Halloween 2024

Halloween might actually be the best holiday. The weather is usually nice, the decorations are fun, dressing up is entertaining, the day is super social, the excitement is high, and the pressure is low.

Everyone was pretty decisive in their costumes this year so that made for a simple Halloween. The 3 older kids wanted to have friends over, so we made it a combined party for all!

The witch costume is always a winner and Aislin loved her pretty dress and accessories.

Raegan and a group of friends from school all got deer onesies.

Gavin organized his group of friends to all wear inflatable dinosaur costumes and trick-or-treat together in our neighborhood.

I made all the usual Halloween party snacks and treats.

Ayden and her friends dressed up as their own dads. They did a little trick-or-treating but mainly hung out and other friends came over later in the evening.

I dressed up as a Trump supporter, also known and labeled by Pres. Biden as "garbage."

Gavin and his friends were very excited for the night. They played football outside until it got dark, ate snacks, and then started blowing up their costumes.

The group of them waddling around the neighborhood was hilarious.

The girls and Makenzie (soccer friend) hit the neighborhood with Patrick and since the weather was nice enough, I stayed behind to run the cotton candy again.

It was a bit windy so we pulled into the garage a bit but the wind didn't deter the line. I made a few adjustments from last time which helped things go more smoothly: first, we made 30 bags in advance and set them aside for when we had to give the machine a rest and could satisfy the remainder of the line. That worked really well. Next time I'll make even more for the end of the night. Secondly, I made the same flavor for everyone, so I could make them much faster. I estimated we handed out about 200 cones and everyone loved it once again.

including Gavin's friends.

And once again, the kids got copious amounts of candy. Gavin's weighed in at 9 lbs.

Halloween Prep and a Tournament Win

The kids begged me to decorate early this year as they love Halloween. Nana sent new bone jams to get everyone into the spirit.

The kids had their own ideas and got to work on their pumpkins. I didn't really even help. They did all the gut scooping, designing, and cutting all on their own- including Buggy.

Ayden went with an obvious theme based on the events in the coming week.

Gavin carved a face that some YouTuber he follows designed.

Raegan made yet another house for one of her tiny pumpkins.

Aislin created this design on paper and then drew it on the pumpkin. Pretty good I'd say for 7.

The kids performed in the DEMTA Halloween recital.

Blue Ghost Waltz

Soccer also wrapped up this weekend. It was a great season despite all the spring tryout drama. Gavin's new coaches were amazing and the team picked up some great new players. Olympico went undefeated this season (only gave up a few goals all season long on defense) and were the division champs. They will be moving up to P3 next season. So they decided to compete in the Rush Colorado tournament at the end of the season in the highest division to prep for the Spring. They even played 2 ECRL teams and beat them both to win the Championship! The final was a super intense game but the boys pulled off the win 2-1. It was a fantastic ending to a great season.

Raegan's team also will advance to a higher division next year- P2. Raegan had a great season, scoring frequently and was a recipient of the MVP ball. She got lots of playing time and proved herself to be an invaluable player.

Ethan and Gavin- both defenders

He was so happy

Aislin's team didn't win a single game, but she got a lot of play time and they actually improved quite a bit.

And Buggy lost her first front tooth.

Maui: Black Rock Beach, Nakalele Blowhole, and Ulua Beach

Sunrises were always magical in Maui.

We spent the majority of the day at Black Rock beach. Unlike the other beaches on Maui which were essentially little bays or alcoves, this beach was a long, deep and open expanse of sand and water. The last few days we were in Maui, there was a high surf warning so we were trying to find beaches that didn't have dangerous waves. The waves here were big and the backwash was crazy but the kids were still able to play. There also was a tall volcanic, black rock in the water that made for some good snorkeling, where we swam with turtles and more cool fish. We finally had to leave as the tide ended up covering the entire beach despite us continuing to move further back.

We met up with the Spilman's at the Nakalele Blow Hole.

The north coast was beautiful.

Patrick and I walked the Kapalua Trail along the rugged coastline. The waves were impressive.

The next morning we ate scrumptious macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup at the Gazebo.

The Spilman's knew all the good spots!

Then we headed down to the beach near our house.

We spent the afternoon back at Kapalua Beach.

The last day the surf was too high up north so we traveled down south and spent the day at our favorite beaches, including Ulua Beach. There was excellent snorkeling where we saw more turtles, octopus, eels, and even a sting ray! And we finished the day and the trip with shaved ice one last time.

The full moon lit up the sky and water on our last night in Maui.

Maui: Wailea and Kapalua Beach

Sunday morning we packed up to head north. We had some time to kill so we hit up Wailea beach and saw some turtles up close and personal.

On the way we stopped at the popular Leoda's for some pie.

Ayden took beautiful pictures of all the tropical flowers.

I knew this house was going to be incredible but it exceeded my expectations!

The view was insane. The house was incredible. It was almost difficult to leave for the beach.

The master upstairs was an oasis of its own.

After we checked in, we spent the afternoon at Kapalua Beach. We snorkeled and saw lots of cool fish and even an octopus!