Our Halloween 2018

I love Halloween. 

Probably for different reasons than a lot of Halloween lovers out there though.

I do not love anything scary or gory or Halloweenie in that sense. What I do love is any excuse to dress up, make memories, have fun with friends and eat the occasional Reese's pumpkin. 

Our Halloween 2018 ranks right up there as one of my favorites because it had all that and more!

I heart a good family theme when it comes to costumes and I will do so as long as my kiddos let me but man....we had a hard time coming up with our costumes this year. With the addition of Bennett Lee our options expanded but we still struggled. Douglas likes witty,  I like cute and something I can make homemade. Not going to lie...I spent more time looking up ideas this year than I did actually making this year's costumes. Maybe I should already start planning for next year.....

Emery Kayt was our little pink pig complete with a curly pink tail. She also realized that if she took off her ears, nose and tail she could pass for a ballerina. So in the end she embraced being a ballerina pig and lived her best life twirling and oinking around. 

Auggie really wanted to be a farmer, specifically Uncle Terry, for Halloween. But who am I kidding, he wants to be a farmer all day everyday. At first I was just going to have him go ahead and be a farmer but then I remembered that our favorite twin boys were cows last year and sure enough, their Momma still had their costumes she had made them and it fit Aug perfect. Win, win! The night he tried it on we didn't think we were going to get him out of it. After that he was a happy camper being the cow on our farm!

Baby Bennett made the perfect baby chick. He really is the whole reason we finally decided on a farm family. I mean what is not to love about a baby in tights and a feather boa!?! I was afraid he would hate being a chicken (feathers in the face, tights, etc.) but I was wrong. He loved it!

And we loved it too (minus ALL the feathers eve-er-y-where)!

We like to dress up in our costumes as much as possible in October. Its more fun that way! Some friends of ours (Doug works with him and all of our kids are the same age) have a big Halloween party every year so that is always our first fun night. After this picture I changed Bennett into a pumpkin because I would have been an awful party guest if I had let him shed feathers all over their house. Also, shoutout to Douglas. I am so glad he plays along because not all Dads do. At least this year he just had to raid his Dad's chore closet...he even smelled like a dairy farmer ha!

We have always had a Halloween party too. Bennett put a dent in those plans last year but this year we wanted to get back to tradition. I am happiest with a kitchen full of loud friends and bedrooms full of loud kiddos. Throw in all the crockpot dips a girl could want and a fire after the kids go to bed and you have yourself the perfect fall night! Our neighbor/Em and Aug's best friend fit right in with our farm theme, didn't she? Actually that night we had four cowboys and a horse so really we did have a farm theme going!

A night with friends would not be complete without a sweet Jansen girl picture. 

Mermaids and pigs make the best friends. 

Our new favorite tradition might be trick or treating with the Probst's. I say this is only our second year trick or treating with them but Doug swears it is our third. Either way, I see many many years of this in our future. Before meeting at their house to trick or treat, we decided we should probably TP them. What are friends for?!? Em and Aug were so giggly while we threw a couple of rolls intro their tree. When we rang their door bell we acted like we had no idea who did that to their yard....but the boys didn't fall for that!

Its a good thing Em's winter coat is pig pink! Really we had the best weather for an evening outside. The perfect chill was in the air.

Auggie elected to be Uncle Terry for trick or treating. He says Daddy was Uncle Tim. When the kids walked up to doors Emery, Hank and Knox would all shout "Trick or Treat!" at the same time and then Auggie would say it. "Wick or Weet!" He didn't get to go to his schools Halloween Parade (strep throat got the big kids this week) so we sang his Halloween songs as we walked. I know he had fun.

But I don't think anyone had as much fun as Bennett Lee. This kid really is just the happiest tag-a-long. This smile never left his face and many times we caught him doing a little "Halloween Happy Dance". I think he was just wondering what the heck we were doing walking around outside in the dark. Next year he will be running with the big kids!

While I am sad to see October and all of its fun go, I am so excited for this holiday season.

Remember, I love any excuse to dress up, make memories, have fun with friends....and do they make Reese's Christmas Trees? 

Hope you had a happy Halloween!