Halloween Happenings

We've had an exciting Halloween at the Summers' house. It all started last weekend when Steve and I went to an annual Halloween costume party. In the past, we've gone as individual characters. This year, we wanted to dress up as a couple.

I went online to get ideas. On ebay, I saw a few ideas, including Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. But, HELLO! They were bidding over $150 for them! I don't think so! So I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics, spent $25 on felt and $10 on accessories and made them myself. (Mom and Grandma Lacey--thanks for all that time and patience you took teaching me how to sew! I get to use my sewing annually for Halloween costumes.)

There was only a little drama (well, a lot, at the time) when we tried the costumes on and realized they wouldn't fit over our hips. The costumes were lined, and apparantly I'd goofed up on the seam allowances for the lining and the linings were smaller than the outer shells. Thank goodness for seam rippers!

The party was so much fun. The highlight was the power tools pumpkin carving contest. The winner carved his
with a chain saw!

Steve with his Gremlin pumpkin

Monday night we made carameled apples and carved pumpkins for Family Night. In the past, we've gone to a pumpkin patch to let the kids each pick one out. This year we were too busy, so Steve took the kids down to Albertson's to pick them out.

Steven insisted on carving his pumpkin all by himself this year. He made a very detailed witch. It turned out great! (Dad ended up "helping" a little to speed things along--Steven needed to go to bed!)

Here are the final versions of the Pumpkins. Don't you love the kids' assortment of "jammies?!"

Ben wanted to make a Pac Man pumpkin. Steve learned a cool trick from the power tool pumpkin carving contest--drills make really great holes in pumpkins! So, Steve even made the little dots PacMan needed to eat. We heard some really excited trick-or-treaters exclaim that they loved the PacMan pumpkin.

Rachel wanted to make a dog--it was too hard to design, but she was able to make an adorable pumpkin almost all by herself!

On Halloween (Wednesday night,) we started the evening by going to a tri-ward carnival at the church. Sophia, dressed as Piglet, had so much fun. She especially enjoyed the cupcakes. Rachel was a beautiful Sleeping Beauty.

Ben was a mad scientist--complete with a balding white wig and safety goggles, but when anyone asked him, he replied, "I'm my dad!"

Steven dressed as Dracula. (We never got a picture of him, though!) The middle schoolers were allowed to dress up for school, so he wore his costume all day. He started out wearing a black wig, but by the end of the day, it looked like a dead rat, so he didn't want to wear it trick or treating.

The kids didn't want to stay at the church for the dinner or "trunk or treating." They wanted to come home so they could go out with friends. Trick or treating was a new experience this year. Steve and Sophia stayed home to pass out the candy while I went out with Ben and his friends, Connor and Ethan. Rachel went with her friend, Christine and Christine's mom and sister. Steven and his friends, Nik, Zak, Kyle, Sam, and Aaron, decided they didn't want any adults hampering their progress, so we let them all go together. They had cell phones and set boundaries and an 8:00 curfew to adhere to. They were home before 8:00, so we'll let them do it again next year! They all came home with lots of loot. They've gotten wise over the years. They're keeping it stashed in their bedrooms so Dad and Mom can't eat any of it. (We told them if we saw any of it down here, it was ours! We didn't want Leia, the dog, to get into any of it!)