A "Spooktacular" Day!

             I love Halloween! It's such a good excuse to dress up, carve a pumpkin, and eat some candy. Seriously, what could be better... (besides Christmas)? Our family started our Halloween celebration last Saturday. Austin finished a demanding cardio block the day before, and it was incredible having a few days to be together as a family without stressing about school - I was beginning to forget what that was like! We started the day out by watching the University of Minnesota defeat Nebraska with some impressive play-calling. That really put Austin in a good mood.

             Lydia may not have woken up on the right side of the crib, but she was thrilled to get out of the apartment and play outside with her daddy before we went on a breathtaking hike at Hoyt Park, just down the street. We didn't realize that the park had such a lovely trail along the river. Lydia enjoyed quacking at the ducks and was a happy camper the entire time we were out. We even came across a couple of dogs that she could bark at. That's pretty much her idea of a perfect afternoon.

         
           
            Later that evening we headed over to the church for the ward Halloween party. We were in charge of decorating a door and handing out candy for the trick-or-treaters. Of course I cheated and found the scarecrow idea off of pintrist. I thought it turned out pretty cute, and it was fun putting it together with Austin's help. Lydia was so excited by all of the people in costumes that she just ran around in circles for the longest time when I tried to bring her trick-or-treating. Austin finally picked her up and made sure that she got a full basket of candy, which she was pretty excited about. The party ended with a chili dinner and door/costume awards. Believe it or not, we got a prize for our costumes! I've always wanted to win a prize at a costume contest, so that's one thing I can make off my bucket list.

         
            The rest of the evening all Lydia wanted to do was inspect her candy. She repeatedly took it out of her basket and tried to eat through the wrappers. Sometimes she wanted to share and would try to shove the candy in our mouths. Lydia's sugar-highs are pretty awesome. I'll have to capture that on video sometime. She runs around squealing with delight. I don't know how to keep up with that child. Needless to say, Lydia loves Halloween!