Happy Halloween

Thank goodness I live at my in-laws this Halloween.  Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to devote an entire week to these bad boys:

When originally asked what he wanted to be for Halloween, Alden replied with "The Earth - so that everyone can know we live on the Earth."  So I bought beach balls and started figuring out how I was going to make "the Earth" when one morning, after Alden "transformed" for her (like he frequently does - it's like narcolepsy - he apparently can't really control when or where it happens), Grandma suggested he be a transformer for Halloween.  Well, Alden was hooked on the idea immediately and of course Eli followed suit.

There's more to these costumes than meets the eye.

Okay, that was cheezy but I had to say it! :-D  It was tricky to figure out how to make a transformer costume that 2 and 4 year olds could actually transform in (since that was the whole point) but I think we did okay, even if the upright Bumblebee and Optimus Prime are not as good looking as the transformed versions.

 Can't you just hear Eli saying, "ta-daa!"

 Grandpa was pretty pleased with his transformers.

 Baby girl and I decided to be witches for Halloween.  Genny made Gracen the cutest little witch tutu.  Sorry so many of these pictures have bad lighting - I've never claimed to be a photographer!

 Gracen can totally walk but really doesn't like to - go figure.

 The first item on our Halloween "to do" agenda included trick-or-treating at the "Brunson favorite place to work," aka Melaleuca.  I think all of Jaron's siblings except two have worked there so far.  They had the cubicals all decorated up and we had fun trick-or-treating to the booths.

This is Alden and Eli straining to pick up candy.  Note to self: bulky costumes are so not cool after all.

 We spent all of our Halloween adventures with cousins.  Thursday night we hit "Boo at the Zoo" but it was so crowded that I didn't get many pictures.  The kids had a good time but there were way too many people crammed into a cozy zoo and it was a relief to me when it was over with.

We did the good ole' fashioned trunk or treating tonight with Jaron's parents' church ward.  It's perfect - the process involves very little walking and receiving candy from familiar faces.

 Hot chocolate at the trunk or treat.

 Still, Alden is a die-hard trick-or-treater.  He really enjoys it so after the trunk-or-treat, we hit a few houses.  Gracen spent most of her time on the ground 'cause she's much too busy these days for my arms.

 And in other news, Gracen has been up at night a lot lately, crying for hours at a time.  Some days, I just don't have the energy to keep up with the messes!  This happened 2 days ago and it still looks like this. :-)

 But I sure do have fun with these three, more and more as they get older.  What great kids we've been blessed with!

 And lastly, here's a little Idaho sunset for Jaron.  I sure do love sunsets!

Tomorrow we celebrate Gracen and Grandpa's birthdays so more pictures to come!