a smart costume too for a mom of 4 kids.  Why not build the costume around the Baby Bjorn carrier?!  

 That is real popcorn that I hot glued to the white beanie hat.  

I love my little POPCORN baby!

Halloween Festivities

Happy Halloween!

Here's some of our lovely Halloween decor.
My kids loved it when I read "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" to them.

We invited Grandma Hallstrom to join us for Brian's school Halloween parade.

One of Tyler's best buddies, Jack, was dressed up as a greaser.

Brian gave me the cutest smile and surprised look on his face when he saw us.

Brian didn't know that we would be at the parade.

I wish I would have captured that look on camera/in a video.  

I did get him parading around with his class though.

MVI 1086 from Lisa Ward on Vimeo.

Here's Tyler after his preschool's Halloween party.  (Teacher Kareen is behind him).  

The class came out to show off their costumes and sing songs for us.
Tyler was D.O.N.E. for the day and wanted nothing to do with singing.
He wouldn't even stand up there with his classmates.
That Tyler has a mind of his own.
The songs were cute though.

Katie dressed up as an adorable little dancer!
Her new thing, when prompted at the right moment, is to twirl around in circles.
Music is optional.  So is her willingness to twirl.  She has to be in the right mood.

Katie waiting patiently for the trick-or-treaters to show up.

Every Halloween afternoon around 4pm, there is trick-or-treating at Sam's work for the all the kids/grandkids of the employees.  My kids' Halloween baskets were overflowing after spending a half hour there.  On the 10 minute drive home, the kids fast and furiously shoved candy in their mouths.

Despite all the candy eating, we managed to polish off
this pumpkin shaped pizza when Daddy got home.

The weather was just perfect for trick-or-treating this year.
Sam and I had fun taking our kids trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.
Our neighborhood is great and some people go all out with their decorations.
Maybe next year I won't feel so exhausted by the end of the day and I'll take some fun pictures of the actual trick-or-treating process.

 October sunset view from our front porch

Anyway, Brian was cute in the way he asked every single candy-giving person, "Can I get a candy for my baby?"  He sure knows how to take care of Katie.  Katie enjoyed the evening from her stroller.
And Tyler was great at telling all the candy-givers, "Thank you!  Happy Halloween!"

Full moon in our backyard!