All Hallow's Eve

Whew, what a busy day, but such super fun as well.  It started off with the Fusion Fall Potluck at Patapsco Valley State Park.  We rented a pavilion, set up several activities for kids and adults, brought various dishes to share, and had an all around great time.  I'm pretty sure we may have just started a tradition.  Whether it will be a once a year affair or every other month, I'm definitely seeing potlucks as a part of our growing community.  With little to no budget, smorgasbord dining is the way to go. 

We borrowed the small moon bounce from Grace which the kids loved even more than the brand new playground beckoning in the background.  But the most fun of all, both for the kids and the parents, was the hay pile hide & seek, where we scattered tons of candy throughout a pile of hay.  On your mark, get set, go...and they were off, sifting through the hay to find whatever pieces of candy they could.  Given the amount of kids there versus the amount of candy, they all walked away with more than generous amounts of sweet yumminess.  They didn't even need to trick or treat, but of course, since Owen had been talking about it all week, we had to go.

Our neighborhood association decided to host a Safe & Spooktacular Halloween event.  We set up two tents on two corners in the neighborhood, decorated them with spooky lights and decor, added some music, cider, cookies, treat bags, and some beer & wine.  Voila, we had ourselves "the gathering place."  Neil and I took turns manning the booth while the better half took the boys trick or treating.  We actually met lots of our neighbors, even discovered that one had already had her baby (like two weeks ago, good one, Hillary).  One neighbor with a 9 week old little boy joined More than Moms and even came to Stroller Brigade with us this morning.  Two events, two successes.  Of course, by the end of the night, both Neil and I were 100% exhausted.  I was glad for the extra hour of sleep, at least in theory, since my kids woke up an hour early (or on time by their internal clocks).  Yep, I still hate daylight savings. 

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty stinking fantabulous Halloween, for both us and the kids.  Owen decided to be Spiderman...for like an entire week.  He literally wore the costume out.  In fact, come Sunday morning, it found itself to the trashcan.  Really, it crawled across the floor and climbed into the can all by itself.  Blake was a snake, not because he decided to be one, but because I found it at a yard sale for like $2.  It was funny, because his tail would drag along the ground behind him, and given the wet circumstances of the evening, it was nasty by the end, to say the least. Madison made for the cutest cow ever.  At first I thought she'd be a fairy since I found these cutsy mini-wings, but considering she spends most of her time on her back, I wasn't sure how to pull that off.  The cow costume was already in my arsenal and just happened to fit her, so "moo" it was.  Totally meant to stop by CFA for our free chicken of the day, but time just got away from us.