Halloween 2012

Oh, Halloween! You are one of my least favorite holidays (sorry Shannon) but we had fun just the same.

The day dawned with one of the reddest sun rises I've ever seen. It was kind of spooky and even brighter than this before I found my camera.

"Red sky in morning, sailor take warning"

Grandma and Grandpa Eastin sent some super cute 'mummy' candy bars and a card that is now everyone's favorite thing (especially Millie). The kids are so thrilled when they get anything in the mail!

 We went to the ward trunk or treat Tuesday night. Always one of the wards biggest parties with the biggest turn out. Geez! If everyone that showed up for that also showed up to sacrament meeting every week we would be one huge ward. I threw together a chicken tortilla soup after remembering that I had signed up to bring some kind of soup. Used left over barbecued chicken thighs, black beans, canned diced tomatoes and anything else I could find in the pantry. Added corn tortilla strips and topped it with chopped fresh cilantro when I got to the party right before serving. My soup was clear at the end of the huge table of soup and chili so I thought I would be going home with a whole pot of left overs to try to make my kids eat through the rest of the week. I hadn't even tried it and I wasn't going to openly claim it just in case it was no good. As I was eating my broccoli cheese soup that somebody else made, I started hearing things like, "You've got to try some of this soup", "Someone's got to get me the recipe for this", and "Who made it?". Well, being the sucker for a good recipe I went back up to the table to try some of this great soup everyone was buzzing about.
 Lo and behold, it was my soup!
What the heck!
I finally tried some and, yeah, it was pretty stinkin' good. Barely got any and came home with an empty pot. Now if I can just remember exactly how I made it I could give out the recipe. I'll try it again soon and write it down this time so I won't forget.

I loved the kids easy but cute costumes this year. We went with the whole 'lawn ornament' theme this year. The boys were lawn gnomes and Millie was a pink flamingo. Almost everything was made from stuff I already had and took no time at all. I love that! The boys' used red poster board and batting (I did find a little piece of white fur stuff for Weston). Millie wore her pink leotard and tights. I happened upon a pack of cheap pink feathers in the craft section in Walmart and got home to happily find that it was a boa. I strung some along the top of a dress up skirt Millie already had and wrapped the rest around her arms. The hat was made out of an old pink winter baby hat with a bill that we never used and barely fit her. I covered the bill with white felt and fashioned the black end with left over fabric, stuffing, and a glue gun. The eyes were styrofoam balls left over from a solar system project for Wyatt a couple years ago.
I love the way they all turned out! Wyatt said with a pout, "I wanted to be a werewolf." Oh well. Everyone else was happy. I told him he could be an evil lawn gnome if he wanted and I could break out the vampire teeth and fake blood but he settled with a promise that I would try to make him a werewolf costume next year if I can find some ambition.

My sweet Westy!

Millie loved posing on one leg...

again....

and again.