The kids have had lots of fun this past week at local Halloween/Fall family-friendly events. I took the kids to several events prior to Halloween. I would have taken them to more if I wasn't sick and sleep-deprived from the past couple weeks.
Thankfully, our kids were well enough to enjoy Halloween. Our family had a rough 2+ weeks. Karis and Makena had a rash that flared up in the middle of the night. Kyle had a cold that led to a wet cough and a low-grade fever. We put him on antibiotics and finally after two weeks, he was feeling better. But in the middle of his sickness, two molars started coming in. He was waking up multiple times each night and cranky during the day. A few days after he was over his cold, he threw up in the middle of the night. He's been acting fine during the day but not eating much. His diet the last few days have been graham crackers, applesauce and milk. And to add to the middle-of-the-night-wakings, Makena had some bad dreams. Can you tell how little sleep Derek and I have gotten these past two weeks?? As a result, Derek and I are both fighting off colds as well.
But we're all on the mend and we've made it through this rough patch. Let's get back to Halloween...
The girls love to get their face painted. I always try to arrive early to an event that offers face painting because there's always a long line that moves painfully slow. I did just that at our local mall's Halloween festival. The girls looked at the selection of drawings and picked the kitty cat. The picture showed a black cat so I asked the girls if they wanted a pink one instead. Karis went back and forth and then decided on a black cat. Makena wanted a pink one.
There were two face painters so to save time, I sent the girls to the two different artists. BAD MISTAKE. Makena had the female artist and she was quick and artsy. Karis went to the male artist who painted the cat exactly like the picture. While Karis was getting finished up, Makena stood in front of her to watch. Karis was expecting the same cat and when she looked at herself in the mirror, she was so disappointed.
Poor thing. By this time, the line for the face painting was really long. Going back to get another one wasn't an option. Karis chose the black cat and it looked just like picture. After trying to explain to her how she needed to accept the decision she made and just trying to comfort her disappointment, I had the girls work on the craft projects. Afterwards, she still wanted to get a pink kitty. Since that wasn't possible, she just wanted the black cat off her face. And then Makena wanted hers off too. Why did I even bother??
A couple days later, we went to another event. They had a bounce house, games, trick-or-treating... and face painting! Karis got another one and LOVED it. Everyone oo'd and ahh'd over hers. I felt so much better that she finally got one she liked (and kept in on for more than 30 mins!).
On Halloween, we carved the pumpkin. Karis was excited to do it because she learned what to do at school. Last year, both girls were grossed out at the yucky insides. Makena didn't like it again this year, but Karis actually liked it.
Kyle was excited to get his own spoon -- he pretended to eat the pumpkin with his spoon.
After dinner, it was time to trick-or-treat! For starters, we went to our next door neighbor's house and a house across the street.
Kyle pounded the pavement in search for candy!
Our church had yard parties throughout the city. We went over to our friend's house and hung out there and went trick-or-treating.
Makena chose not to nap that day, so she came home early with Kyle and me. After putting Kyle to bed, she got to hand out candy. We must have missed the rush, because there weren't many kids who came by. In between visitors, she waited patiently and planned out which pieces of candy she was going to hand out.
