Happy Halloween!

Halloween was different for us this year. For the past 5 years we've done the same thing. It was definitely a tradition. But things changed up a bit this year so we had to say so long to that tradition and do something new.

The day started off already so fun! At the school I teach at and Ella goes to, we had a fall festival. Everyone wore their costumes to school and we played games and made crafts!

Here is my sweet girl dressed up as Ariel!! Let me tell you that she wore that wig for 3 solid days! She wants her hair to be long so badly that she'll take towels, shirts, or a jump rope...whatever she can use to imagine her hair is long. So this wig was just the best thing ever.






This is one of Ella's really good friends, Annie.


Part of my job as the music teacher is that every Monday morning I lead the entire school in some silly songs. This morning I had to get a picture of all the kids (or some of the kids) in their costumes before we did our songs. They were just so cute!






This is one of Ella's teachers! She's so sweet!


Ella & Joshua...Melissa (Josh's mom) and I were SHOCKED because we can never get a picture of the two of them together. It's one for the record book.








This is Ella's Kindergarten class!


After school was over, Ella & I headed home and rested for a couple of hours. We still had a whole evening planned. After resting, I took Ella trick or treating for a just a bit around to our neighbors houses that we know.


We live in a neighborhood with a lot of retired people. We love them. They are so sweet and love Ella and are always looking out for us. I can't tell you how many times one of them have come over to let me know that I left the doom light on in my car. ha!


Our normal Halloween tradition is to go to our church's huge Fall-A-Palooza! It's always so much fun and Heath, Ella & I always go way out on our costumes (which is always a bit stressful for me). This year, our church switched it up a bit. Instead of having one big event, we had church families volunteer and throw kind of like mini Fall-A-Paloozas at their houses. That way we're taking our church into the neighborhoods. It was a way for families to build relationships with their neighbors and be able to share with them in a smaller setting the Gospel. It was a HUGE success. Every host home had amazing stories to share. I'm so glad it turned out so great.

Ella and I went over to our good friend's house, the Murrells. They were a host home and we wanted to support them. It was lots of fun. This is Ella & her precious friend Klaire. This year, Heath and I did not dress up as tradition, which took a load off of me!


The Murrells had a bounce house, which I think Ella would live in if given the option. :-)






Another picture of Josh & Ella! 2 pics of them in one day is definitely a record!


When Daddy got off work, he was just in time to enjoy some bounce house time with his little girl!