Hooray for Halloween!

Oh, my word! Let me just start with this thought for you fine folks to all bear in mind...20 pounds of candy. No kidding, we weighed in the bag of candy last night. Now what, I ask you, am I supposed to do with all that sugar? My kids are still running on leftovers from the pound they probably ate last night! I mean, they are just little bodies. How much sweet stuff can a toddler handle?

So, off the I-can't-believe-this soap box. They had a blast. We don't do the door to door trick or treating that was so much fun when I was a kid. It's that terrible fear of who is my neighbor that plagues most parents today. However, Joshua's work hosted a wonderful trick or treat for the families of their workers. And these guys brought out some serious candy, let me tell you. Our little Dragon and Lady Bug were a tad hesitant at first, not ever having been in costume or ever trick or treated, but soon learned of the loot that was to be had by simply looking cute and being sweet. Sarah took about two seconds to turn on the charm, and con multiple handfuls out of each person she went to. One guy (obviously childless) offered her a whole bucket chock full of chocolate treats! "Here, honey, you can just have the whole bucket if you can carry it." She could! Sigh. How is it that kids intuitively know what candy is, anyway? We really don't keep that much of it around here, and yet, they beelined for some of the tastiest goodies.

I think our kids were the youngest kids there for the most part, and the simple fact that they were in such identifiable costumes charmed most people. Although, several folks asked if Sarah was a strawberry, and one person said watermelon. This little costume seems to be much more versatile than I would have thought! Thomas was adorable in his Dragon suit, as well. In case you are wondering, he was a Dragon, not a Dinosaur. Trust me, it was a topic of little discussion. I said Dino, he said Dragon. The end. He had this tail that dragged the ground behind him, and with all the wonderful wet weather we got last night, the costume is now two toned around the tail area. Suggestions on how to clean that out?

Don't think this was the end of our adventure. Oh, no. We loaded up in the car and headed to Scottsboro, despite the weather. Admittedly, the rain put a damper on how many places we went, but we did manage a few. We stopped in on some friends of the family and as we all chatted, Thomas helped himself to piece after piece after piece after piece after piece (you get the picture here?) of candy and dropped it into his bag. All with the smiling approval of Randall and Gwen. I had the distinct feeling that had I tried to stop Thomas, one of them would have swatted my hand!

Next, we made our way over to Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Jane's house, where the greeting was just as warm. We stayed for a while and visited with my aunt and uncle and cousin Will as Thomas and Sarah Grace both pulled 'tanny' from their bags and sweetly handed it to Aunt Jane who obligingly would open it for them. Suffice it to say, the kids were zinging and I hadn't yet figured out to just forget obedience. It wasn't happening. Their ears were clogged with sugar! But, we had a great visit, and I think the kids entertained their hosts quite well. We said our goodbyes and loaded up again to head off to the next stop.

Mimi was all grins as she opened the door to her surprise visitors. She is THE great grandparent, and adores her position as such. She found some tootsie rolls to pop in the kids mouths and off they went, bouncing all over the place. Unfortunately, we had to do a pretty short visit, as it was already 8 p.m. So, hugs and kisses, and load up once more and off to...

PePop and MeMum's house! And they had a real jack-o-lantern! The kids went barreling in as I made for the fridge to find some 'real' food for them. A bowl of yummy Mexican food, a bath for them both in the chuggy tub, and fresh diapers and jammies later, we loaded back into the car for the trek home. The kids slept. Praise God.

It was a wonderful experience. The kids had an absolute blast, we got to visit with friends and family, and there is, of course, all that candy...