Halloween

Happy Halloween from Link and Elsa!

Luke decided to be Link after he got to play "Legends of Zelda" on the Nintendo Switch. He loves the game, and he loves exploring the game as the character Link trying to save princess Zelda. 

Natalie has loved Elsa since this past summer, so it was an easy pick for her. Although she loves Elsa, she did not really love the dress-the material was a bit scratchy. But, after I put something on underneath it and then bribed her with a sucker, we managed to get her out the door in the dress to go trick-or-treating. 

First, we went to Hy-Vee to do the annual Halloween walk. Natalie saw a little girl (about her age) dressed as Minnie as we started the walk. Natalie exclaimed, "Ninnie!" Then, it was like seeing a girl dressed as Minnie helped her figure the whole Halloween thing out. She slowly looked down at her dress, pulled on the top of the dress, and whispered, "Elsa." Then, she looked up with an enlightened smile. She figured out that she was dressed as Elsa (even though we'd told her, it really hadn't set in yet). But, from that point on, she was happy to wear the dress! 

Natalie quickly figured out that people would put treats in her Olaf bucket if she walked up to them. She had a blast! 

After Hy-vee we stopped by two friends' houses and then headed home to hit up the neighborhood. Natalie was a happy girl, and Luke was really into the trick-or-treating this year. After ten or so houses we headed home, and Natalie and I handed out candy while Luke and Jacob went out to another part of the neighborhood. This picture shows the total loot after the first round. Natalie LOVED the dum dum suckers, and Luke was excited about the Twizzlers and pretty much everything.  

This was after the second round of trick-or-treating with Jacob. There was even a house who had a bonfire and handed out hot chocolate. This guy had such a great evening! 

When the kids gathered all of their loot, this was the result. Sheesh! 

It's always fun looking back on each year's costume. Here is Luke 1st Halloween up to his 5th Halloween. 

Last year, this year...

Natalie had such a great Halloween. It was so much fun hearing her talk about "unkins" (pumpkins), ghosts, bats, and witches. Her favorite Halloween book was definitely "The Scariest in the Castle," a sweet book about a bat who was actually cute, not scary. Can't wait to see what costume she chooses next year!