halloween 2014.

For Halloween this year (ya know, a month and a half ago), Franz was Max from Where the Wild Things Are. His costume turned out cuter than I had hoped (thanks, mom!), and he was adorable. He loved carrying around his scepter, and his love of hats worked in our favor.

We spent Halloween night at Zac's parents' house for some Halloween dinner and treats while trick-or-treaters knocked on the door, and then headed over to Zac's grandma's house to say hi. Franz got spoiled and got a couple of goodie bags from grandma Jill and great-grandma Gay. He is loved.

It was a low-key Halloween (and Franz's last first holiday!), but I think he liked it. :)

witch fest.

Two weekends ago, to kick off the start of October, we took Franz to see all the witches at Gardner Village. We stopped by the cafe for some lunch, and then the Chocolate Covered Wagon for a few chocolates and the best salt water taffy I've ever eaten before making our rounds through the village. We showed him pumpkins, witches, and stuffed animals, but the thing that caught his attention the most was the little Halloween village displayed in one of the shops there, filled with ghosts and witches and little old buildings. And I've gotta admit, it was incredible! A part of me wanted to live there.

This was just what I needed to get into the Halloween spirit. Since then, I've been thinking up Halloween treats to make, planning trips to the pumpkin patch and a Halloween cruise (this weekend!), and getting ready to make our costumes. And just in the last few days, the leaves in our neighborhood have started changing, and I couldn't be more excited! I love the fall.

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hallow's eve 2013.

On Halloween night, our last holiday as a family of two, Zac and I got ready to spend time with his family. I made some witch's fingers to eat (they grossed everyone out, even myself... excellent!), and Zac taped cotton balls to his hat to finish his costume (any guesses on what he was?!). Then we headed on down to the Swensons.

There, we ate some really good food, like walking taco and homemade chili! On the way down, Zac had texted his mom to ask if there was any walking taco left, since we were coming late. She said yes, and when we got there, it was all gone! Or so the bummed-out Zac thought. Really, they were hiding it the fridge. That was a funny trick, I thought, and it had me laughing!

We had so much fun down there, and ate waaay too much food. And yes, we most definitely took a few pieces of candy from our neighbor's candy bowl she had set out, just like we did last year. Happy Halloween!

PS: I dressed up as trailer trash with a beer belly (had to use that belly somehow), and Zac was a cotton-headed ninny muggins (his idea... he's clever).

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surprise halloween!

Back when I was in college with Bernz as my dear roommate, back when we met our husbands, we all dressed up in costumes one night in the Spring probably, and had a party, and called it Surprise Halloween, because it was a surprise, indeed!

Since then, Surprise Halloween has come up on random occasions (since it is a surprise, mind you... no one ever knows when Surprise Halloween will be) and given us a great reason to hang out with our old college friends, dress up silly, and eat food, and watch Halloween movies.

Tonight just so happened to be Surprise Halloween. I scoured my closet to find a costume, and headed over to Bernz's house for a fun night with my Zac, Bernz, Wes, Ryan, and Rachel. There was candy and appetizers. We watched Killer Klowns from Outer Space (I highly recommend it, only because I'm kind of into horribly-made films from the 80's), and took a ton of funny pictures.

Ah, Surprise Halloween, you've done it again. Happy Halloween!

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i carved a pumpkin.

The day before Halloween, I carved my pumpkin in my kitty socks (we had intentions to carve 4 pumpkins total, but Zac had lots of homework to do). It was gross and slimy, and we made roasted pumpkin seeds afterwards.

And then it sat on our porch on Halloween night. And that's where it is today.

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dressin' up like a couple of fools.

I finally got Zac to dress up for Halloween (well, kind of). I thought of my costume the night before Halloween, and I'm really pleased with myself about how well it worked out.

Zac was a 404 Error, and I was a victim of Hurricane Sandy (that hit New York City the night before Halloween). 

Lesson learned: procrastination leads to great things.

Oh, and by the way, happy November!

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happy halloween!

via.

Happy Halloween!

Zac and I spent the night at his parents' house with a couple of his siblings eating too much food (chicken noodle soup and seven-layer bean dip!), scaring trick-or-treaters with JoJo, and being silly with our one-year-old niece, Kynlee. What a fun night. (And I forgot to take a single picture!)

And if I ever get a dog, I think I will dress it up as a ghost for Halloween, because how cute is this? I'm not even a dog person...

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halloween eve.

Just a few photos from tonight. After consuming what I'm pretty sure was my entire day's worth of calories in candy at work today, Zac and I bought some candy corn to eat. Now I'm regretting it as I sit here with a horrible stomach ache. 

I carved my first jack-o-lantern in years! It was hard, and not as fun as I remember it being (where's my Holiday spirit?!), but I did it. We have three more pumpkins to carve! 

Tomorrow is Halloween, and I just thought of what to dress up as a couple of hours ago. And for it being so last-minute, I'm quite proud of how clever I am for thinking it up.

Happy Halloween!

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on the river.

We met up with Matt, Steph, and their two boys, Aiden and Jackson, this evening for a Halloween cruise on the Provo River. Keeping Aiden occupied was pretty easy while we waiting for the boat, since he made friends with a cat, took as many pictures as I would let him (fun fact: the picture of me and Zac was taken by Aiden--not too shabby), and kept shouting "I'm going to steal your booty" to the pirate walking by.

On the boat, we listened to a scary story told by the captain, and pirate jokes told by the pirate himself. We also saw jack-o-lanterns and witches and ghosts all along the river bank. It was quite a sight!

Afterwards, when we were all freezing, we met up at Subway for some dinner, and I had my first toasted sub. It was pretty good. I might get another someday. Aiden was a character the whole night. I just might think he is the coolest kid who ever lived.

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we've got pumpkins on our porch!

In honor of October and Halloween, Zac and I headed to the Vineyard Garden Center after work a couple of days ago and picked out some pumpkins for our little porch (because what would October be without pumpkins?!). I was searching for the perfect pumpkin to carve, and I think I found it! 

Just when we were about to leave, we saw these cute little baby pumpkins, and I had to have them. I find miniature versions of anything (shampoo bottles, candy bars, animals...) unbelievably cute, so Zac let me get two of these little pumpkins. 

On our way home, our pumpkins were rolling around in the back of the car like crazy. It was pretty funny to hear them roll every time we turned onto a new street.

I can't wait to carve these babies! And I think I'll start a new tradition this year and roast some pumpkin seeds to eat. I've never had them before, and I am intrigued! 

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