This Halloween was just FUN. It all started when we asked Annalise what she wanted to be this year. She said Ariel, and our theme was born! We knew that we had a family costume party coming up at the Albers' home, and The Little Mermaid definitely provided plenty of characters for inspiration. After considering and then rejecting King Triton (not a commentary on your abs, Adam), we decided on Ariel, Ursula, Chef Louis, and Sebastian. You can be the judge, but we were very pleased with how things turned out...
The weekend before Halloween, we got in the holiday spirit at the Albers' gorgeous home in Brookside. These little ladies were two peas in a pod...
...and the littles could not have been any cuter in their costumes. Love those sweet, innocent faces!
We decided to forego the traditional pumpkin carving but wanted to give Annalise the opportunity to decorate a pumpkin, nonetheless. She selected paint and glitter as her decorations of choice.
When we woke up on Saturday morning, it felt like it was going to be a good day. I got the kids dressed in their Halloween outfits, and they actually cooperated and smiled for photos (write this down!!!).
Annalise is obsessed with jewelry lately, especially her special Halloween necklace from Grandma and her own hand-crafted necklace from preschool.
Spiky haired Andrew cannot get enough of board books these days.
We chose to embrace the unhealthiness that is Halloween and ventured to John's Space Age Donuts for breakfast. This place is the best! It was so fun to hear the elderly men and women who are regulars there chat about the latest Royals' game, and I am fairly certain that Annalise got extra donuts for free. Here she is doing her best Dracula.
It was a gray morning weather-wise, so we stopped at the McDonald's Play Place to let the kids burn off some energy.
During nap time, I put the finishing touches on Martini's costume. We have a Flounder!
Neither Adam nor I wanted to miss trick or treating with the kiddos, so we left full bowls of candy on the porch and decided to rely on the honor system.
The Halloween photo shoot is a hit or miss kind of affair. We got lucky this year.
Annalise took it upon herself to adjust Andrew's outfit for him periodically. Reminds me of someone I know well (uh, sorry, Steve).
In years past, the kids only trick or treated in the cul-de-sac next to our home and went to about ten houses, tops. Now that they were a year older and the weather was actually warm for a change, we devised a slightly more ambitious trick or treating route. We headed down to the Greens to meet up with Chip (Olaf) and Grace (My Little Pony). By 6 o'clock, we were going door to door! When you have toddlers (and when the Royals are in the World Series!!!), it is best to start early.
Andrew was such a good little guy, riding in his stroller and chomping on Cheerios.
Here's a brief video taken from the magical 48-hour period when Ted and Adam were proud owners of hover boards. Boys and their toys!
As night fell, Annalise and Grace were still scampering from house to house. They had so much fun! Oh, to be a kid again!
We finally called it a night when their bags were so full and heavy that they could no longer carry them - henceforth, this will be known as Uncle Ted's Rule. :) We walked in to the house at 7:07, I turned on the TV, and literally 10 seconds later they threw out the first pitch of the Royals' game. Could not have planned it any better!
One of my favorite parts of Halloween was always the post-treating candy sorting. Surprisingly, Adam was a sorter, too. He gave Annalise a tutorial on separating the chocolate from the non-chocolate, the keepers from the trade pile, etc.
And, of course, he showed her how to wear her fake fangs. These two crack me up!
The kids slept quite soundly Halloween night, and I must say that I did, too, my belly full of chocolate and my heart full from this great family day. :)
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