One Fantastic Halloween

We really deserved a great Halloween.  For the past few years the weather has been freezing, seeming to go  suddenly cold in time for both Stomper's birthday as well as this holiday which actually encourages kids to go outside at night without their coats and ask strangers for candy.  In fact, last year it rained so hard we barely celebrated Halloween at all. 

Oh, not this year.  It was beautiful.  Our valley is currently a riot of colors, the weather has stayed mild, and we were able to trick or treat for what seemed like hours.  As we do every year, we started out at Troy's parents' house.  They live on this great little culdesac in the Milcreek area and we have a running tradition of beginning our Halloween festivities there.  They have the sweetest neighbors, and our friendships are developing as we pay them a little visit each year.  From there we moved on to a friend's home to enjoy a quick bowl of chili with several families before we took the troup out into the cool dark night to gather candy from the neighborhood.  It was such a relief to not have a single child crying due to cold toes or fingers.  Having several adults around to herd the mass of children streaming around us was also extremely helpful, especially where Bundle was concerned.  She was so adorable, having completely caught on to the traditions of the evening.  She didn't want to miss one single house, no matter how much slower she was than the big kids.

We had some great costumes this year. Stomper has been big into ninjas, and happily we have a black karate suit (I think there's an actual name for those things but I don't know what it is) that made him happy.  I had some gold fabric and I made him some wraps for his arms and legs, which he quickly discarded or rejected as we were getting him dressed that night.  I also attempted a hood which, you can see, looks kinda weird, but hey.  Whatever.  The night before Halloween I actually pulled out our buckets of decorations and old costume pieces. Most people choose to do this several days or weeks before the actual holiday, but not me, not this year.  Anyway, as I was hanging up a decoration or two Stomper found some werewolf  accesories in the box and decided at the last minute to be a "werewolf ninja."  Okay, son, whatever, just don't make me buy or make you anything the morning of Halloween. 

Bitty, for MONTHS, has had her heart set on being a dementor, of Harry Potter fame.  I was very reluctant to get or make her a costume until the last minute due to the tendancy of my children, despite their many promises to the contrary, to have sudden changes of heart when it comes to their costumes. But she was determined, so finally I gave in.  I got some cheap black satin fabric and fashioned a dementor-esque cloak.  I had other plans as well - masks of various types and even a hood, which she did wear for a little while.  She never would let me mask her or paint her face despite the fact that I had made two or three masks according to her directions, but it didn't really matter.  She looked great.  Especially after dark, as she stretched her arms out to the sides and ran down the street, making her shredded gown blow out behind her. 

And Bundle.  Thankfully she is young enough to be willing to dig through the costume bucket and pick something out when a costume was required.  She usually ended up as a kitty cat of some type, though usually a headless one since she refused to wear the hood.  No worries.  She wasn't denied any treats on that account!

And now the great battle of the candy begins.  Just how much candy a day is too much?  No idea, but it does make for a powerful tool in the "if you eat your vegetables" department.