Halloween Recap - 2014

This year, for Halloween, we did another family costume. Last year, we went as the Wizardof Oz and this year, we went as Despicable Me 2. Andy was Gru, I was Lucy and Alex, of course, was a minion. 

Sitting on the stoop, waiting for trick-or-treaters to stop by

Alex wanted his face painted this year, so I decided to paint it yellow. As you can see by him seeing himself in the mirror, he absolutely loved being in costume and having his face painted (I think we may be related). I really want to make Halloween fun for him, so he enjoys it as much as I do. 

We went trick-or-treating on our block, then headed home to hand out candy and, after we passed out our last bag, we went just one street North, where they shut down the street and almost every other brownstone is decked out. Alex had so much fun running from place-to-place—not sure if it was the candy before-hand, or the excitement of the crowd, but he was so excited to partake in some family friendly Halloween activities. 

Carving Pumpkins

I was up very late on Thursday carving my three pumpkins (3am, which made work the next day tough!). I am not sure I will be doing this again next year, as they were incredibly time consuming. They were beautiful, but they were a lot of work and my arms were sore from carving for about two days after. 

I did make some fabulous pumpkin seeds from them, though—recipe below. The best way I can describe them is pumpkin seeds/Chex Mix.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 tablespoons of margarine, melted

 1/2 teaspoon of salt

 1/8 teaspoon of garlic salt

 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

 2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds

DIRECTIONS

1.       Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).

2.       Combine the margarine, salt, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce and pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly and place in shallow baking dish.

3.       Bake for 1-1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Andy, Alex and our pumpkins were certainly a hit (most people did not know who I was!). After bath, we read every Halloween book we have (I am ready to retire them for the year). All-in-all, it was another fabulous Halloween!