Halloween didn't disappoint this year. I LOVE it! A few weeks ago, I was trying to think of something Julie and I (the sixth grade teachers) could do as a duo. Last year it was Thing 1 and Thing 2.

This year we thought we'd be the good and wicked witches from
The Wizard of Oz. Without Mom's costume room, I had no idea how to be Glinda! It came down to the night before. I had a Halloween miracle! Not finding anything anywhere else or even good material for a dress, I stopped by Savers for a quick minute and spotted a used, little girl's Glinda dress. What are the chances?? (That was for Ashna.) All I had to do was tear the back a little to put it on and wear a pink shirt under it.
That night, James and I stopped by our ward Halloween party and admired the different costumes. Unfortunately, James wasn't in on the
Wizard of Oz theme, so he just put on some sweet retro clothes. Next year we'll have to do something together when I'm no longer an elementary school teacher.

Ben and Bri came over afterward to carve pumpkins. What's better than Texas and pirates?


Halloween at school the next day was a lot of fun. My room mom prepared a mummy relay for the kids to do, and they loved it. At the parade through the school, it was fun to see all the other
Wizard of Oz characters who joined us.
My camera was doing something strange with the color red, but Julie was ALL green no doubt.

Halloween night was the first time James or I had been the Trick or Treat givers. It was quite the experience! We had only one bowl of candy, but it was the good stuff--Reeses, Butterfingers, Starbursts, and 3 Musketeers. The only problem was, we didn't know how to give it out. I tried putting the bowl out in front of them and saying, "Find one you like!" but if you know anything about hungry kids, that didn't work. James thought he'd take over for a few after that. He tried a similar strategy, but it turned out he just didn't have the heart to say, "No more." That's when the "Greedy Little Punks" phrase came in. It was hilarious. Then, James thought of a brilliant plan. "Ok, so first I'll answer the door, look at the kids, and then decide how much candy to give each." That worked alright for the next go arounds, of course, until one family came around for seconds. James decided that when we have our own house, he wants to have some carnival game outside for kids to earn a big candy bar (1 try only). Otherwise, they get 1 small bar. I feel pretty good about it. We'll see how it goes in the future.