Haunted Halloween

The month of October was sort of a blur.  I had to write down carving pumpkins on my to-do list or I honestly think I would have forgotten.  I mean, I forgot to bake Halloween cookies!  What is happening to me!?!

Thanks to a birthday party at a pumpkin patch, Robin and Eileen picked out pumpkins for the whole family.  Carving pumpkins is not a thing in Korea, neither is costumes or trick or treating.  Yoon took to pumpkin carving like a moth to flame.  He really enjoyed himself.  None of my kids like the guts, but at least this year everyone but Robin helped.  Yoon didn't mind getting in there and doing the gross work.  Linus helped Yoon with the final hollowing out (getting rid of the last of the strings).  It was a good partnership.  Pumpkin carving was definitely a group effort this year.

Dave and I went to a Halloween party for the first time in a few years.  It finally gave me a chance to wear my Elaine Benes (from Seinfeld) costume and show off my sweet dance moves.

I should have made Dave wear a ruffled shirt.  Then we could have been like all the other cute and coordinated couples at the party.  Dave went as a gorilla.

I disappointed myself a little a didn't wear a costume to school on Halloween.  I chose to just dress for the color games (black).  My shirt did have a sparkly pumpkin on it.  So I can argue I was at least festive.

Robin opted to be a ghost this year.  I didn't anticipate how much he would embrace the costume.  He roamed the halls of school all morning, making ghostly sounds.  It was awesome.  He loved how everyone who ran away in fear from him.

Yoon joined the rest of the 6th grade boys for trick or treating, which left Dave to take out our kids.  The haul was pretty impressive with multiple full size candy bars.

Linus really wanted to be the Black Panther.  I had to think about it for awhile and weigh to what extent it would constitute cultural appropriation.  Eventually, I agreed.  Linus was very excited.

Eileen loves animals and continued her tradition of animals for Halloween.  Previous costumes have been bat (2 different years), snow leopard, and black cat.  She made a pretty cute raccoon and did her own face paint.

On all fours.

You can tell Yoon and Linus did the carving themselves.  You can't tell, but the giant mouth on the pumpkin on the far right actually has large, scary, glow in the dark teeth.  Yoon's is the one that is more of a Picasso pumpkin.

I let the kids each keep 5 pieces of candy in their rooms and put all the rest in labeled ziplocks.  I am such a mean mom.  Linus and Yoon figured out that they could work the system by choosing larger pieces of candy.  It's 3 days later.  The kids are each down to one piece of candy or less in their rooms.  I have been doing my part by slowly gleaning their bags, careful to take from each ziplock and not just one.  Sometimes it's good to be the mom.  Let the kids do all the work, and I reap the benefits.  Mwa ha ha.