Bethie's Buzz: Happy Halloween!

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Halloween! Ours was super cute with Pre-school parties, adorable kiddos, and cuddly dog visitors. It was also lots of fun with a visit from my best buddy, Jessica and a fun Halloween party with friends.

Claire's Pre-school party started with a "Trick or Trunk" where the kids were herded around the school parking lot by their teachers, visiting parent trunks for treats. Will helped me hand out goody bags for a few minutes before hopping down and wandering around with the other kids.

Here come the trick or treaters!

My cute little witch!

Class photo! Top row: Miss Ali, McKinley, Vivian, Laila, Caroline, Addie, Olivia, Claire, Miss Stephanie, Xavianna, Maura Bottom row: Conner, Vinnie, Stowe, Andrew, and Quinn

I had to snap a picture of Claire looking longingly at Olivia's Elsa hair!

Lots of people were surprised that Claire didn't want to be Elsa for Halloween. I told them that's because she is Elsa everyday! But as Halloween got closer and more girls were saying that they were dressing up as Elsa, Claire started to second guess her Halloween costume. Let's just say that we already know what Claire's costume will be in 2015!

My little "lion on the loose" happily played during Claire's class party. He's already getting to know Charlotte and Silvio who will be in his pre-school class!

Friday was Halloween and Claire could barely fall to sleep the night before for two reasons. 1. It was going to be Halloween and 2. Her Best Friend Forever, Jessica was coming up to visit with her adorable dogs! Jessica arrived just in time to get settled and then to help me get the kids ready for trick or treating! The island Halloween party and costume contest started at 5:30pm and trick or treating started at 6:30pm.

My good, little witch and her friendly pirate on the way to the party!

My little lion and the Big Bad Wolf! (Chris' costume will make more sense later)

I love this pic!

Claire had a blast!

What a happy little witch!

For some reason Will was constantly trying to escape from the party so someone was always trying to catch him. Jessica caught him this time.

Then it was my turn so I tried to turn the catch into a family picture. It's hard to hold onto a wild animal!

After the party, Jessica took Claire trick or treating to more houses while Chris and I put Will to bed and then maned the door for trick or treaters. Once both kids were in bed, my neighbor Veronika and her friend came over and we headed down the street to our neighbor's house that puts on a haunted house through their garage! It was lots of fun, but we all did a lot of screaming!

The haunted garage! These guys had been building their haunted maze all week. They did a great job! It was super spooky!

On Saturday Will and Jessica's dogs helped Chris cheer on Pitt!

Love these guys!

Later, we got a babysitter and headed out to the Jailbreak Brewery Halloween party. It was lots of fun to see friends and to drink Jailbreak's amazing brews. Since Chris isn't a big fan of Halloween, I knew that the only way I was going to get him to dress up was to make him a hoodie Halloween costume. So this is what I came up with:

The Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood

These costumes were great for the chilly weather too!

Cruella Deville and Sheriff Rick

J.J. Watt, Pirate, and Red

On Sunday the kids had fun playing around the house with the dogs. (Here's a video of Will playing fetch with the doggies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3fy_jx8-xI Then later, we took Jessica out to Old Stein Inn for a farewell dinner. It was SO nice to have her here for a visit and for all of her help with the kids on Halloween! Will wore his German hat from Nana Barb for the meal.