Happy Halloween!

But first, a theory: Seasonal change throws Mabes off. I can't explain it, but I was talking to Sarah this spring and venting about how crazy Mabes was being and she suggested that the weather change/wind might affect her. Interesting, as I remembered screaming fits about that time the year before. For some reason, the teachers at Ainsleigh's school had observed that on windy days, the kids were insane. Not snow or rain, just wind.

So lately she's been...off. And it's not the first time. So I'm going to ignore the monster fit she threw an hour ago leaving our friends' house and chalk it up to the madness which is October. And know that if the past season changes are any indication, this too will pass.

Other than the aforementioned fits, we've had a great weekend. Friday night was our ward Trunk-or-Treat party, and Mabes has been looking forward to this for weeks. I decided that I really wanted to make a fun costume for Mabes, but didn't want it to be a princess or fairy. Somehow I talked her into being a witch ("I'll make you a cool tutu!"), and Mabes accepted on the condition that she'd be "a good witch wif my regaree face, not a mean witch wif a green face." And she got even more excited when she thought of a coordinating costume for Ricecake:

(In case you can't tell, Ricecake is a black cat)

And I kind of love the hat I made:

She had a blast at the party; she loved the games, the candy, and of course just running around. Actually, I think the running around was the highlight. We returned home, tired, and she declared it her best day ever.

Trying to get the donut.

Today, Mabes helped Dave carve her first pumpkin. When we picked out the pumpkin, Mabes decided to name her Perryanna, since she appeared to be Perry's big sister. While we were scooping out the seeds, Mabes kept petting her and telling her it wouldn't hurt, it's just what we needed to do to make her pretty.
She sketched a drawing of the face she wanted on PerryAnna, and Dave set to work. Here's the almost-finished product with the magnadoodle drawing and Mabes making a similar face:

Dave added a finishing touch, and Mabes loves her:

As we were getting Mabes' costume on tonight, it started raining. We drove over to our friend's neighborhood in a downpour, but fortunately it let up as everyone was getting ready to head out. We had a great time trick-or-treating, eating candy, and hanging out and laughing with friends. But thank heavens tomorrow is November.