Life is a Fairy Tale

Halloween has become one of those holidays that I really look forward to now that I have children and they're getting older. It's so fun to watch the excitement of the holiday through their eyes!

 

A few months ago, I was really determined to come up with an idea for a family costume that we could all enjoy. I brainstormed, browsed Pinterest, and even talked to another mom of four littles for ideas. I had several {what I thought were} good suggestions, but I couldn't get everyone on board with any of my ideas. I didn't want to force the kids to dress up as something they didn't like, so I finally just let it go and let everyone pick out their own costume.

 

Brianna was determined to be Snow White, wearing a hand-me-down dress that my sister made for my niece to wear several years ago. Brenson had decided he was going to wear the same dragon costume he wore last year, and thankfully it still fit (wearing costumes multiple years in a row seems to be a theme for him . . . he did the same with his Max from Where the Wild Things Are costume). And, I was liking this plan so far as it meant no out-of-pocket cost for us, haha!

 

About a month before Halloween, I still didn't have any ideas I loved for Brooke and Brecklyn. We were out shopping as a family one evening and found some adorable costumes at TJ Maxx (we've had great luck there with costumes). Brooke picked out a precious unicorn costume, so we let her try it on. It was a perfect fit, so very cute, and the price was reasonable. Chris took one look at her and said, "Done!" Brecklyn, however, was drawn to a baby dragon costume. It was also adorable, so we bought both costumes that night.

 

With two dragons, Snow White, and a unicorn, I was satisfied that we had a fairy tale theme, and we were ready for Halloween!

 

 

Throughout the warmer months, our town has "Food Truck Thursday" on the last Thursday of each month. They close off the main street downtown, all sorts of food trucks come in, the shops stay open later, and sometimes there's even entertainment. Thursday, October 26th was the last Food Truck Thursday of the season, and everyone was encouraged to dress in costume for the event. We decided to attend the event with Russ, Lisa, and Chloe Jo. We didn't see many adults in costume, but there were lots of cute kiddos running around dressed up.    

 

Our five kiddos looked adorable in their costumes!

I had them stand in front of this food truck for a photo because I liked it's name . . . The Purple People Feeder :-)

Many of the downtown shops were handing out candy, so after eating we did a bit of trick-or-treating. Brooke and Brecklyn were in awe that people kept giving them candy just because they were asking for it! The weather this evening was warm and beautiful, but as soon as the sun went down a cold front started blowing in. When the wind picked up and the temperature dropped, we headed back to our vehicle. We only had to walk a few blocks, but our little unicorn and baby dragon were just too tuckered out to do it. It's a good thing their knight in shining armor was there to carry them!

For the past six years, we've attended a Trunk of Treats event the Sunday night before Halloween. We've always enjoyed this event and love getting to briefly see our LeFlore friends, but this year we decided to skip it. Brenson and Brooke had both developed a bad cough, and we didn't want them out in the cold night air. Plus, we had already attended Food Truck Thursday, Brianna and Brenson had worn their costumes to school, and we were planning to attend Boologah. We did miss Trunk of Treats, but we're not sure if we'll pick it back up next year or not. I'm working harder than ever this year to find what works for us and not just continue to do things because that's what we've always done.

Boologah is always held on Halloween, and this year Halloween fell on a Tuesday. I was afraid part of us would have to miss it because neither Brenson's or Brooke's coughs were getting better. However, Chris and I decided to go ahead and take everyone, but to drive separate vehicles so I could take part of the kids home once it got dark. The weather was very cool this year, and obviously that only got worse as the sun went down.

My Snow White was looking just beautiful!

My dragon boy was so thankful that he didn't have to miss out on all the fun!

My little unicorn was just adorable!

And my baby dragon couldn't have looked cuter!

 

We had one excited bunch!

Life is a fairy tale with this crew :-)!

I couldn't get over how adorable the girls were going from station to station in their costumes. Their little wings were just too much! 

At first I didn't love that their costumes weren't matching or coordinating, but they fit each girl's personality just perfectly!

One new attraction we enjoyed at Boologah this year was a little train. I'm not sure how I ended up riding with the kids, but I did!

 

Brianna, Chloe Jo, and Brecklyn

Brooke, Bren, and Momma

None of the other adults in our group were riding, yet here I was, haha!

Brianna, Chloe Jo, and Brenson

My little dragons <3 p="">

One of the main purposes of this event is for local businesses and churches to set up a booth, hand out candy, and visit with the town. The church where we are members has had a booth for the last few years, and we've found it to be a great outreach tool. Russ, Dan, and Vance were working our booth this year. Once we had finished trick-or-treating, we went back over to our church booth to visit for a bit. The older kids immediately started handing out candy and visiting with people, and it was really great. It gave the men a little break, and it gave the kids a chance to do some outreach.

 

It was beginning to get dark by this time, and I could tell that Brenson and Brooke were both starting to tire out. I decided to go ahead and take them home, but Chris wanted to stay and help with the booth. He kept Brecklyn and Brianna with him, and I guess Brecklyn spent part of her time bonding with Mr. Vance (in his Halloween hat :-).



 

It wasn't too long before Brecklyn started to get really cold, so Russ, Lisa, Chloe Jo, Chris, Brianna, and Brecklyn all headed over to Russ and Lisa's house. Russ and Chris took the big girls trick-or-treating around their neighborhood, while Brecklyn opted to stay with Lisa and help her pass out candy.

I wish I had a photo of allllllllll the candy we got. It was insane, and we even skipped the event where we generally get the most candy! We probably have enough candy to last us all the way until Halloween next year, haha!