Trick or Treat

Halloween was a highly anticipated event in our household this year. As with most children, the thought of buckets of free candy is one of the most exciting events of the year besides Christmas. Emily and Sam kept asking how many more days until Halloween. Emily informed me that we should have a countdown to Halloween just like we have at Christmastime. Emily kept asking when would we decorate, when would we carve pumpkins, when is it time for trick or treating, etc, etc, etc.

Here are the kids in their costumes. Isn't Emily adorable. Somehow she did not have her pom poms with her for the picture but she was in too big a hurry to get the picture over with so the fun could begin. I neglected to take a picture of her during her school Halloween parade (I forgot my camera, what was I thinking!) My neighbor took one for me but I haven't got it yet.

Here is my valiant knight in shining armor. He looked so handsome and brave in this costume. As you can imagine, the sword was the best part. This pose was his idea.

Now here is my adorable Benny. One thing about Ben-he LOVES dogs. I mean LOVES dogs. Whenever he is throwing a fit or being difficult all I have to do is say, "Benny, lets look out the window and see if there are any dogs" (our neighbors have two small dogs that occasionally are outside). His strong desire to see a dog usually saves my sanity. So when I was digging through the Halloween costume box, I was so happy to find Sam's old dog costume (he wore it when he was 2 years old). I knew it would be perfect for Ben.

Sure enough, Halloween night he allowed Brad to put the costume on him and was even delighted to be wearing it (he wore it all night without a fuss). When Emily stood in front of the door to have her picture taken, Ben waited for his turn and wanted me to take his picture as well.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the back of the costume. Isn't that tail the cutest? When I tried the costume on Ben, I pointed out the tail to Emily and Sam. Ben then turned to see and looked just like a puppy chasing his tail-around and around. What I wouldn't have given to have a video camera at that second. My kids were so excited to go trick or treating in our new neighborhood but we found out that the neighborhood does a trunk or treat instead. Our kids were soooooo disappointed. They did not want to trunk or treat. That was until I asked Emily's neighborhood friend if it was fun. She gave Emily the low down i.e. You Get Tons of CANDY!!!!!

Emily and Sam did not have school on Friday and so we spent the afternoon making paper bats and spiders and Kleenex tissue ghosts to hang up in our car for the Trunk or Treat activity that evening. The kids had a ball and made a huge mess. But it was totally worth it to see how hard they were working and how much fun they had doing it.

Brad's mom was able to join us for our evening festivities despite recovering from a nasty sinus infection. We had our traditional chili dinner, then dressed up, and headed to the Trunk or Treat activity. I thought the car looked pretty cool and we got many compliments on the decorations. I was surprised that we were one of the few to decorate. Party poopers!

The Trunk or Treat was a success and sure enough we got plenty of candy (and gave out plenty). Ben was SO EXCITED!!! After the first two cars, he realized that people were giving him candy. He would hold up his hand and they would hand him his candy and he would walk away giggling and giggling and giggling. He would not wait for Emily or Sam but continue on to the next car where he would hold up his hand or reach into the bowl, he was not shy at all, and get the candy. Then he would walk away giggling and giggling and giggling. It was a riot to watch him.

Sam said to me as we were walking around, "Mom, I really like Halloween."

After Trunk or Treating we headed over to Grandma T's. It was so fun to spend the evening with Dianne and have her a part of our holiday. Here she is with our crazy gang. Do you like my Hippie Witch costume? I bought it on clearance an few years ago for $2.90. I get so many compliments.After seeing Grandma at her house, we went to Steve and Tobie's to go trick or treating with their family (we promised the kids they could do some traditional trick or treating). Emily, Sam, Mikey, Ben and Sean had a great time trick or treating the neighborhood. I should have got a picture of them. What was I thinking! The fun continued with more candy, giggles, running from house to house, and more candy. Sam and Mikey got tired and all the boys headed home. Emily wanted to keep going and so Tobie and I walked one more cul-de-sac with her. She scored because every house gave her a handful of candy. I think it was because she was so darn cute.

It was a fun Halloween spent together as a family. As we drove to Steve and Tobie's, we passed the hospital and Brad laughed and said, "Ha, Ha I'm glad I'm not there." It hit me that even though Brad works hard all week long, his weekends and holidays are free to be with us. I am so happy about that!