Halloween 2010

It was party time for Halloween this year. We had a fantastic Mom's Club party at a Senior Citizens care facility here in Elk Grove. Tanner and Parker dressed in their bat costumes and we went around to each of the different houses of the residents and did a little parade through the living room. Tanner had fun showing off his wings and shaking hands with all the cute little old ladies that loved his little show. Parker liked exploring the homes and finding things to grab. After our little parade we went back to the main common area and had snacks and played some carnival games. I like the mom's club and I'm starting to get to know a few more of the ladies. I find that our kids have a lot of activities in common.

We had a wonderful time on a fieldtrip to the zoo. We went with the Elmor family on a day that was beautiful and not very busy. Tanner and Parker loved holding a live turtle and watching the Lion pace in his enclosure. Tanner was determined to find the flamingos, so we went on a search and when we found them, he wanted to climb right in with them. We had a good laugh. We rode the carousel and a funny little dump truck ride. Those were the highlights of the day.

Tanner's preschool had a halloween carnival. Tanner loved going fishing for purple fangs to match his bat costume. He played lots of games and Parker wandered around trying to be involved in everything.

Another great Halloween party happened at the church. It was called a harvest festival and feast. We had a chili cook-off and corn bread. The winning chili came from our neighbor Todd Lewis and his was awesome. It was a bit sweet with bacon in it. I told him he could come cook for us anytime. The boys had hot dogs and loved it. After the feast and a bunch of games hosted by the young men and young women, we headed outside for a trunk or treat. All the cars were decorated Halloween style and many had animated characters or lights in the back. I liked this part the best. I love handing out candy to the kids. It is so great to see all the costumes that the kids are proud of. We also confiscated the candy Tanner and Parker got, because they were ready to dive right in and pound it all.

Halloween night landed on a Sunday this year, so we kept it low key at our house. We went to church in the morning then hung out at home all afternoon watching movies and playing games. We had some friends come over for dinner, then we carved pumpkins. All evening the boys had a great time running back and forth to the door handing out candy to the trick or treaters. They got a kick out of giving fistfuls of candy to each kid until we started running low really fast. It was awesome that they wanted to help so much. Our pumpkins turned out really fun and Tanner loved lighting the candles and watching them glow.

We had only one sad event happen in October. One afternoon as I was picking up Tanner from preschool, my van was broken into and my purse stolen. I didn't have a lot of cash, but it was such a pain to replace everything and I had to drive all the way out to Rancho Cordova to a salvage yard in order to get a new window. I was upset that someone would be that heartless. Luckily we were safe and we got it all cleaned up. The thieves got away with very little and from what I gather, the police will have no real answers on who did this or how to keep it from happening in the future. I did learn my lesson about leaving my purse in the car. Even if I'm gone for only a few minutes, I always take it with me.