An Overdue Halloween Post

So, Halloween was 2 weeks ago.  I'm finally getting my 4 favorite pictures from the evening posted for all to see and enjoy.  I have had good intentions of being a more consistent blogger but every time I sat down at the computer to post, my brain froze.  Plus, I was sick for a solid week (starting the morning of Halloween) and now Anna Kathryn is under the weather, too.  I've been attempting to get some household projects done before my maternity leave is over, though I've not yet actually finished any of them.  So, I have procrastinated doing any posting. 

Despite fighting the plague, the weekend of Oct. 31- Nov. 2 was a lot of fun.  My sister, Hillary, and my nieces Emily and Alie drove to our home for a weekend visit.  (Anna Kathryn's birthday party was the next day, but that's another post).  Hillary and I grew up in a home where Halloween was not celebrated due to our religious beliefs.  As an adult, I now understand why my parents felt the way they do about the holiday.  I agree with them, and have never done much more than attend a few costume parties back in the day.  I am not a fan of the "ghost and goblin" aspects of Halloween, but Mark and I found an adorable sunflower costume for Anna Kathryn a few months ago, so we decided we'd just dress her up anyway.  

After a dinner of sloppy joes and homemade macaroni and cheese, we went over to Allison and David's house for the evening's festivities.  All of the girls were dressed up:  Anna Kathryn was the cutest sunflower ever, Emily was Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Alie was a dragonfly ( a very fussy one, too, until her mama took off her adorable satin costume.  I stuck my finger in my only shot of her in costume, so you can't really see her.  Go to Allison's blog for a cute picture).  Maggie was dressed as Cinderella.  They were all so cute!

The big girls (Emily and Maggie) went Trick-or-Treating with the dads, uncles, grandpas, and several other folks.  As it grew dark, their light-up princess shoes glowed as they trotted from house to house-- so cute!  Mark told me that there was a "discussion" between the two girls about his true name.  Emily calls him "Marko Marko" and Maggie calls him "March."  Well, apparently Maggie called his name and Emily replied, "Who's March? That's Uncle Marko Marko, silly!" A small debate ensued.  Fortunately, Mark was able to broker some peace by explaining that he has lots of nicknames.    

Hillary and I opted to hang out in front of Allison's nice warm fire with the babies and chit-chat with her, Barb, and Grandma Grace.  Anna Kathryn immediately found Maggie's toys to be a whole new world of wonder.  

Alie snoozed, so Aunt Hillary played and sang with her.  
I sniffled a lot and tried not to long too much for my nice soft bed.  I also tried not to get too close to anyone in case whatever I had was contagious.  It totally stinks to be sick on a holiday! The Trick-or-Treat crew eventually returned with bags of sugary loot, and we eventually got the girls settled down enough to head home and to bed.     It felt really late, but it was only about 8:30!  I guess that's a late night out once you have kids.  Hee hee.  It was a fun night and a great start to Anna Kathryn's big weekend...