lots of treats...

on saturday afternoon our church had a harvest festival with games, food and hayrides. the weather, which had been perfect all day, started to change as the event began... but not enough to keep the crowds away. i didn't get a picture but the best costume was a dad as the man with the yellow hat and his son dressed as george.

afterwards we headed home to trick-or-treat our neighborhood. i will be the first to tell you that this is NOT my favorite day because of what it can stand for. (and not because i could never have a birthday party on my actual birthday). but our neighborhood has gone to great lengths to ensure a safe place for children to have fun, so we participate along with everyone else. most of the neighbors sit at the end of their driveways and hand out candy... some have crock pots (with extension cords) filled with hot chocolate for adults... some turn their garages into haunted mazes... we also have off-duty police officers close off roads to cars and assist with security; others ride on bikes around the neighborhood. we handed out over 600 pieces of candy... one piece of candy per child; of course i did eat a few pieces along the way and apologize to the last few children that we had to turn away. i just could not resist!