Zach looking like a "mean" dinosaur.
First we visited Bryan and Christine's house up the street.
We then visited a few more neighbor's houses. I was surprised that quite a few of the houses we visited recognized Zach.
In the end Zach and I visited around 12 houses. The wind was picking up and I knew our time was limited. We still made it back in time for dinner and got quite the haul of candy.
Zach was a hazardous material worker while Doug was a very cool Elvis! I had bought a large tub of costumes at a garage sale for $10 this summer. Doug kind of rolled his eyes, but hey Elvis, you got a few good costumes out of that deal!
Shannon, Maura, me & Sarah. Shannon/Maura/Gavin, Tracey/Lucas and Sarah/Jacob were already inside waiting for us. Allison/Ben & Cole would catch up with us in about an hour. Maura looked so cute and "groovy"!
Elvis and Elvira! Doug is a good sport and pulled off the costume well. What a great Dad - none of the other Dads dressed up, actually none of them came. I hope Zach and Sam appreciate what a cool Dad they have!
Gavin, Zach, Jacob, Lucas. Star Wars must have been the theme for the small boys this year as there were Star Wars characters everywhere!
Zach at one of the candy stations. Trick-or-Treat!
Sam was snug as a bug in a rug in his Elmo costume. As long as he was holding his Elmo bucket with candy & toys he was happy to sit in the stroller.
Pumpkin bowling.
A ghost hallway inside the old elephant house. What a great evening, so much fun. My favorite holiday as there is nothing but fun about it! 365 days until the next Halloween, 365 days to look for a new costume! 
When I called, I was told that they had a Halloween party going on that night, but still had rooms and cabins available. The rooms were in the lodge and had a private bathroom. The cabins all had electricity and heat, but the bathrooms were in the main lodge building. As the cabins were 1/2 the price of the rooms, we decided to stay in one and bring our own port-o-potty from the camper. Worked out great!
We were in cabin #1. The cabins contained a double bed, a bunk bed, electric heater that looked like a wood burning stove and a table with 2 chairs. The boys were SO excited about the bunk bed!
Zach quickly claimed the top and Sam the bottom. Good thing Sam was on the bottom as he fell off the bed twice during the night. Both times I heard him and quickly got him - he never even woke up! The first time he was standing up on the floor and the second was laying stomach down on the pile of pillows I had placed in the "fall zone". Zach and Sam slept great. Doug and I seemed to roll toward the middle of the bed and then woke up at one point super warm! Ah, turn down the heat!
Sunday morning. The lodge didn't open for breakfast until 11 am. So we took our time getting up, got the truck packed and Zach & Sam had a yogurt that I brought. We are hooked on Chobani Greek yogurt that Cecile introduced us to - it is good!
Zach worked on his homework while we waited for the lodge restaurant to open.
The wait was worth it! A big "Alaskan" breakfast, a fun way to end our stay up north. 
Sarah called as we were driving up, she needed us to get plastic spoons for the chili. We stopped at the Miller's Landing store where Zach and Sam were excited to get their picture taken next to a large ice cream cone.
The weather was nice, it was cold, but not too bad. We were all dressed in multiple layers and ready to have a fun day outside.
First on the agenda was pumpkin carving!
Sam loved to be pulled around on the "boat" (i.e. sled). The older kids were great about pulling him around where ever they went.
Sarah gave the kids candy necklaces and put temporary Halloween tattoos on their hands. Sam wasn't too sure about the necklace until he figured out it was candy. He didn't stop until it was all gone! I am glad they were all playing outside as that was a lot of sugar!
Zach and Jacob had a good time on Jacob's electric 4-wheeler.
Doug brought the 4 wheeler as Kashwitna had a little snow on the ground. He was the hit of the party pulling kids up and down the road near the cabin.
Sam learned to make a snow angel!
The cheap plastic sled we brought didn't hold up very well on the rocky road. It first cracked in the back and then slowly broke away until only the front of the sled was left.
After a scavenger hunt and playing in the snow, the kids were ready for a snack and to relax inside the cabin. A movie kept their attention and gave everyone enough time to warm up. Above - Sam, Ben, Zach, Jacob, Gavin, Cole & in the back the single girl, Maura.
Zach and Sam looked so cute in their matching Halloween sweaters.
Sammy loved the "laser gun" - it won't be on our Christmas list as that "gun" made a lot of noise! Sarah had a "pin the nose on the pumpkin" game that the kids enjoyed.
Some of the kids, including Zach, enjoyed hitting the trees and getting the snow to rain down on them.
Sam still enjoyed what remained of the sled - his "boat".
Who doesn't love sparklers!
Chris and Sarah had also bought fireworks, everyone had a great time watching the show!
The girls! Sarah, Allison, Shannon, me & Maura.
The day was ending, the guys were talking around the camp fire while us girls had a glass of wine inside. Sam, Maura, Jacob, Gavin & Zach ended the evening together by watching a movie. It was time to go when little tempers showed when a battle for prime real estate on the blanket took place! What a fun day, we sure hope this becomes an annual event. Chris and Sarah put on a great Fall Festival!
Judith, the youth coordinator, was so sweet. She went to the kid classrooms to find more ride on toys as Sam wasn't too keen on having to always share the toys. There was a ride on toy for everyone and all the little kids were now happy.
Run, play, be free! But, Mom was tired, it had been a long week. We stayed a little over an hour and then said good-bye to everyone.
We had fun at Family Fun Night, but Doug and I are really watching the monthly newsletter for the high school kid's fundraiser "Parent's Night Out" events! It is so nice when they watch the kids for a couple of hours and we can sneak off to an adult movie! We hope one of those nights is coming up!
