Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I hope you and yours had a fantastically fun and spooky day!

We had a wonderful Halloween! The kids woke up to their special Halloween breakfast. This year's breakfast was their favorite! We had Vampire Teeth Donuts, Cutie Pumpkins and Orange Juice. Our school mornings are so rushed that I didn't get a chance to take a picture of Dylan, Lexie and Lily before they ran out the door, but Liam had the chance to enjoy his breakfast!

Lily had her class Halloween Party this morning. She was so exhausted after the party that she napped for over 2 hours. My parents dropped off treat bags for the kids but only Liam was awake to visit with them!

After Dylan and Lexie came home from school we gathered up all the costumes then headed to Grant's mom's house for dinner. We always go Trick or Treating in Grant's hometown, and this year, Grant's mom offered to make us dinner to save us some time. SOLD!!!

The weather this year was great! It wasn't warm (of course it was really warm on Saturday and will be really warm again the next two days) but it didn't rain for the first time since 2011!!!  It's amazing what a difference nice weather makes. My kids were so excited to go Trick or Treating!

This was the year that everything changed. Dylan, who is only just over a year away from becoming a teenager, decided that he wanted to go Trick or Treating with his friends this year. It was a bummer for me but we've officially reached that phase in our lives.  I convinced him to let me take a few pictures of him in his Joker costume before we left. Dylan did the hair and makeup all by himself and he was pretty proud of his costume!

I snapped a few pictures, then we had to reluctantly let him go.

I drove Dylan to his friend's house then battled the traffic to get back to Grant's mom's house in time to have a mini photo session before Trick or Treating began.  I somehow managed and for once we were able to take our pictures outdoors!

Lexie decided to be Dorothy this year and she looked so beautiful and so grown up!

Lily ended up choosing an Ariel costume. That wig lasted, oh, about 2 minutes!

Liam was a fox and he was anti-hood unless he was sleeping!

And Grant and I dressed up as Luke and Lorelai in honor of the upcoming Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix! Grant is pretty much Luke's doppelganger so it wasn't much of a stretch for him. 25 days, people, 25 days! I am unbelievably excited!

I'm not going to lie. It was a great night for Trick or Treating, but it just wasn't the same without Dylan. It felt like we were missing a piece of us. This growing up thing is not much fun!

Liam and the girls lasted a little over an hour. It was chilly but they did their best!

Our favorite stop of the night is at a house that goes all out and turns their yard into a cemetery. They have people in costume wondering around trying to scare the kids. Lexie refused to go over and stood on the opposite side of the street while Lily and Liam bravely went over on their own. They tried to scare the kids, but Lily stared them down and told them, "I'm not afraid of you" and Liam promptly walked over and hugged the werewolf who was chasing after him. They both got extra candy for that one! Lexie, on the other hand, traded insults with the Wicked Witch who was at that house. She shouted "I'll get you my pretty and your little dog, too" across the street and Lexie shouted back that she would have to chase her down the street! Never a dull moment with my little crew!

Liam ended up falling asleep and the girls were cold so we decided to head back to Grant's mom's house!

We visited Grant's mom until Dylan got dropped off, then attempted a group picture. Liam had other plans...

The little fox finally woke up and decided to inspect the candy stash!

Although we may not have been all together for Trick or Treating, it was a great Halloween for my entire crew!

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Linking up HERE for Tuesday Talk.  
Linking up HERE for the Halloween Costume & Pajama Party. 

Sweet & Salty Halloween Munch Mix + Halloween Family Movie Night with Netflix

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Netflix. I am a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and I receive products and services in exchange for my monthly review. All ideas and opinions are 100% my own.

The countdown to Halloween is on and it's officially less than one week away! That doesn't give us much time to fit in all of our favorite Halloween activities, but we're going to do our best!

One of our favorite things to do to build excitement for an upcoming holiday is to gather together for Family Movie Night. We round up our favorite holiday episodes and movies and watch them together as a family. It's a great way to take a break from the chaotic hustle and bustle of everyday life and celebrate a holiday. Spending time together is what makes it so special!

We're currently gearing up for Halloween by making our way through our favorite Halloween episodes and movies. Yummy snacks (and quite often...pajamas) are necessary. My free time is limited so whipping up something really quick is essential! (Bonus points if everybody in my family likes it!)

Our Sweet & Salty Halloween Munch Mix is quick and easy to make and satisfies the family members who crave salt and the family members who have a sweet tooth all at once!

Ingredients: 

• 2 bags of microwave popcorn
• 4-8 small bags of Halloween shaped pretzels
• 1 bag of peanut butter chips
• 1 bag of seasonal M&Ms

When I said it was easy, I really did mean easy! Pop the popcorn, empty the popcorn into a bowl then mix in all the pretzels, peanut butter chips and M&Ms. DONE!

Mom Tip: Divide evenly into individual popcorn containers so there isn't any fighting over the popcorn bowl! 

{Popcorn containers are from the Target Dollar Spot}

Grab your popcorn and drinks, sit back and get ready for some Halloween entertainment! 

