On Saturday we continued another fall tradition—going to the Great Park to trick or treat and pick out pumpkins. This year was a little different because you had to RSVP for tickets and the event is going on every Saturday in October. I like how this event motivates me to get the kids’ costumes done early. In case you cannot tell, n is a shark, and k is a hula girl.
Here’s a shot of n’s “fin”. A lot of the girl volunteers were exclaiming about n’s costume being homemade. It made me happy that they appreciated my effort.
One tip is to arrive early if you want a large pumpkin, since there is a limited supply.
The prizes for the carnival games were not as good this year, since there was a punch card which you redeem for a small prize at the end. In previous years, the kids picked prizes at every game. The trick or treating was also not as good—less candy, including gross marshmallow pops made in China. 
One plus was that parking was free (previously $10), and the kids each had to donate five cans of food to a local food bank, which is a good cause in my book.
We ventured into the new gallery space and came upon a hidden kids craft corner called “Trash for Learning”. The idea is that the kids are supposed to come up with their own art projects using the neatly organized bins of recycled materials. This was a little too unstructured for my liking, but the kids had fun. They ended up taking some supplies home and it definitely kept them entertained for a while.