Scary Halloween Monsters, More cool kids albums, 20 lbs

Yes, last Friday night was Halloween. As we blogged about last week, we were prepared last Saturday with freshly carved pumpkins -- we were way ahead of the curve. The only problem was that we didn't expect the temperatures to be in the mid-70's all week. The beautiful pumpkins turned to complete mush by Friday. I think all of kids learned a lesson this year. I was just happy to get them off my porch on Friday night.

Now, on to the costumes....


Dustin was lucky enough this year to go trick or treating with his best friend and cousin, Austin Craner. Austin is looking awesome in his purple belt karate suit. Dustin was excited all week to dress up as Spiderman, big muscles and all. I had to threaten him to take the Spidey mask off for this picture.



After spending several futile months of persuading Kristen to go as some kind of princess this year, Kristen's stubborness wore off and she went as her favorite High School Musical character, Sharpay - complete with gold pants and shades. Since she already had the hair, we didn't have to shell out an extra $30 for that.



Ever since Katelyn was a baby, her costumes have been sweet and extremely unscary. Her first costume was of a bunny, she's been Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, etc. Well, this year Katelyn decided she wanted to be extremely scary, so she dressed up as her Aunt Tammy. I know I was scared.

This was Dallin's first year of being forbidden by his mean Mom and Dad from going Trick or Treating. This costume is actually what he wore during the day at School - the face paint is actually white-out. He's trying to put on a happy face here, but he's just not looking forward to his night of handing out Halloween Candy while the rest of the family trick or treated in the rain. (His story turned out good, however, as we allowed him to walk around the neighborhood with his friends and visit people).



Here's the whole crew - excited to get out in the rain and trick or treat. Except Dallin.

It didn't help Dallin when his 13-year old friends kept showing up for candy. Here's Kyle Cunningham.

We were also blessed with a visit from the cute Allgood girls - Macey, Rebecca and Kennedy. Rebecca is wearing Katelyn's aformentioned bunny costume.


We spent a good hour out in the rain, but the kids still managed to get a good haul of candy. Here's the proof from the little boys.


And here's Krissy's candy, nicely organized according to flavor, color and chocolate content.


During the course of the night, Dustin managed to slip and fall several times, effectively destroying his costume. Here's a shot of his torn up backside.

And here's a shot of his ripped up knee. Tragic.

Katelyn cut out a little early and only brought home a fraction of the candy the rest of the kids got. Either that or people were too scared of her costume. She was still happy with the candy haul, though.

Despite the rain, we all had a good time. I've had a good time pilfering all the chocolate I can when the kids go to sleep.

Dallin's Halloween Concert -- Dallin has been practicing hard all week and his perserverance paid off on Thursday as he played two songs in his Jazz Band's Halloween Concert. Here's a video of Thriller. I'll add Green Onions a little later.







And for the sake of those of you with slow connections -- here a few pictures of the event.



More Kid Album reviews -- This is a follow up review to the one I did last May about how my favorite band in the world, They Might Be Giants, release their newest album, Here come the 123's. This week I was introduced to two more kids albums which in turn reminded me of a third from my 80's teenage years.

Toy Dolls/Dig that Groove Baby, A Far Out Disc -- The Toy Dolls crept into my cassette tape rotation during my 16th year -- around 1986. As a good Mormon boy who loved fast-paced punk rock, these guys were a perfect fit for me because they were CLEAN!!!!! At the time, I listened to songs from the Suicidal Tendencies, and other bands with questionable names and the Toy Dolls were refreshing. They played silly songs about Elephants running off to Hindustan and about how a wonderful new ointment called Firey Jack would help your nagging back ache. It was funny, it was punk, it was fast, it was guitar heavy and it was clean. I still listen to both of these albums to this day.

The Aquabats/The Fury of the Aquabats -- A friend from work introduced me to this ska-heavy band that made it big in the 90's last week, and it felt like I was listening to the Toy Dolls all over again. A punk/ska sound right on par with my old school favorites -- The English Beat and The Specials -- but with lyrics any kid would get a kick out of of. They sing songs about pool parties and pizza day at the school cafeteria and other full-on silly things. And again, I love it.

Barenaked Ladies/Snacktime -- Dallin introduced me to this album -- I had no idea it was out or was coming out. If there was a band out there that acted like a bunch of kids already, it's these guys. Last year we bought their Christmas album and it became a family favorite around here. Snacktime is growing on me with songs that really remind me of the They Might Be Giants kids albums. Pollywog in a Bog is a song that I think could be a top-20 hit, in my world at least. The other songs deal with issues pressing to kids -- food, numbers, letters and other silly ideas from the minds of this amazing band.

So, there's my latest record review -- love it, buy em, comment!

I've come to the sad conclusion that I need to lose 20 lbs. The only problem is that I love to eat. Is there a way I can reconcile the two? All ideas are welcome.

Pat