Our next big activity was the annual Anderson Halloween Party. This party seems to grow each year. I think that is mostly due to the fact that we keep switching wards, even though we never move. With each new ward, we get to meet a lot of new friends, this means the invitation list grows longer and longer.
I think our biggest concern now is that we'll accidentally leave someone out. It was nice to have the kids home from school. They helped a lot with the invitations, party planning and especially, cleaning the house. The night arrived and we had about fifty to sixty kids come. I think the night was made for me when I had a couple of kids tell me that they look forward to this party more than Halloween itself! That makes it all worth it. The hardest part about this party is finding an appropriate "spooky" movie to watch. We finally settled on Gremlins. We had to use the Clearplay filter because those 80's movies seem to have a lot of bad language that I either blocked out or didn't pay attention. The kids said the filter cut out some of the best parts, like when the gremlin explodes in the microwave, but other than that, it was a hit. I already have an idea for next year, I'll have to work on it early to make sure we can reserve it for that night.
Halloween day was full of fun. Our ward had a trunk or treat that started at 4:00 pm. I was skeptic at first because it seemed to be one more thing to worry about but it actually turned out to be a fun way to start the trick-or-treating. You got to see everyone's costumes and talk with the kids for a longer period of time before they came to your door.
My kids all picked out their own costumes this year. Matthew wanted to be a dinosaur and my sister, Melinda, was gracious enough to send us her old costume. (I guess I should say Brock was gracious enough to part with his old costume.) Savannah and Lindsey were both witches. Heather was a phantom with a block cloth covering her face so no one would know who she was. Luke was a jawa from the Star Wars movie. I made him a cloak and put lights in the front for eyes. It turned out pretty good.
After trunk or treat, we met back at our house for Stew in a Pumpkin and Ghost rolls. It's always nice to fill their bellies with a warm meal before they head out to gather candy. Luke's friends came over to pick him up and some of them had dinner with us. Their plan was to trick-or-treat all night. Lindsey, Savannah, Heather, Matthew and I headed out a little later. Matthew had a great time at first. As the night wore on, he got a little grouchy. He would insist on ringing the doorbell and if someone came to the door before he could ring it he would start to cry. The poor person thought it was because of the candy and would give him extra to help him feel better. I'm not sure if he was really upset about the doorbell, or if he figured out a system to get extra candy. Savannah and Matthew and I headed back early, Heather and Lindsey found friends to hook up with. Savannah had as much fun handing out candy as she did trick-or-treating. Luke and his friends actually got back before Lindsey and Heather. They dumped their candy on the floor and started trading pieces. Lindsey and Heather arrived and joined in. Before I knew it, my floor was covered with candy. Of course, this didn't last long because kids don't usually leave candy around, especially when Matthew is in sight. Halloween is one of our favorite holidays and this year was no exception.
