Orange You Pumped it's Halloween?!

 It was finally that magical day of all days.... Halloween!

I love Halloween. It's my favorite holiday. I start decorating the day after Labor Day and planning costumes is an all year affair. I even torture include the dog. Big, Middle, and Little are either going to grow to love it just as much, or they're going to hate how crazy Momma gets... It's a 50/50 shot.

We had a big day planned: pumpkin carving and trick or treating!

Big wanted to keep with his theme and carve a Luigi pumpkin while I opted for a haunted house. Middle was more than happy to help us remove all the seeds and pumpkin guts.

Little was happy to supervise and generally look cute in his pumpkin PJs.

I had already stenciled on our patterns the night before, so after the insides were cleared it was time to get carving. Big ran into some issues with the finer details of Luigi's face, but improvised. I struggled with some of the tiny windows and smaller decorative details so they didn't show up quite as clear. But we enjoyed making our designs and were ready to see them all lit up. Papa R did the honor of putting the candles in and lighting them.

It was still mid afternoon when we finished so the sun was shining bright. Those little tea lights weren't quite enough to give us the full effect. So we improvised. Big and I climbed under the dining room table, pulled down the tablecloth and used Papa R's phone flashlight to capture the best look before placing them outside.

After some lunch, it was time for Middle and Little to rest up for our big night. Gotta love that little pumpkin butt!

After a quick dinner, we changed into our outfits and Momma assembled Thomas one more time. We headed out into the neighborhood to collect some candy! This was the first time we really got to use all of Thomas's lights with the sun going down. 

As it got darker and darker, Thomas's headlamp came in handy for the boys ahead to navigate the sidewalks. I had installed a second bright light under the stroller handle to make it easy to access the bags inside and, in the event Middle wanted to ride, he could easily see to get in and out. He was determined to walk to his candy destinations, so only Little got to enjoy the ride.

 Our neighborhood is really great about coming out for the kids on Halloween, so both Big and Middle had heavy buckets by the time we made our way back home. We let the boys indulge in a few pieces before we ended our night. Middle is a newfound fan of Kit Kats and will ask for them by name. Momma plans to ration out the sugary treats over the next few months but something tells me we've created a candy monster.

Thomas has found a new life in the house. The cardboard has held up well enough that his pieces are now permanently attached together and in our dining room as a playhouse for Middle. He can be easily slid wherever needed on a blanket. And since it's just cardboard, I won't feel bad tossing it out once he starts to fall apart. Maybe we'll add some festive lights if he's still intact by Christmas.