This is Halloween

Halloween is not just a one-day event.   With parties and activities, it is more of a week-long celebration for our family.  It was even extended this year to include a Zumba costume party (pictured above).  I was pleased that I managed to dance in my flapper dress and high heels for the entire two hours.  I have to say, the fringe was well suited to all the Latin dance moves.  It was a blast!

After a quick jump in the shower, it was time to begin preparations for the Park family party that was to be held at Greg and Tilly's that evening. I had to give myself plenty of time to convert Jason into a bald black man with a goatee.  His entire transformation process took about 45 minutes. The two of us were laughing through the whole procedure.

The party was two days before Halloween, so driving to Orem was just as amusing as we watched reactions to our appearance from other drivers.  Once there, we enjoyed visiting with family, seeing other costumes, playing games, and eating food.  The Park family party has always been such a fun tradition. 

Because I think our assembled group looked pretty 

nifty, I had to post this picture to my blog again.

 Tilly had prepared a new game for this year's party.  

We got to try and eat doughnuts hanging from a string.  

I loved how closely Ella observed all of the action.  

Of course, we played Pass the Rat and it was fun 

to see that the final two players who avoided elimination were 

Garrett and Coulter.  (Garrett ended up as the winner.)

Another traditional party game we play is Ghost Bingo.

And speaking of traditions, we've kind-of started one where we have pumpkin shaped pancakes for breakfast on Halloween morning. 

No sooner do we have children fed before it is time to get costumes on and ready for school.  The children were allowed to wear costumes to school, but masks were not permitted.  Brevin and Spencer each came up with an alternative costume using items we already had in our storage.  Brevin chose to be a mummy and Spencer went with my suggestion to be Pinocchio.  The rest of the family came to the school later in the afternoon to watch them parade around in their costumes.

Once the parade was over, the children were dismissed to leave with their parents.  We made a quick stop at the civic center on the way home so Jason and I could do early voting (I was dressed as Thor when I voted), and then we headed over to the Novell corporate offices where we had been invited to trick-or-treat around the cubicles.

I usually do an elaborate themed dinner on Halloween night, but we made a last minute decision to keep it simple and pick up a pizza.  (We saved the "yummy mummy" for another night.)  That decision worked out really well as we were able to get the children out trick-or-treating at a reasonable time and with little or no stress.  Brevin and Spencer ran up ahead of me and Garrett as we walked up and down a few of our neighboring streets.  When their bags were full and their feet were tired, they came home and effectively put an end to all of the Halloween celebrations by stripping off their costumes and going to bed.  The boys made off with enough candy to last through the end of the year, though, so I guess the long-term effect of the holiday has a greater reach than I really know.  It's all good fun.  Happy Halloween!

 Here they are, all ready to hit the streets.  Garrett definitely 

has the "pose-with-hands-on-hips" thing down.

This post authored by Amber