Ward Halloween Carnival

This weekend was our Ward Carnival. We always have so much fun at this event. Elizabeth loves playing all of the games. She got a fun noise-maker when she went fishing at the fish pond and did a great job pumpkin bowling...but her favorites were all of the booths that handed out candy!

Zachary was pretty cranky...so he stayed in the stroller most of the time. I guess he didn't like that we were playing games during nap time! Even though he was a grump, we did get a smile when he got a ball at the fish pond.

Elizabeth was so excited that many of her Sunbeam friends were there. Here Cece and Elizabeth patiently wait for there turn at pumpkin bowling.

One of my favorite activities to watch is the donut eating contest. They tie a donut on a string, tie your hands behind your back, and let you figure out how to eat the donut. There are some pretty funny faces, and some very long tongues...and lots of laughs. Elizabeth did a great job and seemed to really enjoy herself!

Elizabeth loves getting her face painted so he was super excited to see the face-painting area. She immediately told me that she wanted a purple flower to match her shirt!

Near the bean bag toss, we came across a few more of Elizabeth's friends. Kaulani is Miss Krista's daughter and helps out in their preschool class sometimes.

Here is Kaulani, Xander, and Elizabeth...aren't they all so cute!

At the bean bag toss, Elizabeth sat patiently (with all boys) for her turn. She did a great job of throwing the ball through the holes. She thought is was cool that all of the boys were cheering her on!

Next we were off to color a "magic" picture. Elizabeth loved that as you rubbed your wooden stick on the black paper...a rainbow of colors were revealed.

We cheered Zachary up a little bit with a lollipop. He just sat in this stroller, sucking on the sucker the entire time. I got him out of the stroller for a little bit...but he was quite the grump so I decided it was time to head home for a nap!

We had a lot of fun at the carnival. I know this event is so much work and I am grateful for everyone who made it happen. We cannot wait until next year!

Boo at the Zoo

Today was the annual Boo at the Zoo event at the Hogle Zoo. I have wanted to attend this event for a couple of years now but honestly, I was a little intimidated. I have heard that this event is well-attended and that there are usually people as far as your eye can see. This year, I decided to be brave and take the kids....I am so glad that I did!

Elizabeth thought it was so fun that she got to wear her costume to the zoo. As we walked in, people would stop us to say how beautiful she was. Elizabeth was so excited that everyone thought her dress was so pretty!

The zoo did such a great job with this event. There were around 25 candy stations set up around the zoo. Elizabeth would yell "more candy" and run towards the tables. There were usually small lines at each of the tables...but nothing bad. The zoo employees did a great job of handing out the candy and getting the lines moving.

I had so much fun walking the grounds of the zoo with my kiddos. It was great to be able to see all of our favorite animals while trick-or-treating!

Zachary looked absolutely adorable in his little pirate costume. I had so many people come up to me and tell me how cute he was. Zachary loved watching all of the kids run around. He really is such a sweet, little guy.

I had planned to let Zachary walk around; however, when I saw all of the people, I decided he would be safer in the stroller. He sat there so patiently, watching everything...and eating candy!

I am so blessed to have these little munchkins in my life. I love doing all of these fun activities with them. I hope they remember some of the fun things that we do together...I know that I always will!

Elizabeth was such a good girl at the event. I explained to her that there would be lots of people and that she would have to stay right with me. She was a great listener, stayed with me the entire time, and had a smile on her face! What more could I ask for!

I thought it was so fun that all of the employees were dressed up. They all did a great job of making this a fun and special event for each of the kids. I think every single employee took time to tell Elizabeth how beautiful she was. Each of them called her Belle. Elizabeth turned to me at one point and said, "Mom, everyone thinks that I really am Belle!"

Each time someone would place a candy in Zachary's bucket he would reach into his bucket, take it out, and ask me to open it. I didn't open every candy...but I did let him have more candy than normal. How could I resist that cute pirate face!

I have to admit that I was pretty impressed with this event. I will definitely be taking the kids to the Boo at the Zoo again. I loved walking the zoo, seeing all of our favorite animals, and collecting candy along the way! I was a little worried that Zachary wouldn't be able to have any of the candy because of his allergies; however, the zoo did a great job of handing out candy that was allergen-free. I had the best day walking around with my little munchkins. This was one of my favorite activities of the Halloween season!

WitchFest

Tonight I surprised Elizabeth with an evening out together. I have been wanting to take her to some of the fun activities at Gardner Village and decided that today was the perfect time. I snuck into Elizabeth room and laid out darling new outfits for her and Lily.

Once Elizabeth and Lily were dressed, we headed over to Gardner Village for a "bewitching" time. Our first stop was Georgell's Doll Shop for a witchy treat. We sat and enjoyed our yummy cupcakes and apple juice. Elizabeth loved the little coffin whistle and witches hat.

Next, Elizabeth wanted to show Lily all of the witches. We walked the grounds looking at all of the fun decorations. Elizabeth kept picking various locations for photos with Lily. She did a great job of posing for the camera. Now if we could only get her to sit that still more often!

One of my favorite moments from the entire night was when I overheard Elizabeth talking to Lily. She said, "Lily, I am so glad that you came here with me to see all of the witches. I hope that you are having fun." Then she lightly kissed her on the forehead. How stinkin' cute is that!

After walking around for quite a while, we headed over to catch the tractor for the Ride to a Witch event. This was our first time so I had no idea what to expect. As we arrived at Cricket Hollow Swap, we were greeted by Carmel Mirandwitch, who invited us into her house to browse around.We found eyeball soup, dragon armpit hair, pet spiders and other witchy things.

Mother Goose Witch was perfectly motherly, and invited the kids to hold her goose as she read them a “nursery rhyme”. She read Humpty Dumpty and Little Miss Muffet, although her versions were unlike any we had ever heard before!

Elizabeth loved learning how to dance from Matilda, one of the witches. She learned how to do the "werewolf", "the mummy", and "the melting witch. 

Next, we learned to make a witches brew. We added frog legs, eyeballs, and other disgusting things. We were told to meet back at Cricket Hollow Swamp in exactly a year so that we could all eat it together...I think we'll be passing on that one!

Burying a dead cockroach was our last task at Cricket Hollow Swamp. We were told to dig a small hole, throw the cockroach in, and bury it up. If we looked at it or thought about it while we did it, the cockroach might come back to life and crawl all over us while we slept! We couldn’t have that, so we did as we were told!

After exploring a little more, we caught a ride back to Gardner Village for a little shopping. Elizabeth picked out a Belle dress for Lily, so they can match on Halloween. I offered to get Elizabeth's nails painted at the spa, or glitter eyes done at the Bewitched Boutique, but Elizabeth decided that she just wanted the Belle dress for Lily. Okay with me...since it saved me a few bucks!

I had such a great night with my little sweetheart. I am so glad that we were able to get away for a girl's night out! Hopefully we will be able to do fun activities like this together more often.