We had a pretty fun Halloween. That morning J.T. watched the girls so that I could go to a holiday bazaar here on post with Jen and Tina. I was able to do a little Christmas/birthday shopping and have a fun morning out.
For dinner we dined on jack-o-lantern brains (thanks for the idea, Kate) with a side of sludge (which was actually a spinach, OJ, pineapple, mango, and guava smoothie). The jack -o-lantern brains were spaghetti stuffed bell peppers with faces carved into them. Dinner was a fun attempt to get some nutrition in before the sugar fest began. 
Here's my adorable girls all ready for a night of fun! Aria had a cold and was attached to her bottle. (Which was conveniently spiked with Ibuprofen and Musinex.) After the "special bottle" took affect and Aria realized that each door she went to gave her more candy, she perked up pretty quick.
This guy really freaked her out,
but not enough to keep her from taking his candy.
Trick-or-Treat!!
Cinderella enjoying her first sugar of the night.
A few years ago we carved our pumpkins pretty early in the season. The kids were anxious to do it, so I gave in. The pumpkin appeared to hold up pretty well... at least I thought. Halloween week came around and we decided it was time to light the pumpkin and put it outside. i opened it to put a candle in and was greeted with a pumpkin full of moldy cobwebs. Ever since I've forced the issue of waiting until Halloween week to carve.
This is the first year that the kids have been actively involved. It was pretty fun watching them get grossed out by pumpkin "guts." I do think that we'll wait to have 3 pumpkins until we trust at least one of them to use a knife. That was a lot of carving!
The finished products! From left to right: Lesley's, Kassy's, mostly Bella's (the little girls assisted in de-gutting)
We went to a Fall festival on Saturday where once again the kids were able to rack up more candy, trick-or-treating at each of the booths. They loved being able to wear their costumes, and of course they were adorable. Kassy decided to go as a medical professional (she couldn't decide whether she was a nurse or a doctor), Trista was our Tinkerbell, Aria's a fairy, Bella the ballerina, and Ava was the cutest Minnie Mouse.
Kassy was being the amazing big sister that she is and helping Aria trick-or-treat.
Trista and Bella having a kazoo concert. 
J.T. models one of the girls' fire hats.
Friday night we rode our bikes down to the "Monster Mash" here on post. There was music, candy, a few games, and a movie on the lawn. The weather was great and we enjoyed a nice evening with the Shutes! The girls are always happy to see Lily.
Aria was not impressed by the cotton candy. J.T. forced some into her mouth and she enjoyed the sugary sweetness at first. Then, the child who has eaten carpet fuzz ever since she was old enough to grasp it in her little fingers, became repulsed by the stickiness and totally rejected it.
Kassy and Aria dancing to the "Monster Mash."
We enjoyed stretching out and watching "Monsters Inc." on the lawn before packing up and biking home.
I love how creative my kids can be. At times they make me wonder, though.
This was Trista's latest invention. Here you see Tad ready to chug along in his Leap Frog train. Trista needed one more car to pull her puppy along, so she made one. The puppy fit nicely in this (clean) soft diaper, but how to attach him to the car in front? Easy! Tie 3 tampons together, putting 2 inside the car to anchor it and attach the third to the velcro on the diaper. Voila!
(The tampons were handy thanks to Aria who recently found a stash and discovered how much she enjoyed using them as a microphone before disassembling them.)
