Happy Halloween!

I sincerely can't believe we're already at the end of October! Didn't we just celebrated New Years 2024? The time is just rolling by...and I'm simply trying to keep up. On Sunday, October 27th, we held our annual Southwick Halloween party. Halloween has never been my favorite holiday. Sure...I love Fall. I love all the Fall festivals. I love the cute pumpkins, pretty mums, gorgeous fall colors, etc., but I have never loved the scary, gory aspects of Halloween. Still, any chance to have a party...I'm in! To be honest, this party is one aspect of the Halloween season that I look forward to. The kids all dress up, we enjoy yummy soups, let the little kids go on a scavenger hunt, and carve pumpkins. Several of my in-laws join us too. We even had Amber's mother-in-law join the party. This year, Jonas decided to be a Jedi knight and carved a pumpkin with the Jedi emblem. The Irons were a backyard BBQ gone wrong. This won the night for sure! Laurin decided to let the kids have a say in what they wanted to be for Halloween. Carter wanted to dress up as a firefighter and Everly wanted to be a hotdog. We are all still baffled as to where that came from. Haha! Up until this year, they had always done family themes, but we weren't quite sure how to connect the two until the idea was tossed out to have Casey be at the grill (cooking up hotdogs) when a fire (Laurin) broke out and Carter had to save the day. I think the costumes turned out so cute! And they did a hamburger pumpkin to top it off. So creative! Amber and Beau were ghosts and Jacob was a Ghostbuster (and yes...they're pumpkin had a ghost on it). Finally, Dallin and Audrey dressed up as Augustus and Violet from Willy Wonka (their friends are going to round out the rest of the characters). I laughed so hard with all the creative costumes...and Beau was by far the cutest ghost around. Everyone enjoyed good food and fun activities.

On Halloween day, I made what has become a traditional breakfast for Jonas before he excitedly headed off to school. That afternoon, his school hosted their annual Halloween parade. I can't believe he only has one more parade until he goes to middle school! (He was a little too cool to look at me for a good picture.) After the parade, I helped out with his classroom party. I brought a fun bingo game to play. The kids also enjoyed a couple of crafts and a sugar cookie making station.

That night, we grabbed our traditional Papa Murphy's Jack-o-lantern pizza before heading over to the church for the Trunk-or-Treat. Jonas honestly wasn't sure that he wanted to dress up this year. Halloween isn't really his favorite holiday either (maybe I rubbed off on him), but he didn't want to miss out on any of the festivities. I think he's glad he did dress up and he loved being a Jedi. We considered going trick-or-treating with Carter and Everly, but Jonas opted to go to stay here to hang out with his friends. Plus, there is little effort in the trunk-or-treat and maximum sugar rewards. 

The day after, we celebrated el Dia de los Muertos too. I always lump this in with Halloween. It's a day to honor and remember our dead. We honestly don't do much. I cooked some yummy chicken enchiladas for dinner and Jonas helped me set up the "ofrenda" (the little altar). We included items from some of the deceased and we decided to bake some cookies (which are much better than the Mexican sweetbread that is traditionally placed on the altar). Jonas had actually learned how to make papel picado at school today and brought some extra tissue papers home. He taught me how to make them and we added those to our ofrenda. It wasn't much but, I like to have those quiet moments of reflection as we remember our ancestors and the lives that have influenced ours. All in all, it was a great holiday! Now...can I put up the Christmas tree yet?