Eat, Drink, & Be Scary

Last October we were still in the woods as far as life in Utah was concerned. It was hard to see the forest from the trees, and I spent a lot of time just putting my energy towards helping all of us adapt to our new surroundings...different friends, a different school, and different living quarters. So many changes! But Halloween brought a lot of fun-filled activities that helped all of us feel more at home: our ward's traditional outdoor dinner and carnival (right here on our street), the annual elementary school's costume parade, and of course, trick-or-treating.







It must not have been enough though -- because in addition to all of that, we decided to go completely crazy and cave to our daughters' pleadings to host a bash for 15 little girls, haha! A few years ago, I started thinking about how much fun it would be to throw a Halloween costume party for the girls when AnnMarie became a 5th grader, mainly because my parents threw one for me when I was that age. My Mom went all out, too, by hosting a 4 course meal (complete with menus -- all items disguised in creepy names), ghoulish games, a costume competition, and a piñata to finish off the night -- so I knew that if I was going to do it, I had to do it right! She set such a high standard in so many areas, haha! (I never anticipated doing something like this right after a major move, but I've realized over the years that life just doesn't stop amidst life changes.)

The invitations turned out SO CUTE, so of course we invited double the amount of people that we originally planned on, but hey -- it was a great way to jump in and get to know the neighborhood! The dinner was WAY trickier than we expected -- and Jared and I were completely exhausted halfway through the party -- but all of the girls were well-fed, and they LOVED being surprised by the many different combinations of food on their plate.

AnnMarie and Carlie helped me plan the menu, which was so fun in and of itself.

Witch’s Brew (drink)

Werewolf’s Road kill (meat lovers pizza)

Rotting Worms (ramen noodles)

Giant’s Toes (large steamed carrots)

Zombie Boogers (fresh cut corn)

Bat Eyes (olives)

Witch Fingers (dill pickles)

Skeleton Bones w/Pumpkin Guts (little hard bread sticks w/cheddar dipping)

Ghost Poop (marshmallows)

Harvest Moon (sherbet ice cream scoop)

Slop Catcher (napkin)

Grave Digger (spoon)

Back Stabber (knife)

Vulture Claws (fork)









I obviously don't have a plethora of pictures to document the madness, but it was very memorable, and considering everything we learned (via trial & error), we might just have to do it again in a few years.