Oktoberfest

In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines

Lived twelve little girls in two straight lines

In two straight lines they broke their bread

And brushed their teeth and went to bed.

They left the house at half past nine

In two straight lines in rain or shine-

The smallest one was ...

The instant I saw this picture on Pinterest I knew Esther positively had to be Madeleine for Halloween.  My mom and sister helped me figure out how to create the costume, which I made for around $5.

  Even better, my friend Sammy had a perfect nun's habit which made it possible for me to dress up as Miss Clavel (the nun who runs Madeleine's school).  

If only I could have found a golden retriever costume so Chris could have dressed up as Genevieve... 

 Sometimes picture taking can be a challenge, hence the tiny box of candy in Esther's fist.Even then, it's no guarantee.

As you can see, Esther was anxious to get out the door with her cousins so we could go trick-or-treating together.  Trick-or-treating with Esther was an absolute delight.  At first, she was nervous of all the strangers at the door and I had to hold her bag an get the candy for her.  But as she came to understand  that these strangers were giving her treats, her attitude about the whole business quickly improved.  She clutched her bag in an iron grip, shouted "TREAT" along with the other trick-or-treaters, carefully chose her prize from the offering bowl, said "thank-you" often, and ran as fast as she could after her cousins to the next house.  Her bag was getting so heavy it was dragging on the floor, but if Chris or I ever offered to help carry it for her, we were firmly rebuffed. 

1 tiny box of pink nerds

+

1 late night trick-or-treating

+

3 whoppers (malt balls)

+

1 blue m&m peanut

= 

Time for bed!

But it was so worth it. 

Another fun event was our church's annual Halloween carnival complete with games, cider, face painting, and even a photo booth. The secret to a successful night=individual bag of popcorn.  Esther munched mostly happily all night without crying (even though it was late) and without eating the candy.  Brilliant.

A bit hesitant about this face painting business.

 Tricycle races

Those who hadn't read Madeleine were rather shocked that I dressed up as a pregnant nun.  Keeps them guessing I suppose... 

 Our friends Holly and Jason invited us to their 7th annual Halloween organ concert.  Holly graduated from BYU in organ performance and played a fun mix of music ranging from Schubert's Earlking to Pirates of the Caribbean. Moreover, she played in a spectacular Frankenstein costume which made it that much more spooky.

 Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!  

I celebrated November 1st by listening to Christmas music all day and didn't feel the least bit guilty.