Trick or Treating

The night started of with a Halloween Dinner of spider pasta and festive plates. 

Booooo!!!

Michelle has to hide this from me on the weeks leading up to Halloween.

Although it was a bit windy tonight as the kids trick or treated with their cousins, it was a great time had by all. Emma did a great job walking for most of the night carrying her bucket full of candy. You know those times when as a parent all you are trying to do is help your children out because you think you know best, when clearly they don't want your help, but you persist anyways . . . well, let's just say that I had one of those moments. Emma's bucket was clearly getting too heavy for her as she was straining to carry her bucket full of treats. You know the signs, body leaning to one side to counter balance the weight, the constant need to put the bucket down to rest her arms, and the gradual slowing down of our five houses every twenty seconds pace. So what did I do you ask . . . well, I simply tried to empty her bucket to make it lighter. Common sense right? No, not even close. Not in the eyes of a two year old, as Emma thought that I was taking her candy away for good, therefore leading to water works, hysterical crying, and the classic sit-in protest on the side of the road. What did I do you ask? Well, I tried to reason with her first, which was as useless as trying to reason with Michelle when she doesn't get her morning latte. So, I did what any normal parent would do . . . panic and throw even more candy into her bucket to simply appease her and stop the crying. So, I can honestly say that I filled her bucket in more ways than one.

"I am ready to go!"

"My boys"

Constable Josh, reporting for duty.

Three Police Officers, a Bat Girl and a Cat Burglar?

Yes, we still believe in the honour system.

On the other hand the boys, ran around from door to door with their cousins taking turns ringing the doorbells. There were three police officers, a Bat Girl, and a cat burglar? It is amazing how they can't walk around the mall for twenty minutes without being grumpy and whiny, yet they can run from house to house collecting candy for two hours (stores could make my life so much easier if they had incentives for children to come to their stores - happy children = happy parents = more spending, sounds logical enough). Anyways, it was fun to watch the boys as Josh would get them to crouch down and pretend that they were a swat team ready to pounce on the unsuspecting owner as they opened their door. I think Jamie said it best as one home owner opened the door.
Jamie "You are under arrest!"
Owner "Uh oh"
Jamie "You need to come with us"
Owner "But then I won't be able to hand out the candy"
Jamie "Then bring the bowl!"
Let's just say that the man was left laughing hysterically as he watched this five year old walk away with his candy.
As we have been doing for the last few years, we went and met some other friends at the park for some Halloween fireworks. The kids are always very entertained by the colorful lights and the noise that they make. Sometimes, Jamie surprises me as he can be so confident in so many situations, but at the fireworks, he really did not like the "loud ones". For the first few minutes he was attached to my leg and finding comfort behind me. As the show went on, he became more confident about the loud ones and would venture out from behind my leg . . . not going to far. Sometimes I forget that he is only five. When we got home the kids spread their candy out onto the floor checking their loot and sifting out the bad ones. I can still remember doing this as a kid sorting it into different piles and counting up how many treats we got. I think the next few days are going to be candy filled as they look for any chance they can get to have a treat.

So, what does a successful night of trick or treating look like you ask . . . well?