Well, I know I posted something after Halloween that wasn't about Halloween, but I'm going to do the Halloween post now. Since I can't go back in time. Yet.
This was Brianna's first "real" Halloween. She was able to walk to the door and say "trick or treat" and all that. We did a practice run at my in-laws, and I could see the gears working and the light going off. "Ring bell, open bag, people put candy in it. This... is the greatest discovery of my life." She was rip-roarin' to go and do it for real.
We visited Sarah's old neighborhood; the small size and the friendly folks makes it a great place to run around with your kids. We rang the bell at the Amish places, and they erected a barn for us. We told them it wouldn't fit in the bag, but thanks anyway. I told them I'd mention them on my website and they should check it out.
At one house, the folks were giving out full sized Clark bars. Sarah knows them well, so she visited for a while. A candy bar was dropped in Brianna's bag and she turned to head to the next house. Just then, more kids walked up the porch and Brianna turned and blended in with them. She opened her bag and in goes another full sized candy bar. I didn't know if I should scold her or tell her how proud I was.
Brianna went as a pirate, (Captain Feathersword, to be exact) and she spent much of the evening saying "Ahoy there, me hearties!" and "Arrrrgh, I'm a pirate!" Rachel went as a pumpkin, because that's what Brianna was on her first Halloween and we still had the costume. She didn't say anything clever or amusing, but she did say "ma ma ma ba ba ba". Sometimes, that's all I can manage.
We now have a collection of candy so large that I've considered hiring an Oompah-Loompah to guard it. But then I realize that those freaky bastards would probably just dance around and sing lyrics that imply poor parenthood. Besides, they're so short that anyone wanting some of the candy treasure could easily sing "What would you get if I beat your ass up? Let's just find out, you freakish mutant lawn gnomes!" It doesn't rhyme, and I think I messed up the meter, but you get the point.
Well, it was a long day, Sunday. We drove back home that night, which was a two hour drive, and we were all exhausted when we got home. So exhausted, in fact, that I'm just now able to write about it. Phew!