Halloween Events

For Halloween this year, we attended several different events, so the kids got some great mileage out of their costumes. Jaden decided he wanted to be a ninja and wear the costume he had received for his birthday. Talk about an easy costume assembly!

Cody asked to be Sensei Wu from Lego Ninjago. We gathered pieces of his costume from all over-- a white Karate Kid outfit purchased online, a cheap beard from a party store, a walking stick from the corner of our garage, and a Chinese "rice paddy" hat that Mommy made from posterboard and burlap! The beard was a little itchy for Cody, but he was pleased with how similar he looked to Sensei Wu.

I decided to go an easy route with Adley in the costume-making department this year too. We used a black tutu in her closet and a inexpensive cat shirt from WalMart to create a black cat costume. I figured there would be no way she'd keep on a cat ear headband, so I found some DIY instructions online for creating cat ear barrettes. They were super easy to make, went on SO easily, and she didn't mess with them at all. So perfect! The tail, on the other hand, was quite a different story. Let's just say Adley made a great tail-less kitty! ;)

Here are my 2018 Halloween cuties! 

Zomball

The first event we attended was a trunk or treat event called Zomball in Tomball, and it was held already in early October. Unfortunately, it didn't end up being worth our time at all, as the event was WAY overcrowded. The lines for the bounce houses and games were all super long. Then, boys got only 5 or 6 pieces of candy from the trunk or treat line before they got tired of waiting. But, since this was our first Halloween event, it motivated me to get the kids' costumes together extra early. The kids were thrilled to have the chance to dress up for the first time too, so I guess it wasn't all a loss! ;) 

Police Station Trunk or Treat

This event was held at a police substation not far at all from our house on a weeknight the week before Halloween. We ended up inviting some friends over that night for dinner and to accompany us to get candy! It was fairly low key and ended up being a fun outing. This first picture has a glare, but it demonstrates how so many of the vehicles had flashing lights for the kids. Very fun.

The policemen and women were all in uniform which was exciting in itself for the kids.

A few of the stations had little games for the kids to play too.

The best part (at least the favorite for us adults) was that we got to walk through and/or near several of the police & rescue vehicles, like a rescue boat, an ambulance, a police helicopter, and a SWAT van. It was so cool to see all of their cameras and operations!

Cody and Jaden got tons of candy and enjoyed time with their friends Caleb and Ashlyn.

Salem's Trunk or Treat

The weekend before Halloween was Salem's trunk or treat event. We loved how well-managed and fast-moving the lines are here compared to the Zomball event earlier in the month! The boys enjoyed seeing a bunch of their school and church friends here too.

We liked being able to treat or treat along with cousins Ben and Abby too. Their ice cream themed costumes turned out so adorable!!

It's always entertaining to see all the creative trunk decorations.

Adley was definitely into the candy gathering this year. She didn't have to be told twice what to do!

Halloween

The weather forecast for the actual day of Halloween was an unfortunate predicted downpour all evening long (our second Halloween in a row of rainfall!). Thankfully, the rain lessened enough for a stretch of time that Jason was able to take the boys out with umbrellas for at least 30-40 minutes. He said the boys were gung-ho about visiting as many homes as possible! Our whole family spent part of the evening at a neighbor's house too, enjoying some indoor Halloween snacks and games.

After all of these activities, Jaden, Cody, and Adley's candy buckets were overflowing. Talk about getting a good stash of treats!