Halloween

Raise your hand if you are proud of me for being just about up to date on my blogging!

...Raise your hand if it really has no impact on your life whatsoever if I am just about up to date on my blogging...

Anyway...

So, we are a week or so into November and I am ready to get a Halloween post pounded out here. And I had the talk with myself that I always have when a holiday or a special event or a Tuesday rolls around...
I do not need a million pictures to remember this by.
I do not need a million pictures to remember this by.
I do not need a million pictures to remember this by.
But...
as usual, I wasn't buying it.

Maybe I don't need them, man, but can't a girl indulge?
It's either this or chocolate.
And, let's be honest...it's probably both.

So, time for a walk through the busy, extended weekend that was Halloween for the Ballards this year.


We started out with a Wednesday night Trunk-or-Treat with our ward. Chili, games, cotton candy, and, of course, trunk-or-treating.
Who came up with this?
Genius.
By the time it rolled around, the kids could hardly wait to get their costumes on!

James was all set as Spiderman.
We told him he could wear the mask for pictures and around the house but not otherwise.
He felt so authentic. Enough so to give us web-shooting hands for a picture.
(And yes, he is in our bedroom where the playroom used to be. As you can see, the painting has yet to be completed. I dream in blue and yellow.)

We were all quite surprised when Ben wanted to be Woody again this year.
Right.
I had to include this picture because it is adorable.
But when JC took it I got mad at him for taking a picture with clothes and trash bags, etc. on the floor in the background. We are still very much moving into our room.
So I was embarrassed to have it documented.
He just stared at me.

Then, later, upon going through the pictures on our camera, I found this picture he took of our neglected kitchen immediately after that little chastisement I gave him.
The boy knows how to fight dirty.

But, for a much more attractive picture, here is sweet Bethany as Ariel!

And all three out front, ready to go!

But not before some running around.

Once we got to the party, Ben quickly found his soul mate in a cute little girl from James' class.
This is Olivia. I mean, Jessie.
Woody and Jessie, back together again!
(Olivia is the daughter of James' Sunbeam teachers, the Wilkinsons...who he loves and adores. Who just got released. Who he cries about missing. It is so sweet how he loves them!)
Darling.

JC helped the kids play some carnival games. And as you can see, he commandeered Ben's hat once he was sick of it.

Bean Bag Toss. Classic.

This was awesome.
A whole game centered around eating donuts.
(This is where Mandy had to check her my-kids-don't-eat-sugar at the door.)
So, the kids went at it, trying to eat their donuts without using their hands, as was the point and purpose.
James is clearly figuring his strategy.

Just as James gets into the game, Ben decides the no-hands rule is ridiculous.

Look at James go! He stuck to the rules and still got some good bites in!

But the prize goes to Miss Bethany, for innovation.

Next up was the cake walk which, as you can see, JC took very seriously.
The kids took right to it.
Walking in circles with music in the background...sounds a lot like everyday life around here.

Ben was the first to win!
And the prize was delectable.

He proceeded to enjoy said prize with a friend from nursery/the playgroup he won't go to because he is a homebody.
This is Zuzu. A cowboy like unto himself.
(Zuzu and her brother were both cowboys and their parents, the Cowgurs, had every intention of being Indians to complete the theme but were too busy making that evening's award-winning chili to end up dressed up. Cute idea though, yes?)

Bethany and James didn't win quite that fast. And everyone knew it due to James breaking down in a screaming fit every time he did not win.
After a few rounds, they finally just rigged the thing.


The kids had a blast at the Trunk-or-Treat, complete with their first taste of cotton candy.
Heaven help us all.
I am so grateful to have a wonderful ward family! We have so much fun at our church functions and the kids are making more and more friends as they grow older. It is a great feeling, knowing they have a sense of community and fellowship already at such a young age!


