My Life in Toddlertown: Halloween weekend

To say that we had an overwhelming Halloween weekend would be an understatement. I really can't put into words what went on. Yes, we were busy, but that doesn't quite describe it. On Friday, Ward went to the Pumpkin Patch with school and I was in charge of both his Halloween party (when they got back) and Ann Park's at school. We did our normal Friday night pizza, and then I had a baby shower to attend. On Saturday, the real chaos began. We had a dress-up birthday party at lunch. Ward was Darth Vadar (he won the prize for best costume) and Ann Park was Ariel - princess Ariel, not mermaid Ariel mind you.

Then Ann Park and I rushed home for a quick costume change. We went to see the Alabama Ballet's performance of Snow White with some friends and she just had to be my little Snow White. The girls trick-or-treated before the show and were nice and sugared-up by the time the ballerinas took the stage. This is the first time Ann Park has been to a ballet performance and she was at first very confused by the male ballerinas and giggled quite a bit. She then got really into it and was dancing in the aisle and watching the Evil Queen very intently. I think the 7 Dwarfts were her favorite though!

Look at my candy!

The girls

My Snow White - fake smile and all!

After Snow White, we went home to rest before we headed to the Mountain Brook Club for a spooky Halloween dinner, complete with crafts and a DJ. Inspired by the ballet, Ann Park dressed up as a butterfly (note that this was her 3rd costume of the day) in her leotard, tutu and butterfly wings. I even gave her some sparkly pink makeup. Ward was Obi Wan and looked the part. Cher Cher came with us and we had a good time until Ward burned his finger on a spot light (bubbled up instantly) and Ann Park's shoeless foot was crushed while dancing. I did not get any pictures as I was determined to get some wine in my system!

Ahhh, then Sunday, the real day of Halloween hit. I was already sick of it all as you can imagine. But the kids were pumped. Church was a nice distraction that morning and didn't last long enough! We got home and I had to get ready for the week, which included grocery shopping and laundry. We then headed over to our friend's house to decorate the trailor which would become our float in the Halloween parade that started at 4. Ann Park decided on yet another costume, an original idea - a Supergirl Fairy. Ward was Obi Wan and Sam was a pirate (chosen by Ward, of course). Here are some finished pictures of the kids in costume:

Mommy even dressed up as a witch!

After the parade, we had about 20 people over to our house for dinner, trick-or-treating and tons of fun. The house across the street had a band, and Sara Evans (our neighbor and country singer) even sang. Our side yard was a huge hit and kids were playing football, tag, and soccer throughout the evening. We did have more trick-or-treaters than we have ever had and they started coming at 4:30. I think that our last one was at 9:30, when we were cleaning up. There was a steady stream the whole time. Most of them were not from around here and someone even told me that if you googled "good place to trick-or-treat in Birmingham" our neighborhood came up. I believe it! Overwhelming, exhausting, but the most important part was that people had fun. I can't tell you that I actually had fun, but I WAS happy when it was over. But dreading going to work the next day!