trick or treat magic

this was our first official year of trick or treating with the kids.  they each rang the doorbell (sorry, neighbors!) and got lots of complements and treats.

eli had to practice a little bit beforehand...

our pumpkin carving tradition was extra special this year because the pumpkins came back with us from michigan!!

ava even "helped" (for 23 seconds), which was a big step from last year when she didn't want to get messy at all.  she said the gooey insides felt "comfortable."

 they had a little time to play in the backyard before it got dark...

we also started a new tradition this year.  since eli is allergic to the majority of the candy we let the kids pick a couple pieces for themselves then left the rest of the loot for the sugarplum fairy.  overnight she traded the candy for something special!  this year the kids got the movie, rio!  she uses the candy to build sweet houses for fairies in fairyland!  ava was extremely excited about this!!