Happy Halloween ~

Halloween was filled with all kinds of wonderful activities, so its taken me an entire day to recover before i could write about it :)  After school, Jordyn and i had an early dinner at the Pot Belly, where we ran into one of the old timers up here, Mike Brinkoff.   He invited us to join him at his table, so we sat with Mike listening to tales of the canyon long ago.  He shared a hilarious Halloween adventure that included Justin's mom, Uncle Sid, and some of the other locals back when Justin was just a tot.  With the help of Kristi, they strapped a pumpkin to the hood of his truck, and used the wiring from the vehicle to light it...then they all piled in the truck and headed down to Mishawaka for a great party.  Seems several of them are still uncertain as to how they got  home that night...gotta love the old stories of the canyon :)

 Anyways, now to our party...the library decided to host its very first Halloween party complete with trunk or treating...so we couldnt wait to check it out!

 They had cookie decorating...to which Jordyn layered her cookie with wayyyyyy tooooo much sugar!  Check out the tower of sweets on this poor little weight stressed pumpkin cookie.  Im happy to report she did not eat it!

 Then it was time for the mummy wrapping contest...which essentially means the kids took turns TP-ing each other.  Here she is wrapping Alex up as a mummy...Alex and Jordyn were in preschool together, but Alex went to a different school this year, so Jordyn was happy to see him at the party.

 Next it was time to make witches brew...they really enjoyed this part, and took their potion making very seriously.  They played a few other games, and then it was time for a jelly bean tasting contest...

 i should mention they were Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans (just like the ones in Harry Potter).  You know...flavors like Earwax, Earthworm, Dirt, Soap and Vomit...but also tasty flavors like Green Apple, Cherry, Banana and Lemon.

 Here is Jordyn picking out a bean that turned out to be Rotten Egg flavor...she didnt seem to mind though, and went back to try another...this time pleasantly surprised by a Marshmallow bean.

 While all the kids were getting awards for their costumes (Jordyn got Most Humorous), the parents were readying their trunks for the trunk or treating...

 This was my first trunk or treating experience, and i must say...it was a lot of fun!  Several community members came out to support the library and the kids, and they came decked out in costumes with big bags of candy, homemade cookies, homemade caramel corn, and more candy!

 They also decorated their trunks with pumpkins and other fun stuff.  Here is Candice, one of the watercolor ladies i used to meet with on Tuesdays...i need to start going again...i miss painting, and i miss my watercolor friends.

 This guy looked great in his witch get up...and the kids loved stopping by his trunk for goodies.

 Here i am with our creepy guy John Huntzinger gave to us last year.  Next year i will decorate my car even more, but since i wasnt sure what to expect, i only grabbed him and my little witch basket of candy.

 Well, the trunks being ready and the awards given, the kids headed out to trunk or treat...

 we couldnt have asked for better weather...it wasnt windy and the kids didnt even need a jacket!

 they went around to all the cars gathering goodies, and when it was all over, the got to go a second time and collect even more loot!

 After the trunk or treating, we headed over to the canyon to meet up with Justin to do some trick or treating in our neighborhood.

 Our first stop was at Iola's house!  She's another long time canyon resident, and we never miss a chance to visit with her on Halloween!  She's working on this gorgeous quilt, so i had to get a photo of her with it...shes such a sport! :)

 She had a basket filled with different things for Jordyn to chose from....chocolates, rolled up dollar bills, candy, or apples.  Im thrilled to say my daughter picked the apple!  In fact, Iola was so impressed, she let her pick another item from the basket.

 After a little lightsaber fun, we headed back down the canyon to visit more of our favorite residents...

 Jordyn was given handfuls of candy at the next few stops, and she was even given some more fresh apples, these ones just brought in from a neighbor that was in Washington recently.  We had a great time stopping by Mena's place...she was wearing a rather disgusting mask, naturally, i loved it, and she was hiding in the bushes ready to scare us...alas, i didnt get any photos because it was too dark...but i did get these of Jordyn and Daddy...

 Mena had a big bag for Jordyn with a bead craft and candies...oh, and she had a plate of deviled eggs for us....yummo!  Thanks Mena :) 

 One of our last stops was to visit Connie over at the store...PeeWee was supposed to go trick or treating with us, but shes recently become blind so we thought it might not be a good idea.  We did get to see her in her fancy costume though :)  Isnt it great...Jordyn saw this at a store last month and insisted we get it for PeeWee.  Connie had a basket of goodies for Jordyn as well...some hair clips with colored hair, some glitter to put in your hair, gummy spaghetti, and some other fun things...she always spoils Jordyn!

 Our last stop...Aunt LeAnns...where Jordyn received this giant bag filled to the brim with goodies...she got a coloring book, a Halloween story, glow sticks, candy, and other fun things...good grief, this kid is loaded!  As for Justin and i...an ice cold beer!  Thanks LeAnn...we needed that!  :)

 We hope you all had a fabulous Halloween!!!