Halloween '19

We started off the Halloween season by going to the pumpkin patch in Mesilla, New Mexico. 

That’s a huge chair! I wonder if giants come to visit the pumpkin patch too?

Just inside the gates is a big stack of tires painted orange like pumpkins. It was lots of fun to climb up the, and get a view of the grounds. 

The kids loved climbing on an old tractor display, too. 

We used a collapsible wagon to cart the younger kids around and to help carry water bottles and such. 

The kids had fun exploring some tunnels made out of large diameter pipes

But the most fun we had was on the slides they had set up there! You sat on a burlap sack to help you race quickly down the slides. 

The kids loved it so much they would run back up to get in line again as soon as they got to the bottom!

It was tons of fun for the whole family. 

The main reason for going to the pumpkin patch was of course to get some pumpkins. 

What a festive fall photo! Sitting on hay bales surrounded by pumpkins. 

There were lots of different size, shape, and shades of pumpkins to choose from. 

We found some winners and loaded them up into our wagon to take home and decorate!

We carved the pumpkins with the big kids but not the twins. We learned carved pumpkins didn’t last long in the hot El Paso weather. We got some Halloween sticker decorations for Grandma Carson though, so the kids put those on their pumpkins as more decoration. 

The twins hard at work decorating their pumpkins!

We had a few different Halloween activities to attend, so the kids had a chance to wear a few different Halloween costumes. Here are the kids trying on their outfits for our German family costumes. 

These are authentic traditional clothes that Tyler’s family wore back in the 1980s and 1990s when they were living in Germany. The boys even tried out some mustache options for the full effect!

Other costume options included fairy princess outfits for the girls 

And a Batman costume for Andrew. He looks more like Commissioner Gordon in this picture though!

Here’s Tyler in a German outfit that his dad wore 30 years ago! We got the hat and mustache to complete the costume, but the shirt and lederhosen are authentic. 

The church was very well decorated. They had a castle backdrop that had been used for a play at the local theater studio. Our costumes fit right in as a German family standing in front of a castle!

The being began with a delicious dinner in the cultural hall. 

We then moved to different games and activities set up in other rooms throughout the church building. Mommy was in charge of a game in the Primary room. Pumpkin bowling! 

The cake walk was a big hit with our kids. It’s good to get regular Halloween candy, but an extra special treat to win some delicious cupcakes!

As you can see Andrew changed into his Batman costume after dinner was over. He wanted to show off how cool he looked to his church friends!

We had a great time at the ward Halloween party, eating a delicious dinner, seeing friends, and our kids even won a couple of cupcakes from the cake walk!

The second Halloween activity for the season was at the kids school, Tom Lea Elementary. We ran into some friends at the party, its fun to see familiar faces and watch the kids play together

We also ran into Grandma Debbie, our neighbor, at the school. She was there with her daughter (who teaches at the school) and her granddaughters. 

In addition to Halloween candy, the kids could win little toys from some of the games too. 

Some games were easier than others, but all of them were fun and gave good prizes!

There were a number of Soldiers from Fort Bliss volunteering to fun games. 

Playing on the school playground

Christian had a blast jumping in the bouncy house!

They had a big inflatable obstacle course that the kids went through it was fun but the big kids had to help the twins through some of the obstacles. What good older siblings!

Andrew and Sylvia opted to wear their Batman and fairy princess costumes, while the rest of the family stuck with our German outfits. 

We ended the evening by sitting down to eat some dinner. 

There were a number of food trucks in front of the school offering a variety of different food options. 

We weren’t sure the kids got enough sugar that night, so we also got them a big stick of cotton candy. They loved it!

The third and final Halloween activity was on actual Halloween. We had dinner at a friends house followed by trick or treating in the neighborhood. 

Rachel made a cheese ball shaped like a pumpkin, complete with a pepper stem to complete the look. It looked very good and tasted even better!

Once we were done eating we went out trick or treating in the neighborhood. 

It was lots of fun being in a group of friends with lots of little kids!

Here’s an obligatory selfie!

We had a wonderful Halloween season and made lots of good memories with friends and neighbors.