Adventures of a Pumpkin

Elliot is very enthusiastic about pumpkins. We got a Halloween book from the library about a month ago to prep him for the madness that is Halloween, and he really embraced the pumpkin. 

Our first Halloween activity was a party for toddlers thrown at the Clubhouse. Elliot had lots of buddies there and had a great time. 

He was too busy running around for me to get a good picture.

There was a long line for the "Halloween" train, so I stuck him in a car with some friends.
He pulled his usual "suck thumb and pretend to be bored" trick. 

The Hays were kind enough to loan us a Pumpkin costume to wear.

Trying to convince him the hat was fun.
We failed. 

Rocking the pumpkin at the Stake Halloween Party

Oh Daddy

He didn't 100% grasp the concept of bowling, but still had a great time. 

The party consisted of carnival style booths outside and a dinner buffet in the gym. There were outdoor tables for eating. Unfortunately, a surprise thunderstorm hit, and everyone rushed inside all at once. We ended up eating in a crammed classroom with an assortment of superheros and part of the Greek Pantheon. I looked at a clock and realized that it was time for my shift on the snow cone machine. I went outside in the rain, and sure enough there was still a long line for the snow cones. There was a pop up tent covering it, but the kids were all getting soaked and fairly cold while waiting in line for their sugared ice. 

It eventually stopped raining and was actually quite nice. The booths opened back up (the ones that closed- some brave souls stuck it out the whole time) and we hung out for a while. 

Aaron and I were Apple Pi, and Elliot was Pumpkin Pi. His Pi was mostly disintegrated by the end of the night. 

Then it was Halloween night! We set up camp chairs in our driveway and taught Elliot how to give out candy. He was really slow at first because he had to stare at the costumes for a while before he could move. By the end of the night, he would toss a handful of candy into any bag presented to him, and would give a second handful if they didn't move out of the way fast enough. He also sampled a couple of lollipops (his first) and had a nice sticky drool thing going on.

The Candy Distributor

The Saturday after Halloween, we went to a "Pumpkin Smash" in Tucson. It was a fun way to get rid of pumpkins sponsored by a food bank and community garden. The main events were a group of trebuchets that were launching pumpkins 200+ feet into a big compost pile, and an area where you can smash your own pumpkins with a giant mallet. There was also an adorable kids mariachi band to provide some ambiance. It was held on the grounds of a community garden

Flying pumpkins? Awesome! Elliot kept asking for more.