Treating - Yes; Tricking - Not So Much

Trick-or-Treat!

I've heard this over and over for the past couple of weeks, ever since the boys picked out their costumes and began marking days off on the calendar. They have no idea that Halloween involves ugly or scary things, only that it means costumes and candy. And when you're a kid, that means FUN, and lots of it!

Annalyse wasn't too keen on the ladybug hat, but once I introduced her to the antennae on her slippers, she was content to pick at those rather than try to yank off her hat.

Here's my trio of excited, ready-to-tackle-the-neighborhood kids. Boys: all about candy. Girl: all about just trying to see since her hat was way too big.

Aaa - teeeeen - shun!! Hut, two, three, four. Hut, two, three, four...

I can hear it now: "Really Mr, Six-Pack Crooked-Tie Policeman, I wasn't speeding, I promise..."

What is cute, has black legs, and is red all over?

You guessed it! Annalyse the ladybug. And, according to Grady Lee, "Ladybugs are nice bugs because they are pretty so it's a good thing Annalyse is a ladybug cause she's pretty and not ugly like a spider is." Now there is some logic.

We set off down the sidewalk at 6:00 pm and didn't return to our cul de sac until 8:00 pm. Two hours of racing around the neighborhood and filling up buckets with candy. Annalyse even got in on the fun during the first few stops.

[Insert squeal.] "Ooooo! That was so much fun! Let's do it again, let's do it again!"

Annalyse started off on her own at this house, but she was sidetracked by the giant spiderweb and was doing everything in her might to grab a fist full. Daddy to the rescue.

And while her brothers sprinted on to the next house, Annalyse gave me a hand at pushing her stroller along.

The boys got their treat and turned to run on to the next house, but Mr. Cheesehead here called for the boys to stop and come back. Hesitantly, they turned around and walked back to his house. "I gave you a treat, but now I want to see a trick," he said. Grady Lee looked at me with a look of panic as if to say, "What do I do now?!" and Micah just looked at him and said, "Well, I don't have any tricks to show you. Can I have more candy though?"

"Wait for me, I'm coming! This driveway is on a hill and it's kinda hard to walk in these floppy slippers and all."

"Yes! A bright orange Halloween cup! This will be great to chew on and put things in so I can dump them out and then put them back in and then dump them out and then put them back in and then..."

"Look Daddy! Look what I got! No, Micah, this isn't yours. You got candy. This cup is mine!"

Did I mention the boys ran from house to house? Walking wasn't an option. For an almost two straight hours, my boys ran the streets. It's no wonder that they were still sound asleep at 8:00 the next morning. I'd be pretty tired if I ran that much too!

Uh-oh. Guess who forgot to say thank you and who ran across someone's lawn instead of using the driveway? Daddy had to give a few reminder talks... and Daddy also escorted a couple of boys back to a house so they could ring the bell again only to say "Thank you for my treat and I'm sorry I ran in your grass." Manners are a work in progress, and when you're oh-so-excited, it's especially hard to remember them!

Some homes greeted the boys with lots of spider webs and jack-o-lanterns...

... some homes had live scary music bands...

... and some homes had smoke machines and skeletons.

You know, I'm all for fun decorations, but I'll never get the bones and witches and spiders and such. Tombstones aren't my thing when it comes to decorating. And I'm usually all about killing spiders I see near my house rather than decorating with them. But that's just me.

Would you look at that? I was there too! I'll be.

"Ha ha! It's waaayyy past my bedtime and here I am roaming the streets with all the big kids. Just call me cool."

When fingers were cold and feet were tired, we called it a night and headed home.

Officer Micah wasted no time in opening his candy and snacked away. And, Annalyse wasted no time in getting to Micah's pile as fast as her little legs would run.

Sergeant Grady Lee, however, ate nothing until he had first organized his candy. I'm serious. He had various piles of color matching candy spread across the floor. Once that important task was done, he surveyed his options carefully, and then chose a piece to eat. I think by this time Micah had blown through 13 pieces of candy.

Once kids were in bed, I slid into a hot bath while Grady relaxed with one hand holding the newspaper and the other hand inside a pumpkin bucket choosing which treat he wanted next.