Halloween Party

One of Anna's friends, Elena, has the most wonderful Halloween party every year. The kids have so much fun getting to play and trick-or-treat together, and the adults get to relax a little while the kids entertain each other. Again with my nostalgia about this being Anna's last year before kindergarten, we knew this might be the last year we'd be celebrating with some of these kids (since most of them will go to different elementary schools), so I think I appreciated it even more!

Charlotte and Kate had a blast getting to join in the fun this year. They were a bit too tiny last year to run around and play, so this was their first year to really "party" with the big kids...

The girls riding the horse together. This was Kate's standard reaction face to the direction "Smile, Kate!". We'll have to work on that...

Slide races with Elena...

The annual pinata...as usual, the kids had a blast with it!

For whatever reason, Kate was OBSESSED with taking her shirt off during the entire party. To the point that she continually took it off and threw it overboard in the wagon while we were out trick-or-treating. Well, she finally "won", and we managed to lose her shirt on the trick-or-treating trail. Oh well...it had served its purpose by this point...

The kids got to decorate "scary" cupcakes...

Kate and Charlotte riding in the wagon together. They weren't quite big enough for the trick-or-treating trail ride, so followed the trailer in their own "coach"...

Trick-or-treating with friends is the BEST!

Anna on the hayride with her friends. This was a new addition to the party this year--a hayride that Elena's dad drove around for the kids to trick-or-treat. It was so nice! They stopped every block or two and let the kids trick-or-treat for a block, and then picked them back up and drove a bit further. The kids had a blast on it, and it allowed them to do more trick-or-treating (more candy? Just what we needed...). A HUGE thank-you to Elena's family for hosting such a fabulous party!

Kate's official "first" trick-or-treat...she loved the whole activity!