Before I pull out the garland and twinkle lights, because there is no shame in my November decorating game, I want to take a minute to share our Halloween. This year is was on a Friday (chef’s kiss!) which really added a relaxed and easy feel to the festivities!

The girls usually start discussing what they want to dress up as for Halloween mid-summer and they tossed around a few different ideas for months, trying to decide if they wanted to coordinate with a theme or go rogue. It was touch and go there for a bit, but once K locked in on her choice, H soon followed suit, unable to resist the idea of a family theme. They still like for David and me to be in on it, so I’ll ride that train as long as they let me.

Next thing you know, we all had assigned roles straight out of the pages of… The Hunger Games! We read the trilogy together a couple years ago and have seen the movies several times as well. The juxtaposition of the tough archer girl and an over-the-top capital citizen lined up nicely for our duo.

K had one request: that she be allowed to create her own costume. Are you kidding me? That’s my dream! I love a homemade costume. H’s costume was easy to pull together, already owning black leggings and a black shirt, she just needed a Mockingjay pin (thank you, Amazon) and a leather jacket, which we found for $3 on Poshmark because it was so tattered (perfect for its intended purpose).

With Effie and Katniss all set, they assigned David and me our roles, Haymitch and Katniss’ mom respectively. David’s came together simply with a unkept blonde wig, a vest, and a glass of bourbon. Mine was arguably even easier with a simple dress paired with a forlorn countenance.

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Getting ready was fun. K insisted on doing her own make up, which I was blown away by. Her skills far outweigh mine! Paired with the bejeweled lashes we grabbed at Walmart, she shined as Effie! I helped H with Katniss’ signature braid and she even let me put a little makeup on her, just for fun. David and I took off a little early to grab pizzas for the group, then we met up at our neighborhood pavilion to kick off the evening with the trick or treating crew.

We ate pizza and chili, admired each other’s efforts, socialized, and voted on costumes. As the sunset, the kids loaded up in the hayride trailer and we followed in golf carts, riding street to street. At each street our neighbors were gathered for bonfires and fellowship and greeted the hoard of kids that came in like a plague of locusts with open arms. It gave us a chance to see and chat with all our neighbors, too, and it was such a sweet experience. Last year we were newly moved in and hardly knew a soul; this year it felt like catching up with friends. What a sweet change a year can make!

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After the kids loaded up on candy we all headed back to the pavilion for the best part- to sort and trade the goods! We counted the votes for the costume contest and the results were: Best group costume: Disney villains- a family of 7 that were creative and so well executed! Most creative- a pair of… 6-7! IYKYK. And best overall? Our very own Effie Trinket! K was tickled.

All in all, it was such a fun night. We were in bed by around 10:00, which I appreciate because we had a weekend packed full of soccer for the girls’ end of season tournaments. Our Saturday and Sunday were packed with 8 games all around town. We lucked out with beautiful weather and had such a fun time cheering on our girls. H’s team ended up taking the gold, an exciting end to a great season! K’s team fared quite the opposite, but our girl had fun rocking it at goalie nonetheless.

Overall it was a great Halloween weekend. I mean, Georgia even somehow pulled off that win against Florida! Deserved? Perhaps not. But I’ll take that W we squeaked out.

And now… onto November!