Halloween

Jessie and Woody

( This is # 4 post of catching up)We had quite the festive Halloween this year- it lasted a whole week long! My mom does a Halloween Family Home Evening, and has since I was a kid. It has evolved as our family has grown from 10 people to almost 40- but the basic concept is the same. All the kids dress up- and any of the adults who are still cool enough to dress up. We have dinner, play games and have a pinata. 

Cake walk with all the cousins

Clark eating his apple from the 'bobbing for apples'
game

Kate and Ella spent most of the night on the teeter totter.

My brother Dave helping Clark with the Pinata

Kate's turn!

Next that week was the Johnson pumpkin carving contest. We always get together a few days before Halloween to eat pigs in a blanket and carve pumpkins. Some of the spouses carve their own pumpkin- but I just get the guts out and Ryan carves it. I's a big competition to see who has the most creative pumpkin. The boys go all out. It takes them hours to complete it.

Auntie Jenny and Uncle Jeffy

Grandma gave the grandkids little pumpkins to paint.

Clark, Trevor and Kate with their painted pumpkins

Ellie

In addition to our Monday and Thursday night parties, Ryan's work has a Halloween office party every year. It's basically just for the kids to come and trick or treat around to all the offices and cubbies. They serve lunch and give us a chance to show off our cute kids.

All the kids and parents at the Okland party

Last but not least was the ward Trunk or Treat. This was quite the headache for me- as I was still the activities committee chairman. There was drama about the date, and we ended up combining with another ward on Saturday night. There was tons of food, games and of course candy. Kate and Clark got so much candy that night we didn't bother taking them out on Halloween. I also got this great idea from my friend Heather, called the Pumpkin Fairy. The kids put their basket of candy outside their door at night, and the Pumpkin Fairy comes and exchanges their candy for some type of prize. We let Kate and Clark enjoy their candy for a few days, and then the 'Pumpkin Fairy' took their candy and left them each a new movie. 
Halloween night we had some friends over for a 'Halloween' dinner. We had dinner in a pumpkin, witches fingers (sugar cookies shaped like fingers) , bones (stick pretzels with mini marshmallows on each end dipped in white chocolate), dirt cups and punch with frozen juice hands. To top off the night we watched 'Nightmare before Christmas'- because to me- that is a Halloween movie, not a Christmas movie!