big awesome sigh of non-relief

I'm the Activities Chair for our ward.

I hate it for the month working up to the activity. Loath it the week before. Want to kill myself while setting up. Wonder through the whole activity if everything is getting done when it's supposed to. Then, miraculously when it's all over and the key goes in to lock the building, I breathe a HUGE sigh of relief and fall deeply in love with myself. For a brief moment I am wonder woman.

Only for a minutia of a moment though.

I then go back to wondering if it was all worth it, did people have fun, what would I do differently, did I lock the closet, were investigators welcomed, was the activity pure chaos because that's what it felt like to me, how many bowls are left, it was just pure chaos, why did we have so much food leftover, why do I lose sleep over this stupid thing, and...you get the point.

Saturday was our ward trunk or treat. It was going to be our "easy" activity. The more activities I plan, the more I realize that there is no such thing as an easy activity.

I think it turned out well. The main thing I would have changed is the other ward crashing our party so we didn't have enough caramel apples. You should have seen me that morning unwrapping my 599th effing caramel swearing under my breath, damning the whole ward, and trying to figure out what grocery store was the closest so I could buy some vodka and spike the punch so I could get released. Oh man. Needless to say I was a little perturbed about people stealing our refreshments. 

I even remembered my camera for this activity and then forgot to take pictures. In addition to Trunk or Treating we had some fun little things. We had a table with Tragic Sam's body parts in a box with holes so you could reach in and feel without seeing:

Once upon a Halloween night
Living in this spooky town
Was a man who died of fright
Bearing the name of Brown.

Many and many a year has passed
Since they buried Brown away,

But his withering corpse we’ve here amassed

Dug up from his tomb today.

Here is his BRAIN,

Which feels no pain.

 (cooked cauliflower)

Here are his EYES,

Frozen in surprise.

 (frozen grapes)

Here is his HEART,

Nevermore to start!

 (peeled roma tomato)

Here is his HAIR,

Once so fair!

  (wet yarn)

And from just underneath,

You'll find his TEETH.

(unpopped popcorn)

His FINGERS and TOES

No longer will grow.

 (cooked baby carrots)

And just to make you quiver,

We found his LIVER.

 (spam cut into shape)

These WORMS are all that is left to feel.

For them, Tragic Sam was a lovely meal!

 (noodles)

Tragic Sam Brown is dead

and withered away,
Can you guess what

we really felt today?

We had a costume contest, a "Guess how many candy corns are in the jar" jar, and even a witch hunt:

I hid (or more or less scattered) Halloween erasers (because they are waterproof--it's Portland) around the outside of the church for the kids to find. They got to keep them, but if you were lucky enough to find a witch you got a mini pumpkin. 

For refreshments, we had caramel apples (big hit!) and steaming witches' brew complete with arms of a dead man--all in a cauldron no less (apple juice, ginger ale, dry ice, and ARMS!). The arms were awesome. I totally can't claim the brilliancy of these though. It was all Kinsey. Raspberries + Cranberry juice + gelatin + surgical gloves + freezer = AWESOME PUNCH ARMS! It looked so nasty! 

Thanks to my awesome husband, an awesome me, and my awesome committee we can check off Halloween. A big thanks is awarded to the ward for coming, dressing up so cleverly, and decorating their trunks! 

I can't forget Scarlett either. She was a trooper and was a super awesome baby through the whole day. She was definitely pooped by the time we got home though. 

Now, on to planning for Christmas. Only one month and three days. Let the stress begin.