Although we have a lot of our beloved Halloween favorites on DVD we're also enjoying a Halloween watch list on Netflix!

• The Addams Family
• Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest
• Hotel Transylvania 2
• Corpse Bride
• Goosebumps
• Casper's Scare School
• Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman
• Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein
• Scooby Doo
• Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
• DreamWorks Spooky Stories
• Dear Dracula
• Sleepy Hollow

Netflix is an important part of our Family Movie Nights and adds to the holiday excitement. Things are getting spooky around here!
Grant and I drew our costume inspiration from Netflix this year! In honor of one of our most favorite shows returning to Netflix exactly one month from today (YAY!!!!) after years of being off the air, we are paying tribute to one of our favorite TV couples. Here's a sneak peek of our #NetflixHalloween costumes:

Stay tuned for our Halloween recap coming up next week. I will be sharing our Netflix-inspired costumes along with Dylan, Lexie, Lily and Liam's costumes and wrapping up all the Halloween fun!

We soon will be eagerly counting down the days until that exciting premiere, but for now we're enjoying Halloween Family Movie Night with our little tribe! Delicious snacks, good ole Netflix and lots of cuddles. Happy Halloween!

BUT...just in case you're not in the mood for something scary...

Here's What's New on Netflix for Kids, Tweens, Teens and Families:

Haters Back Off!: Season 1 - (10/14)   Skylanders Academy: Season 1 - (10/28)   StoryBots Super Songs: Season 1 - (10/7)

Project Mc2: Season 3 - (10/14)

The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show: Season 3 (10/21)

Bottersnikes & Gumbles: Season 2 - (10/14)

Visions of Halloween Past

While going through Halloween pictures this past week, it hit me that we've been taking kids Trick or Treating for an entire decade.  A DECADE.  How is that even possible?!?

Time flies when you're having fun, right? I guess having 4 kids in an 8 year span will make time fly by, too. It feels like I just had my first baby. That first baby is turning 11 in a few weeks and my actual baby is already 2! And THAT'S how a decade of Trick or Treating passes by in the blink of an eye.

My kids love Halloween, and they love to choose their own costumes. Once they have their own opinions, their costume choice is up to them. As much as I would love to do a theme, it's not fair for me to make them wear something they don't want to.  Instead, I embrace their choices (and often poor quality store bought costumes) and enjoy watching them smile!

The magic of Halloween is fleeting, so I'll do anything to see those smiles.  Trust me.  Trick or Treating will all too soon be a thing of the past for my tween.

Here's a quick peek at Halloween through the years:

{DYLAN}

 

Yep.  The skunk was, by far, my favorite!!! 

{ALEXANDRIA}

The pea pod was awesome, but I adored her bunny costume! 

{LILIANA}

 

The pea pod made a comeback for Lily's first Halloween!  I was a big fan of the poodle costume, though. She actually won a costume contest wearing it the following year!

{LIAM}

Liam was the Not-So-Big-Bad-Wolf for his first Halloween, but he wore the pea pod costume for a few other Trick or Treating events that year!

As for this year?  There isn't a theme in any way, shape, or form!  Stay tuned...

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Trick or Treat!

Yesterday was a day full of Halloween fun!

It was an extra special day, because it was Liliana's first Halloween (though they were much too big, she got to wear Dylan's first Halloween pajamas that Lexie also wore)!



The kids woke up to some Halloween treats from mommy and daddy!



Then Dylan put on his costume and headed off to school!



He said he had a fun Halloween party at school, but I thought it was lame. Only healthy snacks and no goody bags! Why can't kids have fun parties in school anymore?!?

Lexie's school party, on the other hand, was loads of fun, and she had goody bags filled with candy, toys, and cups. I'm the class historian, so I was in charge of taking pictures of the event, so I got to see all the fun she had!




After a quick trip home to rescue Papa from a cranky Lily (who refused her bottle), we went to party #2 of the day, at the library.

The kids painted bats, watched a movie, read a book, played a game, and ate popcorn and candy!



It was Lexie's last storytime for this session, and it won't start up again until January. I'll definitely be signing her up again!

We only had a little bit of down time at home before it was time for dinner and getting ready to trick or treat. It was cool and rainy out, which was a bummer, but we bundled up and headed out!




Grant and I could not stop laughing at Lexie. The girl talks nonstop and has to narrate everything she does! We were amazed at how much she's grown this year. Last year she was shy and timid, and I had to lead her up to every door. This year she did it all by herself!





Lexie only lasted about a half an hour before getting cold and tired. The wig came off, and shortly after, she and Daddy headed home.



Dylan wanted to trick or treat some more, so we kept going! No complaints from the baby, who slept the entire time!



The pea pod over the bjorn was a total flashback from 2007, when 8 month old Lexie was a pea pod!



Dylan and Lexie had a lot of fun, and Lily sure was the cutest sweet pea!





After a brief trip to see MawNaw, we headed home to bags of candy and goodies from the grandparents!

It was a cool, but successful Halloween night!





Dylan and Lexie had a fun day, and Liliana had a great first Halloween!