Halloween week adventures...

I love Halloween. I've always loved Halloween, but this year absolutely wore me out! I got home last night (Friday) and seriously passed out! I was SO glad to see the week come to and end. I will definitely miss some of the Halloween traditions that we started this year, but there are also a lot of things I won't miss...I will miss the constant excuse to eat as much candy as I want. I won't miss having a two year old that is on a constant sugar high (and not in a good way). I will miss going to the pumpkin patch. I won't miss Tuckers sticky fingers either leaving sticky messes everywhere or getting stuck in my hair. BUT, that being said, since Tucker was able to actually appreciate all the fun things that go along with Halloween this year, I decided to make it a week long celebration. (I had to) I tried to do a fun activity with Tucker (and Ben too, when he could) everyday this week.

Monday: carmeled apples. Anyone who knows Tucker or has read this blog before knows that Tucker LOVES carmeled apples. We decided to make some of our own. Uncle Nathan helped Tucker make his. This is how the decorating went:

One candy for the apple...

One candy for Tucker...

Tucker and Nathan enjoying their apples. Tucker and I shared ours and Angie and Ben didn't make one, so it was just the two apples. Tucker was quite thrilled. Notice how he has to use both hands just to hold it, it was pretty funny watching him eat it! He would bobble it around because it was too heavy. :)

Tuesday: chocolate pretzel rods. YUMMY! My mom gave this kit to make the cutest and yummiest chocolate covered pretzel rods. We made them for our friends and family...and still managed to eat quite a few ourselves! :)

Tucker enjoying his masterpiece...

The finished products: spiders, pumpkins, a finger, a mummy and some bats.

Wednesday we got a special treat from Grandma and Grandpa Pyper in Alabama. Tucker was so excited to have a package and have some treats to open up. Thanks G&G!

Ben's favorite part of the package...

Tuckers favorite part of the package (the candy of course!)...

The end result after Tucker put the entire package of M&M's in his mouth...

Thursday: Cupcakes! Our ward had a Trunk or Treat on Friday, so in preparation, I made these adorable cupcakes. (once again, thanks to my mom who loves to shower us with fun little gifts for EVERY holiday. ie...the cute Halloween cupcake holders and ghost candies!) :) I think they turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself!

Friday: Finally, the big day arrives. Here is what our schedule looked like on Friday:

8:00- Candy for Breakfast

9:00- Trick or Treating at the local High-School, U-Hi (my Alma mater). We went with our friends, Cherie & Carly. We didn't even plan their outfits together, but they were a bee and a spider, and were soooo cute together. (Tucker still had bed head)

We even ran into our favorite U-Hi Cheerleader, Madison! :)

Walking back to the car, Tucker and Carly held hands the whole way....it was so cute! :) If they do ever get married, this is so going in their wedding announcement! :) Right, Cherie???

10:00-Candy for a mid-morning snack

12:00-More candy for lunch

2:00- Get Tucker down for a nap, finish decorating cupcakes, run around like a mad woman getting things together for the ward trunk or treat...give Tucker more candy to keep him occupied while I get the stuff done.
4:00- Drop off Tucker at my moms house so I can get to the church early to help decorate. And so he can do some trick or treating with my mom in their neighborhood to get more candy!

4:30-5:00- Stand outside the church building with other activities committee members waiting for someone to show up with the keys!!!

5:00-6:00-Decorate like a madwoman and start sweating profusely even before the carnival/trunk or treat begins!

6:00-The party starts!

So Ben and I were both recently released from YM/YW and were both called to be on the activities committee. It has been fun so far. This is our first activity that we have been a part of. And boy was it an activity. We had a: Spook Alley (mini-(non) scary haunted house for the little ones), a fishing for candy booth, a pumpkin toss booth, a really cool backdrop where people could get their pictures taken, a doughnut on a string contest booth, a pumpkin carving contest, a chili-cook off, and of course, the trunk or treat to end the night! It was a lot of fun, and a lot of work!

Tucker thoroughly enjoyed the doughnut on a string contest...

I think we have a winner here, people...

Here he is totally entranced by this moving head in the spook alley...

So, Ben was the MC for the night, and I think that everyone was really jealous that I had the best looking, 80's aerobics instructor, husband there! Wouldn't you agree??? The funny thing about that outfit is that he found it all in my parents laundry room. My parents used to be really into working out, and at one point in their lives, like in the late 70's and 80's actually wore all of these clothes (minus the wig). My favorites are the black Reebok high-tops that I can totally remember my dad wearing! :) Oh, and the purple spandex with black paint brush marks on them!

Me and my friend, Lexie were the grand Marshall's of the costume parade... (I was a witch, but ditched my hat like after 5 minutes into the night.)

And here are all three of us, in all of our Halloween glory! I don't know why we decided to take this picture at the very end of the day before we were going home... we all look so lovely! :)

Our cute little spider... (I'll explain later why he doesn't have his spider eyes hat on in any of the pictures.)

Giving candy out at the trunk or treat, with our friends.... by the way, I think that trunk or treats are like the perfect Halloween evening. You get to spend time with your friends and family and people you trust and still get to get a TON of candy!!! perfection.

Don't be jealous...

By the end of the night, our little spider was ready for bed!!! I took a picture of us right before bed in his cute little Halloween pj's last year, so I had to do it again this year! I think that I might make it a tradition...

OK, so if you're still reading this, Thank-You because you must be a good friend... If not, I totally understand. We had a great Halloween and I hope that you all did too! Can't wait until next year, I've got to start planning....