More Halloween Festivities

It's been a long-standing tradition in our branch that the Primary put on an annual "Trunk or Treat" activity. It's always THE BIGGEST EVENT of the year...and all kinds of people who you never see at church tend to show up on this one very "Hallowed eve". It's really quite insane. I mean, normally, we have a really hard time getting people to show up to mid-week activities. For example, I went to an awesome Enrichment activity a couple of weeks ago where a delicious pumpkin stew and the yummiest cornbread cake were served along side a fantastic hands-on activity where participants assembled life-sustaining 72-hour kits. It was a wonderful night! There were FOUR PEOPLE who showed up: the Relief Society presidency...and me....THAT WAS IT!!! But no.... when Trunk or Treat night comes around, which, being Primary President, I happened to be in charge of this year, EVERY MEMBER OF THE CONGREGATION decides to show up, and BRING A FRIEND!!! Which is AWESOME!!! I LOVE IT...I just wish we could fit more than five round tables in our church. Seriously....we can fit EXACTLY FIVE ROUND TABLES in our church! You know how most churches have a closet somewhere with stacks and stacks of round tables? We only OWN five round tables in our ENTIRE CHURCH. We don't have a cultural hall. We have a room...the primary /multipurpose room. Five classroom doors line the walls of THE ROOM, behind which are five very tiny, windowless classrooms where we hold primary classes every Sunday. For the Trunk or Treat, I assigned the Young Men and Young Women to set up games and activities in four of the tiny classrooms (the fifth room serves as the nursery), and there were so many people STANDING around THE ROOM (since all five tables were quickly filled to capacity) that the children were barely able to squeeze through the doorways to participate in the activities. IT WAS A ZOO!!! I was certain we were going to run out of food...which we eventually did. Luckily, I think everyone was able to get at least one bowl of chili. Fortunately, the weather was absolutely PERFECT, the sky was clear, the temperature was great, and everyone seemed to be having fun, and most importantly, there was plenty of CANDY for all!!! I wish I had gotten a picture of THE ROOM crammed with people, but all I managed to get were a few shots of the kids running around the GRAVEL PARKING LOT during the "trunk or treat" portion of the activity:

Eden obviously spilled an entire cup of punch and several mouthfuls of chili on her flower costume. Good thing we have back-up costumes, right?


Apparently, there was kite-flying going on that I didn't know about...


Brock's school was doing a "Renaissance" theme for Halloween. Brock couldn't possibly go as Superman....He just HAD to have a pirate costume!!!


Austin didn't seem to mind having to go without his mask for just one night...


I'm not particularly one who enjoys being "in charge" of big events, so I was very relieved to have this one over with. However, I still wasn't able to sleep very well last night, because this afternoon I was in charge of Brock's first grade class party! Before the party, the students had a parade around the school parking lot. Austin's class chose not to participate, but we got to see Brock and Brandon. The pre-school was doing a "when I grow up" theme. Brandon wanted to go as a dentist. Austin went as a football player. (I raided Justin's closet for both costumes.)


Eden didn't have her costume on yet, but she was eager to steal the show and join the parade:



Brock's class party turned out well. It was just as chaotic as I had imagined, and no, I didn't get any photos, but we survived it and the kids had fun. The weather was warm again today, so I decided to go with a different Halloween costume for Eden. Whoever voted for the Leopard Ballerina Princess, these last photos are for you!!! I think she's adorable....then again, I always do.


Eden's latest trick: "folding her arms". She does this every time we have prayer, and last Sunday, one of the speakers said the word "prayer" in her talk and Eden quickly sat up and assumed this position. So cute!



Tonight, I am so glad to have both of my big planning events over with. Now I can just relax and enjoy taking my kids trick or treating tomorrow!!!