"I wanna be gagon"

I wasn't really sure what I wanted Hudson to be for Halloween so we headed to try some costumes on.  We saw a toddler t-rex costume on the shelf that looked pretty cool so we tried it on him. Right now he is way into all things that roar and growl, top favs being dinosaurs and dragons.  He looked so cute in it and kept growling at us.  I was sold until I checked the price tag and they wanted forty dollars for it.  Ummmm, no.  Now I was bound and determined to find another dinosaur costume for him.  A couple of days later I was taking some stuff over to Kid to Kid by the house and they had put out all of their Halloween costumes.  We started checking the racks and Deke brought over a green dragon costume.    

We put it on him and instantly he went into character, putting his hands up and roaring at us as we pretended to run from him.  This only made him grin wider and growl louder.  Some of the cashiers started laughing and saying how adorable he looked and how cute he was.  He turned and started growling at them.  He looked so ridiculously cute in it.  The little hand and foot claws, the tail that would swing as he toddled around and of course it had wings.  Since it was gently used and they were on sale we got it for a whoppin six dollars!! Best costume buy ever.

We brought it home and he wanted to wear it every day, every. day.  I had it in my closet and in the morning as I was getting ready for work he would go to the closet door and say, "I wanna be gagon."  I would tell him we had to go to work and he didn't love that answer.  As soon as we got home from work, "I wanna be gagon" he would announce and head for my room.  So on the costume would go until naptime.  There was definitely more than one meltdown about having to take the costume off to go somewhere or do other things.  "I love my gagon costume" he would tell us.  When he would put it on he would ask to fly and Deke or I would lift him in the air and fly him around the house.  We would chase the older kids around and they would yell, "look out for the dragon, it's going to eat me!!"  Hudson would belly laugh until he could hardly breathe.  This is why I love Halloween.  I love the imagination that comes out in my kids when they put on their costumes.  I feel like pretend play is disappearing in kids these days and I don't want that to happen to mine.  Kid, playing dragons with you and flying you around the living room is a blast.  You are so much fun :)

Halloween night

Halloween night was busy but fun as always.  Mom and Grandma Hatch were both in town and came over to go trick or treating with us.  We pretty much walked the entire subdivision.  Every year the kids amaze me at how much they can walk.  Hudson wanted to walk with the big kids all the way until the very end when it was way past bedtime.  

We had been out for awhile when the kids raced up to a door, knocked and no one answered.  The kids eager to maximize their time quickly turned around and headed over to the next house.  I looked and noticed Hudson was not trailing behind them.  I turned back around and found him still at the door knocking away. "Come on Hudson they are not home, let's go to the next house" we told him.  "No, get a treat (which is his version of trick or treat)!" he insisted and stood there.  He kept knocking as we called for him again to come.  "Noooooooo, get a treat!" he said again frustrated.  He was not budging.  We had to walk up to the door and pick him up with him still fussing about it.  He was so confused why they wouldn't open their door.  It was hilarious.

One house in the neighborhood was decked out with all sorts of spooky things.  The kids walked up to the front door and someone popped out and scared them.  Emma stayed with me in the street and was having no part of it.

Deke and I finally had to cut them off, we headed back so they could dump their buckets and start trading.  They sat and counted, grouped and traded candy until it was time for bed.  Another fun Halloween at the Burch's :) :)

The Death Eater, the gymnast, a princess and her dragon

In the past the kids have had a hard time deciding on their Halloween costumes.  This year it was crazy how quickly they not only decided on a costume but they stuck with it and didn't change their minds.  

Avery wanted to be a gymnast so we found a cute outfit and a gold medal for her.  She asked to wear some makeup so I put some blush, mascara and lipstick on her.  When she stepped away from the mirror and looked at me I got emotional.  She looked ten or eleven, definitely not eight and soooooo pretty.  Those big brown eyes, gorgeous long thick hair and nice tan skin, she is so beautiful.  All night I kept looking at her and could envision what she is going to look like as a teenager.  She may not be allowed to date :) :)

Hunter decided to be a death eater from Harry Potter.  He used his wand from his eighth birthday, spray painted a mask from Hobby Lobby and a black robe.  In order to look like a realistic death eater he had to have a "dark mark" so I found some temporary tattoos on amazon for him, they were sweet.

We found both Emma's and Hudson's costumes at the same place and when she found this princess dress she loved it right away.  It was sleeveless so I added some cap sleeves, we spray painted a small tiara and tada!!  She had no trouble playing the the role of royalty and every time she put it on she would straighten her shoulders, ask us to address her as "your highness" and curtsy every five minutes,  She was so cute!!  She looks so big to me in these pictures too.  She definitely does not look like a four year old.  

We found a dragon costume that Hudson absolutely LOVED.  I am pretty sure he wore it everyday from the time we bought it.  I love seeing the costumes all come together, they all looked so adorable. 

"Get a treat"

We took the fam to our annual trunk or treat at the church.  Enjoyed some chili and cornbread and then played carnival games until it started to get dark.  One of the guys in our ward had set up this cool game called Ghost Cannon creating fog inside of a trash can and the kids could aim it and hit the plastic to try and hit one of the Halloween items with the fog ring.  It was really neat and the kids had a blast learning how to aim it and create a perfect ring.  

Every time someone would drop a new candy in his bucket, Hudson would stop, take it out and inspect it and talk to me about it.  He would play for awhile and then stop and look inside his bucket to check on everything.

Hunter joined up with a group of friends to go around playing games and Deke and I wandered from game booth to game booth letting the kids play the games.  The girls loved tossing the sponge at Bro. Crockett and trying to douse him.

Hudson's favorite was the bean bag toss.

Once it was dark we started going trunk to trunk.  We had been talking to Hudson about everything and explaining what to do.  He had been pretend trick or treating for two weeks with Ave and Em.  The cutest thing was that instead of saying trick or treat he would say "get a treat."  At the first two cars he hung back and watched the other three and by the third one he was ready.  Tailing behind them he walked up, "get a treat!" he said jubilantly to the couple and then offered up his bucket.  They started laughing and he almost bailed until they dropped some candy in.  He looked back at us grinning and then ran to catch up with the big sisters.  Every single car he said "get a treat!" and then held up his bucket.  He wouldn't let us help carry it so he would hold it until it was practically dragging behind him and we made him empty some out into the back of the stroller.

After all the trunks had been visited we stopped by the cotton candy stand because if you are going sugar overload might as well do it right.  Then piled into the car where we all listened to Hudson jabber away about trick or treating and candy and "keletons" over and over again.