Just One More...

Ava has been looking forward to Halloween for about two months now... since the day her Dorothy costume arrived (thank you to my wonderful customer for making it for her!!). Last night, she could barely fall asleep; the excitement was just too much for her. As soon as she woke up, she asked to put her costume on, but we kept it off for very good reason (keep reading!).

We opted not to carve pumpkins this year. Actually, it was Ava's choice. It's not that she doesn't like the mess, she just had a better idea. Rather than carve, she wanted to paint. And not just any old paint job, this girl had a plan. She chose to paint her pumpkin to look like Mike from "Monster's, Inc." So, that's how she and I spent Halloween morning while Jax and Daddy delivered some letters to members of our ward.


After running some errands, we rushed home to make dinner --- Mummies. I wish I had taken a picture because they were pretty darn cute. Basically, it was just pigs-in-a-blanket, but we made the dough look more "mummy-like" and used mustard for eyes. Ava was quite proud of her creations and Jax was quite happy to eat them (he devoured two).

Finally, the sun began to set and it was time to get the kids outfitted in their costumes: Dorothy and the Tin Man. Andy and I had every intention of dressing up like the other two members of the Wizard of Oz foursome (lion and scarecrow), but for one reason or another it didn't happen. Not like anyone would have been looking at us, anyway. I mean, with kids as cute as ours, we may as well be invisible :)


We skipped on over to our ward Trunk-or-Treat.

Jax having a little pre-trick-or-treating chocolate

Ava, I mean Dorothy, led the way and her little brother followed. At first, Jax wasn't sure what to do with the candy being handed him. The first few pieces he tried to eat on the spot, dropping his basket in the process. But, after a few trunks he had the hang of it, carefully placing each piece in his Elmo basket. But, when people let the kids "choose" their piece of candy, Jax was not shy, grabbing as many pieces as he could fit in his plump little hands. However, he was sure to say or sign "thank you" to every person who gave him candy. A nice little old lady actually commented on how polite my kids were after both thanked her. It was a proud little mommy moment.

Gotta take the wrapper off, Buddy!

Once we'd visited each trunk, I let the kids each have a Dum-Dum. You'd think I had just stuck their heads under a candy spicket. They were blissful!


On the way home, Ava decided she wasn't done trick-or-treating, so she and I went on to some houses around ours while Andy and Jax went home and the little dude went to sleep. This was Ava's first experience actually trick-or-treating door-to-door. It was exciting, and a little nostalgic, to watch her happily bounce to each door and knock as loudly as she could. Oh, and the look on her face when the door opened. Priceless! She was the first trick-or-treater at many of the doors, so they were extra-generous. As we walked home, she told me she "got a lot of loot."

Protecting her loot

After checking all her candy, I allowed her one piece. After pleading and giving me a big goofy grin, she got one more. I think that last one did her in, because what ensued was foreign to me. She's an energetic kid, and talks... ALOT! But, holy cow... she was CRAZY! She chattered non-stop for a good 20 minutes, touching on subjects from princesses to Avery's blessing tomorrow, to the merits of sugar. She giggled uncontrollably and couldn't stop wiggling. It was pretty hilarious! I don't know if it was really the sugar or just the excitement from the night, I tend to lean toward sugar as the culprit, either way, I've never seen anything like it. She finally crashed about an hour later. I'm sure she's dreaming of chocolate and Pixie Stix. I'm pretty sure Jax always dreams of food.