Happy Halloween!

We have had a really fun week celebrating Halloween!
Alexis was bursting with excitement this year.
She had decided months earlier that she would be Princess Belle,
and Ryleigh, a big Mickey and Minnie fan, wore the same costume
her big sister did a few years back.

The festivities began with a Halloween carnival at the elementary school.
One of the mom's from our soccer team was in charge of all the details,
and she planned a really fun morning.
Lexi was excited to meet up with a school friend and several soccer teammates.

Later in the week, Lexi and her dance class celebrated in their costumes.
The moms were invited in towards the end for a few pictures.
Clearly, the princess theme still runs strong for the Pre-K age-group

Lexi's school celebrates holidays in a big way.
So, on Halloween day, all of the kiddos had a parade around the school/church,
and then Lexi's class came back for a celebration which all the parents were invited to.
Ava's mom and I brought in some sweet treats, we read "Room on the Broom"
aloud, the kids decorated pumpkins, and we finished out the day
with a dance party to "Ghostbusters" and "Monster Mash".
It was the perfect way to rev up the excitement before trick or treating.

Funny story about the craft:
As room mom, one of my jobs was to bring in the ten pumpkins.
I waited until the day before so they wouldn't get moldy or rot.
Turns out this was really poor planning on my part.
Every single store/nursery in Dallas seemed to have gotten rid of pumpkins that morning.
Lexi and I spent three full hours driving around the city,
and eventually ended up with a funky assortment of misshapen pumpkins and even some
orange squash.
Luckily, none of the kids seemed to notice/mind!

Finally, it was time for the main event: trick or treating.

We joined some friends first for a little party at their house,

then all trick or treated around our neighborhood the rest of the evening.

You would not imagine how many children/families descend upon these streets.

Every square inch is flooded with kids on foot, in strollers, in wagons and in cars.

It is so much fun. You run into neighbors, friends and classmates at every turn.

For as much as Lexi loved every single minute of the night,

Ryleigh was fairly terrified. She wouldn't go near any of the front doors and

clung to Vic for what seemed like dear life. 

He eventually took our sweet Minnie Mouse home for bed while I stayed out with Lexi,

and then we flip flopped so Lexi could stay out way past her bedtime.