The weeks leading up to Halloween were not short of excitement.  Our families really know how to make the most out of a holiday, I’ll tell you that.

I made Japanese noodles with shrimp and they were BOMB.  So easy and even low calorie!  All three of us liked the meal, actually. Wednesday we had family photos scheduled.  They went about as well as the last ones in Mexico – but luckily this time there wasn’t sand involved.  My cousin’s cousin took them [does this mean she’s my second cousin?] and we were all thrilled with how well she captured some group photos of all of us.  Even to get back a few good ones was a success if you ask me!

Sloan already loves Halloween.  Her favorite book is SPOOKY HOUSE (a lift-the-flap book about a haunted house) and she begs me to read it every single day.  So I thought it would be fun to make some festive treats – frozen banana chocolate ghosts…

…and a caramel apple with the leftover white chocolate for myself.  It isn’t much to look at – but it tasted just as good as those Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory get-ups.

Zach left Friday to go hunting with the men in his family.  He stayed through the weekend so Sloan and I spent all weekend, just the two of us.  

Sloan came down with a horrible cold – the same one I had while we were in Mexico.  We laid low and hung out at home a lot.  We made some festive cookies for our neighbors and I still can’t help but laugh at how they turned out.  We melted white and black chocolate and froze them in teeth molds to top our sugar cookies.  Who knew there was edible gold paint?  Not me! 

Sloan started feeling better a few days later.  Good enough to go about our normal routine of park hopping and leaf stomping.  

She asked to make another batch of cookies, so I obliged.  Again, giving them out to our neighbors and some friends.  

We decorated Halloween cookies with my side of the family at my aunt’s house a few Sundays beforehand. My sister-in-law brought unfrosted Fiiz sugar cookies for us to frost and they were a hit. Sloan thought they could use some sprinkles, however.

I made a friend at a local Smith’s who told me when Halo Top was re-stocked each week.  So my supply of my favorite flavor – sea salt caramel – is great right now.  It is by far the best of their new flavors, a must-try!

Sloan and I took a field trip of our own to a nearby pumpkin patch and I let her select her very own “special” pumpkin to decorate with stickers at home.  She actually did a great job all on her own! 

Zach came home soon after and we were glad to have him back before all the other holiday festivities.  Our days just aren’t the same without him in them.