Is there room on the broom for a witch like me?

A quick post to sum up the last day of October since November is officially off and running!

Darin had Halloween day off so we carved the girls' jack-o-lanterns that morning. 

Lucy was stunned by the sliminess of the pumpkin innards and could not proceed until her hand got washed off. Never been a squeamish one, but she hung back on this task!

She did design her own jack-o-lantern face, though, which Darin carved out for her, and she added eyelashes and other details with black marker. Polly chose a "scared face" for her little pumpkin which she promptly pronounced "Mine age!"

Some of my favorite fall decorations are the photos Darin took in the pumpkin patch last year.

We were all witchies and traded hats throughout the eve. Lucy put on dark lipstick all by herself then wiped it off. Polly tromped about like a little goblin.

My mom just got us this wagon and the girls had fun riding in it for our Main Street's Halloween festivities.

Every year it gets more and more nuts down there! People go all out. It's fun to see everyone's costumes, but the sidewalks packed full of sardine-like trick-or-treaters crowding by the shops is overbearing, and the whole thing is also pretty overwhelming for the kids at this point. Still, it makes me love our town that this event continues with more and more gusto. I do miss the parade and calliope from when I was younger, and all the kids paraded all the way up the hill behind Main Street to Rotary Park where there was a bonfire and a costume contest. 

Met up with the cutest spooks ever.

Scouty climbed right in and the three made themselves quite cozy, sharing licks of Lucy's lollipop and gazing around in shocked silence most of the time. 

We found Scott and Penelope too! Penelope was so sweet to ask me if she could give each girl a piece of candy since they had so few in their buckets. I obliged. :)

Stopped by to see our Bookery friends who had just run out of candy!

And then this lovely 50's housewife approached us looking for the quickest route to a self-cleaning oven. ;)

The best part of the night is not photographed: we took the kids over to Jorden and Becky's neighborhood just a few blocks from downtown and full of the cutest, quaintest houses with brick and ivy and all the best Halloween decorations. After saying hello to J and B, and their family members gathered at their house, we took the girls' hands and did some real old-fashioned trick-or-treating, trundling up and down the hill there and the steep steps up to each spookily decked out front porch. Polly was scared of all the spiders and webs, but bravely approached the doors and picked out her candy from kindly adults alongside her sister. Five or six houses was enough of a mind blowing experience, the dusk was cool and refreshing, there were just a few other kids spiriting about in the evening. Politeness abounded as well as abundant smiles at our daughters' sweet, excited faces. We watched for the moon on the way home and opened the windows to the fresh night. The girls aren't used to it getting dark so early and I could tell it was kind of magical to them to be out after dark.

Everyone met back up at our house for my crockpot of veggie chili and cornbread. Addie brought cookies she and Utah had decorated, plus some beers for the adults and we hung out a couple hours. Darin and I missed the bigger parties that were going on later that night and stayed in to put our girls to sleep and watch an episode of Black Mirror. (yikes.) It was a perfect Halloween with our bewitching little troopers.

How was yours? Did you celebrate Dia de los Muertos as well?

Tomorrow is Darin's birthday. Our November festivities officially begin!