The next day was a preschool day for James, his last of the week. They kind of squished their school days into a mini-school-week this year, going Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and I actually love it!
So, Thursday was his Halloween Party. :)

Every morning that is a preschool day, we drop Bethany off, come home, get dressed and play outside for a half hour until it is time to take James to school.
It is a fun time. I get to watch the boys play together and get my scripture reading in first thing.
It is nice for all of us.
On this particular day, I let Ben wear his costume since James was going to be.
They are practically just cheap pajamas anyway!
They had fun taking turns with the cowboy hat.
Here, they are both quite amused at the prospect of a Cowboy Spiderman.

Ben did manage to steal it back.

But then it flew off his head mid-run, which provided plenty of amusement for all of us.

Another source of amusement...the fact that anytime Ben has his Woody costume on, Scout becomes "Bullseye" and gets recruited into playtime.
I am not sure Scout is completely on board.

So, anyway, later after preschool is said and done, the kids always have a parade out in front of the school. I love this day.
Can you spot James spotting me?

And I would like to point out that this little Peter Pan is the little brother of the Peter Pan that Bethany was next to in the Halloween Parade two years ago.
I was quite tickled by this.

I got James to do 'Spiderman Hands' for everyone.

Once they all sat down and settled in for pictures, he, for some reason, decided that this was his happy face. Every time someone said, 'Smile!' he puffed out his cheeks like this.
I couldn't stop laughing.
The Ninja Turtle costume next to him didn't help.

The best part was when James decided that he didn't know for sure who was in that mask and really wanted to figure it out.
So he started staring at him.

And staring.

Which prompted the Ninja Turtle to stare back...

intently.

Hahaha, I don't know what it is about this sequence of pictures that makes me giggle uncontrollably. Something about this kid's mask, James' obvious amusement, and I don't know what else...it all just adds up to hilarious for some reason.

I caught this picture of him without the bubble-mouth and I just have one question...
Was anyone wondering what this kid is going to look like when he grows up?

Now you know.

Friday night, we had plans to go celebrate with Grandma Teri and some cousins at her ward's Trunk-or-Treat.
Chili, games, etc.
Somehow same old thing never gets old.
Oh, and they had some form of fried bread that I cannot spell but was really yummy. :)
Then again, anything with powdered sugar on top (if you can manage to not inhale it as you take a bite) is always fantastic.

But first, we stopped off to visit other varieties of Grandmas.
Namely, Grandma Trudie and Grandma Polly.

I got a shot of Grandma welcoming them excitedly as they yelled, 'Trick or treat!'

Once we got inside, JC scooped up my parents' cat, Cosette, and snuggled her. Yes, he snuggled her. I tried to take a picture and he turned his back on me. So I tried again. And he turned his back on me again.
But I still got proof.
You can see her little tiny kitty ear sticking up over his shoulder.
So there.

It's normal to fight battles in your marriage using a camera, right?

Once we got to the party, Ben had a taste of homemade root beer. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. Notice the pained look on his face.

Bethany expressed her bittersweet experience as well.

Here the kids are with their cousins and a friend!
We have Cody (friend), Carrigan, Brittney, and our little ones.

Grandma and Brittney danced the night away!

Which inspired Bethany and Ben to join in, dancing around the light pole.

It was a good ol' time.

My kids go through phases of 'picky eating.'
I don't really call it picky eating because it's more a disinterest in eating altogether.
Right now, Bethany and Ben are the 'picky' ones.
James is the willing one.
He actually tried the chili at the trunk-or-treat!
And enjoyed it.

And...spilled it...
(I like how you can tell that JC is laughing at him. ...while comforting him of course...)

Good boys, cleaning up!

After eating and dancing was done, Daddy took them off to play some games.

It was a fun night! JC and I both used to be in that ward so it was really fun to see some familiar faces and spend some time with Grandma and cousins!


Saturday afternoon, we got out the pumpkins we had so carefully selected a few weeks before and took the time to decorate them for the holiday.
Last year was markers and that didn't work out too well so we went back to the messier, but much more fun, method of paint!

Here they are, all set up...
so very clean!

Introducing the artists...
Bethanangelo.

Benvinci.

Jamesonardo.

And the goofier version of each...

