Halloween Events and Traditions 2017

As every fall, October marks the start of our busy holiday season, with tons of local events to attend celebrating each holiday.  Halloween is definitely one of our favorites, and having more than one costume has become kind of a tradition, now.  I love getting creative and trying to DIY my best attempt, and this year was no exception!  

We started our first Halloween event of the season at Black Mountain's Trunk or Treat.  It always falls on the Thursday before Halloween, but this year, school was out for Nevada Day on Friday, so it was much busier than years past.  We waited in a lot of long lines, but the kids still had a good time, cashing in on their first Trick or Treat of the year, plus playing lots of games along the trick or treat path.  We met up with the Nowaks and Goodnows for a few minutes, but because it was so busy, we ended up getting separated for some time.  The boys were able to play games together towards the end, and it was fun to see that they are finally old enough to understand and be able to play most of them! 

We didn't get a ton of pictures this night since I was busy chasing Acelyn more than half the time, but I'm glad we were able to continue the tradition, especially with our friends that have been coming with us since the boys were babies!  

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A few days later, Lake Las Vegas was supposed to put on a Trick or Treat event, so we got all costumed up in our Moana gear and headed over.  To our disappointment, there was NO trick or treating going on except at one store.  We were bummed, but the kids didn't really care much and enjoyed running around in their costumes, so it wasn't a complete fail!

We visited the hay maze and a few photo set ups they had, and basically just walked around the village for a bit before heading home!

On Monday, the day before Halloween, we planned on heading to Opportunity Village's HallOVeen, as another annual tradition that we've loved every year!  Nolan was super excited and was really looking forward to this for a while.  As we entered the gates, the attendants loved his costume so much, they gave him a wristband to ride everything for free all night!  Sweet deal!  As soon as we entered, the kids were instantly excited about all the lights!

We met up with the Espejos and their family, but soon went separate ways as they grabbed some food and we visited some attractions. Nolan was brave and excited to try the "haunted house", which was really the inside of this dragon-thing, so we traveled through his body to his heart, lungs and his stomach, all in complete darkness!  We used our phones for some extra light, and Nolan loved it!

He played some games and then asked to go through the Fun House, so I grabbed Acelyn and we all entered, while Daddy waited with the stroller outside.  I wasn't sure if Nolan would like this or be scared, so we went through quickly, but he ended up thinking it was all pretty funny!  Acelyn did well and only got a little scared with the loud bangs at the end. 

We headed to the Trick or Treat trail, and the kids loved walking to each station and seeing all the fun decorations in between.  Acelyn caught on quickly and realized that she would receive candy if she lifted her bucket to the attendees, so she was all about it!  She loved carrying her bucket around, and often stopped to touch or stare at the decorations.

We met back up with the group and wanted to all ride the Haunted Express train, but we needed to grab a few extra tickets and it took longer than expected, so we hung back and took the next one.  We boarded, Nolan picked his nose in his photo while I got some smiles with Princess Poppy, and we were off!  I love taking the train around every year, because it gives you a full look at all of the lights, and Nolan is obsessed with the spooky tunnel.  He was really into it this year, and Acelyn even got into waving to everyone as we passed. 

It was getting late after the train ride, and although we wanted to hop on the carousel, the line was waaaay too long, so we packed up and said See Ya to Opportunity Village for the fall season.  It was another memorable and fun year!

On Halloween night, we spent it with our besties, the Lukses, at their annual get together, which we've been doing since Scarlett was a baby!  The kids chose their Trolls costumes once again, and we took some pictures before all heading out to go door to door in their neighborhood. Somehow we managed to get a group shot of all the kids and considered it a success, so we gathered the troops and off we went!  I was 100% unable to get any pictures (except 2 random shots) of Trick or Treating, because Nolan was a maniac running everywhere and Acelyn couldn't decide if she wanted to walk, run, be held, be on her own... she was a hot mess.  It was a stressful walk around the block, but the kids made out like bandits with candy, and I had about 20 pieces back at home to make up for the chaos!  

We had a great Halloween-filled month, and hope everyone had a Happy Halloween, too!