In keeping with my annual tradition, I’m trying to squeeze in a Halloween blog post this year! Two quotes from Zander about the day:

“Let’s go to another park and continue this torturefest.” (as we were leaving the wet, cold, stormy park after homeschool playgroup)

And…

“I guess this is the ‘trick’ part of the day” (as we staggered to our various destinations)

We actually ended up having a nice day in the end and it was a funny day in many ways, but there was lots of chaos and assorted mishaps and I felt like I needed a Halloween doula to get me through! I started to just have to laugh—after the peanut butter sandwiches blasted out of the door and landed upside down in the gutter, after I looked in my mirror to see I’d left my gas tank open, after a friend had to call me to tell me my skirt was shut in my car door, and so on. After the “torturefest” remark, instead, I took five kids to the buffet at Sirloin Stockade. Alone. While wearing my gypsypriestess costume. There is even a chocolate fountain at this buffet and I did, indeed, help five children and myself to chocolate self-dipped strawberries. I took this selfie in the bathroom before leaving the restaurant. I think I officially gained a new superpower tonight…

I just turned the camera around and took a picture of the actual look on my face. I wasn’t making a specific face here!

Said costume ended up wicking up water from the ground ten inches up and I had to wear it all day and on the streets of town all night! After a cold, rough start to trick or treating, we actually ended up finding a reasonably festive neighborhood, the rain and wind stopped and the environment felt warmer, and we ended up having a lot of fun on the streets together. (Mark also brought me leggings and a hat, and that helped too.)

Here is an assorted gallery of pictures from all our Halloween activities this year 🙂

(clicking one picture to enlarge will enable a slideshow/larger photos and captions)

Lann is still practicing his movie makeup skills and did this on his own arm a few days ago.

Zander’s road rash, courtsey of Lann–future Face Off contestant.

Alaina was very set on being a mermaid with red hair and got all decked out for the first Halloween party we went to (which was a beautiful, sunny day rather than the murky gloom of actual Halloween!)

All three dressed up and ready for a party!

Gypsypriestess mama!

Alien Zander!

Wizard daddy (hand felted hat).

Mini hay ride at my parents’ house.

Second Halloween costume–Kirsten from American Girl.

We got set up in my parents’ different outbuildings and the kids trick-or-treated there. I took the Tinker’s Wagon, because it seemed thematically appropriate.

Checking out the loot.

We painted parmasean cheese jar luminaries.

Lann created this uber-creepy second costume for the second party/Halloween itself.

Carved pumpkins!