Trunk-Or-Treat

Wednesday was the ward Trunk-or-Treat. I have to admit I've never really been a big fan of the whole trunk-or-treat thing, mainly because Why do my kids need MORE candy? And why do I need to buy MORE candy to give to little beggars? Nonetheless, we always end up going and having a decent time. (I say decent because ward activities with our kids are always... I can't think of the word. Not horrible. But not fun.  Not exactly stressful, but not relaxing at all. Well, if you have young kids like mine you know what I mean.)

Anways.

Once again I never got around to making my own costume. I was too busy making costumes for my kids and crafts for our Harry Potter doughnut party. So instead I whipped up this Halloween fascinator. Voila! Festive. Also, too tall to wear in the car, in case you were wondering.

I took pictures of the kids in their costumes before we left because it's supposed to be raining and yucky on Halloween night. As per usual in Lafayette. *sigh*

Spencer is a stick figure this year. It's a great costume for a kid who's perhaps starting to feel a little old for getting really dressed up, but not nearly old enough to stop going door-to-door and begging for candy. White electrical tape on sweats, Cricut-made mask, done.

Josh's costume was even easier than Spencer's, because it was Spencer's from a few years ago! Ash Ketchum, Pokemon wrangler. Or handler. Trainer? I dunno, I'm not that into Pokemon.

Fortunately, Tess has been indoctrinated by Josh and agreed to be Pikachu, a costume we also already had. Woo-hoo!!

Lest you think getting Tess to hold still for a picture with Josh was easy...

This Pokemon was on one that night! It's a little big on her, but not enough to make it worth fixing. Plus, she'll need the extra room for all the layers she'll have to wear while trick-or-treating!

Fortunately, she can pout and still be super cute in this costume.

Finally, there's Cole, the center of the solar system. I finally made his sun hat and figured out how to attach the planets to him. (Note: the yellow shirt came from their Minion costumes from 2 years ago. Score!)

He was so good about his costume that night!  He didn't mention the not-to-scale planets, lack of moons, and the fact that they didn't rotate around him once. (That was saved for the next day.)

This. This was the best I could do in getting a picture of all four of them.

And here's why:

We got to the church and discovered they had decided to do everything inside since it was cold and rainy. All we had was a little string of floating candles to decorate our classroom, but I think it turned out okay.

The kids played games and won prizes. It was loud and crowded and crazy. Who thought it was a good idea to give Cole a gun?!

 Tess was tired and hot and angry that she wasn't doing well on the games. It did not end well.

Not well at all.

Then it was time for the costume parade. And by parade I mean the kids kind of wandered around the gym in a haphazard manner. Here's Spence, strutting his stuff. (He couldn't wear his mask at the church.)

Miss Pikachu. (She finally stopped screaming.)

At the end they handed out prizes for costumes. I didn't even know there was a contest, so I was extra happy when Cole won BEST OVERALL!! Woo-hoo!

He is really quite proud of his little trophy.

It's sitting on his dresser in a place of honor, and woe unto anyone who tries to touch it - even his mother! (Who, some might say, is the rightful winner of this prize...)

Test post

This is a test post from Bloggeroid since the dang Blogger app isn't working on my phone.

Family Home Evening at Fort Ouiatenon

We spent what will probably be the last pretty fall evening this season at Fort Ouiatenon. (Rain is a-comin'. Cold rain.)  We have fun wandering around, looking at the signs, climbing things, and tromping through the leaves. The kids complained a bit, but I enjoyed the outing!

Haunted House - or - I May Have Scarred Cole For Life

The kids decided they all really wanted to go to the Children's Museum Haunted House this fall. Since we have a family pass this year, I agreed. Then they all decided we should go during fall break. Since there's no school and I wouldn't have to deal with Saturday crowds, I agreed again. Then Spencer and Josh convinced Tess and Cole that we should all go through the haunted house during Frightening Hours (as opposed to the less scary Lights On hours). I hesitantly agreed. It's a children's museum - how bad could it be, right?

We'll get to that later.

First, a few pics of our trip.

We started with the new Sacred Journeys exhibit. I had been looking forward to this exhibit for a while. The children... tolerated it. But as I told them, I do stuff for them ALL THE TIME. They could do this for me. And they did. Pretty much.

