Tonight was the big Halloween party at Red Hat! It was a little different this year, being at our new HQ, and with some restrictions on the number of folks allowed to attend. We nearly didn’t get our wristbands, but thanks to some hardcore near-tears begging on my part (“They’ve never missed a Red Hat Halloween, every year since they were born!”), we secured a spot for the kids. 😉 It took some wrangling to get everyone where they needed to be in time for the party, and I surprised Kendall by picking her up earlier than she expected. I received a pretty epic welcome from Kendall.. She yelled “Mommeeeeeee!” and ran toward me with her arms out for a hug–only to quickly dodge and run away laughing at the last second! Silly girl. She was so proud bringing me her daily sheet–what a sweet smile. Then, we were off to the tower, quickly dressed the kids and hustled inside to the party, where the real chaos began! I’ve got to say, for limited attendance, the place sure was packed. 😉 There were games, snacks, candy, balloons, face painting, cake pops, a haunted house, glitter tattoos, even more carnival games, just a ton of things to do. We were pretty excited to see Nico and Logan dressed up as Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper (and I loved seeing twin babies Luke and Leia!) Brian got an orange pumpkin glitter tattoo on his hand. Both kids got cotton candy, and we all had a big laugh at how enthusiastically Kendall ate hers up! We did just about everything, and the kids ended up with a huge pile of candy and prizes. All too soon, it was time to head home. We had a bit of drama in the lobby, where Brian lost his balloon and it floated up out of reach. The front desk staff, Brandon, and some of his engineering buddies worked out a solution, and used the umbrella bag holder to snag it! Then, Kendall had a full-on meltdown, as she realized she didn’t have a balloon, collapsing face-first onto the carpet into a fluffy pile of glitter and tulle (we couldn’t even see her under that hat!) A kind mom and older kid offered up their balloon to her, and that made everything better. Once we got home, Kendall was off to bed fairly quickly, and Brian and I tried making a Hurricanes-themed pumpkin. It turned out pretty good, I think! Also: a picture of Brian’s splint–he was a trooper (ha! get it?) about wearing it under his costume! It actually worked with the armored outfit pretty well. Kendall in her crib this morning.. Brandon working on the Lego haunted house.. Kendall checking out the Hello Kitty pumpkin we made. Plus, a scan of one of Brian’s many cards that cracked me up. I just loved the fun pumpkin with glasses and all the exclamation points. October! Fall! 😀
