Happy Halloween!

We had a special treat for trick or treating  . . . Aunt Jackie came from Salt Lake to go with us.  She dressed up as a football player but we didn't get her in our photo.  {sad face}  When she said she wanted to come I told her the boys costumes were a little disappointing this year but she underestimated my description.  Every Halloween Kade and Clint have had a fascination with these

masks that the kids squeeze a tube and "blood" (red colored water) comes down the mask.  They are too gory and scary for me so I've always refused.  Well this year I was feeling a little guilty I guess and so I caved and let them get them.  Why was I feeling guilty?  Partially because every time we drive by a house decorated for Halloween with creepy spiders, skeletons, and scary displays the boys tell me how lame our decorations are.  What is wrong with a cute witches' hat covered in sparkly ribbon, a mummy that says "I Love my Mummy," or sign that says "BOO" next to a pumpkin with a silly face painted on it.  I like Halloween as long as you take out the scary, the gory, and the spiders.  Is that asking too much?  Apparently for these two boys it's the same as taking everything Halloween out of Halloween.  {sigh}  All month they had said they wanted to be the bloody masks for Halloween but I kept trying to find other ideas for them that they might like.  Well the day before dress up day came and they needed something.  We shopped and shopped but all they really wanted were those silly masks!  I think it is just neat to them that there is a "button" to push that does something.  Every time we'd find a new costume idea I would ask them if they wanted to do that and they would put their head down and mumble, "Maybe," I could tell they were trying to convince themselves that it would be okay but I could tell they really just weren't excited about anything.  Every time they would say, "I just really want to be the mask."  Kade, being his dramatic self, even said once, "I just really want to be the mask. I've been dreaming of it my whole life."  Such a funny kid.  Well as their luck would have it we stumbled upon some masks that were really cheap and so I let them get them.  Hopefully next year we can be something a little less gruesome!   Mr. Cole wanted to be Darth Vader and I was stoked about that because Wendy Spencer had a costume in her dress ups.  This year for trick or treating the Phillips invited Clint to go with Tyler.  I was thinking they'd all just go around the neighborhood but they were planning on going to other neighborhoods.  So... we packed up Kade and Cole and tagged along.  Scott Phillips know Pres. Uchtdorf so we went trick or treating in his neighborhood, and a couple other larger neighborhoods.  I couldn't believe that people were handing out full size candy bars-- to me that is insane!  One of the neighborhoods we went to was Cobblestone, it has a reputation for handing out full size candy bars, apparently everyone has heard.  The streets were lined on both sides with cars.  People were covering the sidewalks.  I was so worried about hitting someone.  We didn't stay in that neighborhood for long.  We came back and they ended the night in our neighborhood, then it was home for Spooky Dinner-- take 2.  The boys had asked if we could do spooky dinner again since when we did it with Grandma it was still light outside so it just wasn't the same.  The Spooky Dinner tradition is from the Bosshardt family so I thought Jackie would appreciate being part of that.  Darryl didn't go trick or treating with us, he stayed home to answer the door and he got dinner all ready for us.  He's so great.  {happy face}  After dinner the kids went through their bags and sorted out the candy they wanted to keep, the rest went outside for the Great Pumpkin.  The next morning they found a 20Q game for Kade, and Clint and Cole got a Magic 8 Ball.  I love that we're not eating candy for the next week but most of all I love eavesdropping on them as they sing to the Great Pumpkin about what they hope he brings. That addition is something the boys came up with all on their own.  I don't know why but they think you have to sing to the Great Pumpkin or he won't come.  They are so stinking cute!!!