Josh at the Buddhist Bodhi tree.

We had been in the exhibit for literally 10 minutes when all 4 decided they were DYING of hunger. So we finished listening to a really interesting presentation about the Ganges River in India and went to find a place for lunch. It was CROWDED.

But we eventually found a table, ate, and headed back to the Sacred Journeys. (Much to Cole's dismay.)

The boys making stained glass windows in Mexico's Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

They also had some exhibits on Uluru, some places in Ethiopia and China, and a great display on Mecca and the Hajj. It was all really well done. But I of course spent the most time in the Jerusalem section. I really should scan all of my pictures from my trip to Israel and post them some time, just to get them in a blog book. But not today. Instead, I made the kids stand in front of displays and told them all I could remember about these special places.

Don't let their looks fool you - I have no idea why they weren't smiling, but I assure you they weren't hating life as much as they look like it!

Well, Cole might have been. Actually, I think he was copying Spencer, and Spencer is in Middle School and you can't smile in pictures when you're in Middle School. It's the law.

Spencer was actually impressed with the things I told him about the Western Wall and even seemed to believe that I had been there! (Sometimes I get the impression my kids think I'm pulling their leg with the stories I tell them about life Before Them.)

Spencer claimed to have taken several pictures of me. But he didn't. And this is how I looked in the one picture he did take. *sigh*

I really tried describing the Old City to them, but I know they didn't believe me then. Truly, it was like going back in time walking down those ancient streets.

They even had a little display for Mormon sacred sites! (Why did they show the SLC temple when they have one right here in Indiana now?!) ((The curators probably didn't know, that's why...)) Yes, Tess was as fun as she looks. These ladies kept giving us funny looks as I posed my kids in front of this display. Those crazy Mormons...

Then we headed to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exhibit. Oh, we didn't go right in - no, we had to wait in line first! It was CRAZY CROWDED. Fortunately, my kids are pros as waiting in line. And we only had to wait 15 minutes or so.

It was a really fun exhibit - totally reminded me of my little brothers, who were ninja turtle crazy back in the day. The boys had a lot of fun, but I think it was a little loud and crazy for Miss Tess.

They had this game where you had to hit the lit lights and see how many you could do in 30 seconds. Spencer did 40-something.

Josh did 20-something.

Cole did around 16. And me? SIXTY-THREE, baby! My boys were not impressed with my mad skillz.

Testing out some ninja turtle skateboards.

There were lots of toy displays and games to play. It was fun! But finally it was time to get to the haunted house.

And by get I mean wait in line for 45 minutes. Yikes.

Okay, so as we waited in line I got a little nervous about how scary this would be. But there were other little kids. Plus, it was stroller-friendly - how bad could it be? Just in case, I gave Tess my cardigan and told her to put it over her head if she got scared. Turned out to be the best decision I made all day. Too bad I didn't have one for Cole.

Oops.

So as far as haunted houses go, I've been in far worse. Far, far worse. It was not gory and no one touched you. (I HATE that.) But there was a lot of people jumping out and yelling at you and blowing air on you. And it was dark and there were black lights and lots of skeletons.

Cole started off fine, but within seconds he was between me and the stroller. I spent the entire trip through (which lasted a good 10 minutes!) comforting him and reminding him that it was just pretend.

Tess spent the entire trip under my cardigan, oblivious to it all.

At one point Cole had his hand over his mouth and looked like he was about to Lose It. So I told Spence he had to push Tess and I carried my 50+ pound boy for a good portion. "You're okay, Cole, you're okay! It's just pretend!" "I'm okay, I'm okay! It's just pretend! Noooooo! It's not okay!"

Spencer and Josh held it together pretty well, although they always made their Mommy (who was either pushing a stroller or carrying a 6 year old) go through curtained doorways first. Bravery at its finest, gentlemen.

We finally made it almost to the end, where they had that tunnel thing that spins around and around while you walk through on a catwalk. The boys LOVED it. As we exited the haunted house Cole was shaking a little and I felt so bad! But then he smiled and said "I did it!" And I made a huge deal about how brave he was and how proud I was of him. And he talked about how he would do it again - when he was 10.

So hopefully I haven't scarred him for life. I don't *think* I have, but you never can tell with that kid. I guess we'll see tonight when it's time for bed.