Here Comes the Bride (and her Groom), the Happiest Hermione, and a Squishy Pumpkin

Halloween felt short and sweet and overall successful.

We braved the brutal temps, watched the big girls run around with glee, and then all collapsed in bed at the end of the day. We made some really happy memories to tuck away and always remember, which makes me joyful to think about. I often wonder if we’ll miss these days of our girls being tiny and running around trick-or-treating, or if we’ll look back and smile, knowing that we enjoyed those years and happily be onto the next stage.

I guess only time will tell, so for now I will smile my way through creating this blog post and be grateful for the season we’re in where Halloween is truly one of the best, most fun days of the year for the whole family.

All week we were anticipating Halloween rainfall, but on the 30th the forecast began to show that the monsoon of rain would surely be over by sunset on Halloween. Brutally cold temps and wind would move in though, but I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to tell the kids that Halloween was a bust.

Hadley got home from school around 3:30, and we immediately laid out costumes and started getting ready. I had to laugh at the site of four Halloween costumes (one for Teddy). I sometimes still feel like I’m 20 years old, and then moments like this hit me where I’m all HOW OLD AM I AND HOW ARE ALL OF THESE PEOPLE MINE? How am I the one that gets to dress them up and do all of this fun stuff with them? The role of a mother feels like such a privilege in moments like this.

(I’m not a deep thinker at all.)

Around 4:30 my mom and my in-laws drove over (my dad had a prior commitment) so that they could see the girls all dressed up.

Two grandmas who love this little pumpkin!

I love this picture below. So much of my world in one frame.

I got on Amazon a couple months ago and had Hadley and Sadie sit with me to pick their costumes. Both girls knew immediately though what the wanted to be, and no amount of scrolling on Amazon would change their minds. Hadley wanted to be a “beautiful bride” and Sadie wanted to be Hermione from Harry Potter.

Though Teddy is definitely my shadow, Hadley comes in as a close second to his favorite person. They love each other so, so much. I don’t know what made me think to put him in a tux, but a couple of weeks before Halloween I measured his girth and got him all set up to be her groom. 🙂

Below is Hadley’s first Halloween where they twinned as bumblebees. Both times Teddy has been THRILLED (except the opposite).

Around 5 p.m. we took pictures outside and then warmed up back inside for a bit with grandparents.

We caught Jamie right as he was getting home from work. He got out of his truck already laughing at the girls and how cute they looked.

Around 5:30 my mom and in-laws left and we walked down to a neighborhood potluck. The kids had a ball playing together while the adults munched on appetizers and chili, mentally prepping ourselves to trick-or-treat in the cold with pretty strong winds.

Below is my sweet neighbor Lauren who also has a new addition to this year’s Halloween. We joked about how next year these babes will be running around with all the big kids. 🙂

A few of the moms attempted a group picture of the kids, but they were too amped up to get out there and get their stash!

Jillian was incredibly warm in the carrier against my chest (inside my coat), and the big girls never one single time complained about the cold. They were having such a blast running from house to house, we could barely keep up! We stayed out for about an hour before coming home and letting them dump their bins (so we could sort out hard candy and steal their Heath bars of course).

We realized after their bath that they’d never eaten dinner (PARENT WIN!), so Jamie heated up a Hot Pocket for them to split before getting their worn-out booties in bed.

Jamie and I ended up the night by having a scheduled living room date to sync up our calendars for November and December and discuss our budget for the next couple months. WE KNOW HOW TO PARTY!!! 😉

Hope you had a spooky, silly, super great Halloween as well!

Let’s chat!

Does your neighborhood or friend group have any kind of special Halloween traditions that you enjoy doing before or after trick-or-treating?