Halloween 2015

Halloween weekend was filled with so much excitement that we're still trying to recover from it! 

Jackson decided he wanted to be Ultron, the super-villain from the Avengers. We quickly transformed his Tin Man costume with a little bit of red tape, "lasers" on his arms, and a mask he already owned. 

We missed out on some trick-or-treating with Jesse's side of the family, due to the fall festival at my aunt and uncle's house the previous night. We dressed the kids and spent the afternoon at Jesse's parents. It's practically impossible to capture a photo with everyone looking at the same time.

We took the kids' costumes off so we wouldn't have to worry about messes while they ate lunch and fed the neighboring goats. Amelia was especially eager to feed the goats stale crackers directly in their mouths.

Maddie make me laugh by sneaking the food for herself instead of feeding the goats.

We made sure to return home with enough time for the trio to nap. We encourage Jackson to rest as well. Despite two hours in beds, the only person to actually nap was Jesse! Oh well. I cooked dinner so we could have some substance before another sugar rush.

After an early dinner, we dressed the kids one last time. We headed back to Gastonia for the annual cousin candy exchange. First, we stopped at a very high-traffic neighborhood for trick-or-treating. The trio's first official trick-or-treating was at the home of a very dear family. Jackson rang the doorbell and waited on the porch. 

Jesse and I had made the trio practice saying, "trick or treat". Amelia was the only one who really mastered it, but they all said "thank you".

We parked in their driveway and walked up and down two streets. After over a dozen houses, the kids had nearly full buckets of candy. All of the residents were so kind and excited to see the kids. People tend to prefer seeing the little kids as opposed to groups of teenagers trick-or-treating.

All four kids were genuinely excited as they approached each doorstep. This is such a fun age for trick-or-treating!

The final stop for Halloween was my sister's house, where all of the cousins traded candy. It was the second consecutive late night and we paid the price. Maddie became hysterical over my niece's black crayon costume. James' exhaustion sunk in and he became inconsolable. Jackson and Amelia, on the other hand, joyfully ate one piece of candy after another.

We took a quick cousins photo then changed the trio into pajamas. 

It was a quiet car ride home but a very long, tiring night. Daylight Saving Time translated into an extra hour of rotating kids through our bed and rocking a miserable, feverish James. It's been a long day with cranky kids. At least we can stress-eat our way through the impressive collection of candy.

Halloween 2015, that's a wrap!