Halloween

Our ward Halloween party was the night before Halloween. Ever went early with Jim to help set up. I was going to take Wren and meet them there. Wren lost it as I was getting ready to go. She was so tired. She's a six-o'clock-bedtime kind of girl, and the 6:30 start time just wasn't going to work for her. I stayed home and put her to bed. Later, my visiting teachee and friend, Gwen Holm, sent me this picture of Ever with Gwen's mom, Betsy Young:

I was pleased that Ever would sit with Betsy. Betsy has severe dementia, so although she loves kids, I don't know if she ever really remembers Ever specifically.

On Halloween we had dinner at Paul and Susan Oddou's with them and the Goodwins, and then we all went trick-or-treating in the Oddous' neighborhood. This is the only shot I got of the kids before we set out:

L to R: Lincoln and Addi Goodwin, Ever (as Elsa from Frozen, of course), & Luc

It's impossible to describe how over-the-top the houses in that neighborhood are with the decorations, and my pictures don't do them justice. This place was Pirates-of-the-Caribbean themed, complete with music from the movies playing outside:

This house had giant spiders, webs, a ghost, and all sorts of things all over it, along with a movie being projected onto a screen on the right side of the yard:

One guy sat on his porch and played his electric guitar all night. The music was blasting through his speakers. Wrenzo slept through it, though. Another house had a big popcorn maker on the driveway, and the residents passed out bags of popcorn.

That street was a zoo. I don't remember Halloween's being a very big deal when I was growing up, but some people here REALLY get into it.

Back at the house, Ever and Luc sorted their candy and did some trading:

Jim told Ever that Halloween is her night, and she can stay up as late as she wants. We had mentioned the possibility of meeting up with the Karners in Rancho del Oro (the crazy-decorated neighborhood we went to last year) after we finished with the Oddous. Jim and I really just wanted to go home and were very pleased when Ever seemed to forget the whole Karner thing. Jim was so pleased, in fact, that he let Ever watch some short videos when we got home. She was a zombie, but that kid can fight sleep like nobody's business:

Wren wore the Halloween onesie that Nana gave Ever when she was a baby. Festive enough for a seven-month-old, right?

Those pictures show Wrenzo doing her favorite thing: sticking out her tongue and curling it up over her upper lip. She does it all the time and has for many months. It's unfortunate I don't have any better pictures of it.

That concludes Halloween 2015.