And what a fun Halloween it was this year! It was the first year Jessica really "got it" while trick-or-treating. Jackson, being the 'old pro' he is, was delighted to have his sister share in the fun going door to door collecting WAY TOO MUCH candy!
As a family, we chose to get involved in the Halloween spirit quite a bit this year.
I think the Halloween decorations came out about mid-September...which the kids were absolutely thrilled about:
I didn't take pictures of the three Halloween items --Halloween Mickey Mouse, Halloween Minnie Mouse, and Jack-o-lantern pumpkin-- we had placed above our cabinets in the kitchen. Every time we'd sit up to eat, Lia would point to all three Halloween decorations, one by one, trying to mimic the words: "Mickey," "Minnie," and "Pumpkin."
Jackson and Jessica each painted a pumpkin:
There are several kid-friendly Halloween events in our area.
One of the more popular annual events, The Enchanted Forest, includes a nature walk through the Marsh trails at Myrick Park. The kids trick-or-treat along the way to various non-scary characters like, Snow White, Shrek, Alice in Wonderland, Tinkerbell, a Pirate, etc.
After the walk, families were encouraged to stay for free popcorn and hot chocolate inside the Eco center building at Myrick park. We also listened to Hans Meyer singing songs and had some balloon animals made for the kids.
Although I wasn't able to capture pictures during our walk, I took one of Jackson and Jessica posing on this rock just before we were going to leave:
The kids were very fascinated by this man-made cascading water fountain at Myrick park (there were small damns built in so the kids could raise and lower them and control the flow of the water).
The following weekend, we went to the annual "Boo-seum" event at the Children's Museum in La Crosse. The kids wear their costumes and play games for prizes throughout the museum.
Lia's favorite part of this Children's Museum is the water table! She gets a kick out of splashing in the water and placing/watching the plastic boats float down the stream.
The very next day, I took Jackson and Jessica (while Jason stayed home with napping Lia) trick-or-treating to the businesses downtown La Crosse.
Just about every business took part in this event; so, it was fun to be able to walk down the block and go into each and every shop, collecting candy along the way:
On our way home from the downtown La Crosse event, we made a stop at Festival Foods to pick up something for lunch. And, "Surprise!" --it just so happened Festival Foods was having a Halloween event for the kids too.
After both Jackson and Jessica each filled up their second bag of treats for the day, we headed home to sort through all of our goodies. I guess you could say Jackson and Jess hit the jackpot that day!
Halloween fell on a Monday this year. Jackson was able to dress up for his Halloween party at school; he went as Optimus Prime.
I had the girls and my daycare children dress in costume for our daycare party that day as well. A few of the neighbors were nice enough to let our daycare group trick-or-treat their houses at about 10 a.m..
For Halloween night, we started off at Grandma Chris's and Grandpa Bob's house. We enjoyed visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Gundy while we were there, as well as eating a delicous meal prepared by Grandma Gundy!
And we're ready to go trick-or-treating:
Jackson and Jessica completely understood the concept of trick-or-treating this year and seemed to have a really fun time.
Lia, of course, had absolutely no idea what was going on. Although she couldn't figure out why brother and sister kept going up to people's houses ringing doorbells, she knew she wanted to be part of the action too.
I snapped a few "pictures of uncertainty" as Lia made her way up someone's driveway.
And, in case you weren't keeping track, that makes 4 Halloween costumes for both Jackson and Jessica!... and 1 for Lia:)
This year, Jason and I decided not to buy costumes for the kids and instead, let them pick out what they want to wear from our ever-growing (thank you Grandma Chris!) dress up box we have at our home.
First costumes worn: Jackson and Jessica were both Storm Troopers from Star Wars.
Second costumes: Jackson - Ninja Turtle, Jess - Tiger.
Third costumes: Jackson and Jessica were both Black Warriors.
Fourth costumes: Jackson - Optimus Prime from Transformers, Jess - Minnie Mouse (red dress).
One and only costume for Lia: Minnie Mouse (pink dress).
The kids seemed to enjoy their ability and freedom to pick out several different choices this year. Perhaps it'll work for next year too?
We hope Halloween was a happy time for your families as well.
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