JC got a shot of me mixing up the paints. I figure that I should be a good sport and include pictures of myself every once in a while.

Though not as cool as this picture I will go ahead and include of JC.

It took me a little too long to mix the paints so everyone else got a little impatient and started goofing off. Not that we usually need an excuse to goof off.

(He is painting the camera)

So, we were finally able to get own to business.
James got straight to work on a happy face.

Bethany opted for rainbow stripes!

Ben just started piling the paint on!

James practices spelling his name any chance he can get
Even with paint.
On a pumpkin.

I striped mine with yellow.
In case you were wondering.

Look at everyone hard at work!

Even Daddy who, knowing the eventual fate of these pumpkins, painted a bullseye on his.
(He was going hunting/shooting the following week)

At long last, we had our masterpieces!

I don't know why but that is the only picture I got of the finished products! We did set them out on our porch though to be festively viewed by any trick-or-treaters that might pass by.
But not actually come to our house.
Because we weren't going to be there.
We had other plans...

Remember a couple of years ago when JC took Bethany and James to a fun and festive carnival? We were able to go again this year...but since Ben had no cough and no trouble breathing and no fever of 103, he and I got to go too!

When we first pulled up in the neighborhood we spotted a bunny.
Yep, a little, fluffy, white bunny.
I did not get a picture of it. It was fast.
But I got a picture of my kids looking for it. And not finding it. Because it was fast.

As we were walking up to the house, another family was also approaching. And just as we had Sheriff Woody in tow, they had Buzz Lightyear.
Ben literally thought this meant it was time to sever all ties with his natural family.
He latched right on to Buzz and was on his heels like he was going to follow him to the ends of the earth.

Naturally, they were fast friends.

Bethany and James discovered a bounce house.
They had never seen one of these before.
They LOVED it.
JC is no doubt now hatching some sort of plan for some sort of party involving one of these.
Because what he LOVES is spoiling his children.

If I had any question about the impression the bounce house left on them, James painted this picture at preschool the following week.
In preparation for Thanksgiving, the kids were asked, "What are you thankful for?"
James painted this picture of 'the spiderman bouncing thing.'
On the back it says, "James is thankful that he gets to go to parties."
(Notice how he wrote not only his name but Bethany's and Ben's as well. I guess since they were there they get honorable mention.)




We discovered these three hanging out outside the bounce house.
I give you Buzz Lightyear, Bullseye, and Woody.
Awesome.

Bullseye is every bit as loyal as implied in the movies.

This family has some fantastic version of a playground/treehouse/fort/sanbox in their backyard.
The kids decided to give me multiple near-heart attacks by repeatedly climbing up the very steep ladder and sliding own the slide.
They are getting so big. It is wierd that they can do things like this on their own.
Oh yeah, and exciting. I guess.

James always surprises me with his 'go and do' attitude and bravery!
Maybe that's why he likes 'Nephi's Courage' so much!
He found this rope...web?...and decided that it was quite fitting for Spiderman to scale.

And up he went!

And scale it he did!
I, for one, was quite impressed.

As luck would have it, this carnival also had a cake walk.
New favorite activity for the kids.
As long as they win in a timely manner.

Rigged again.
And Bullseye came along with our win due to loyalty.
Where Woody goes, Bullseye goes.

JC and Bethany raced goldfish. New concept for me. Fun for them.

Look at JC's fish go!

Bethany encouraged her fish along.

Right before it was time for us to head out, Bethany decided she should get her face painted.
It had been a while!

Pretty heart.

James eventually stepped up to the painting plate as well.

Spider!

Ben opted out of the face painting and instead danced around nearby.
Guess he figured a cowboy's got to kick up his heels every once in a while!

This Halloween kept us nice and busy and gave us PLENTY of opportunities to kick up our heels, that is for sure!
I have never been big on Halloween myself but as the kids get older and have the chance to get excited about dressing up and going to parties, etc. I am able to see what the excitement is all about! I look forward to many fun ones to come. Maybe one of these years I'll even dress up!