halloween

m1 was a rock star ~ her dress actually belonged to my great grandmother. sister and i have both worn it to costume parties.  

little man was a cowboy although most people thought he was indiana jones.

and the uncooperative one... my sweet raggedy ann. guess she's going to need a real costume next year. i sewed this when m1 was about two and it has worn it each year since.

a cowboy, a doctor and raggedy ann

our halloween festivities started early... instead of a harvest festival on saturday, our church held their harvest party during the two sunday school hours. the children played games, won candy and had a bible lesson on "shining your light". it was fun seeing all the non-scary costumed children at church.

our neighborhood trick or treat began around 6:00. it only took m2 a few houses to get what was going on ~ smile big and people put candy in your bucket. most of the houses in our neighborhood participate ~ some have haunted garages that children walk through, others have smoke machines with creatures that jump from behind trees. on really cold nights some have even had crock pots with hot chocolate for parents. most of us pull chairs to the curb to make it easy for children to get a treat and keep moving.

for the most part i hand out one piece of candy per child... but last night some larger groups got the opportunity to earn two if they sang happy birthday to me or said happy birthday. the children are always super polite and parents are grateful for a fun and safe place to trick or treat with their family. john david and i took turns walking our children around.

by 7:45 my candy was gone ~ 760 mini tootsie rolls, 360 dumdum suckers, 345 butterfinger / babyruth / crunch bar mix (minus the 2 butterfingers and 2 babyruth bars i ate earlier in the week and the 4 tootsie rolls while handing out candy). 

oh, this sweet raggedy ann costume that i made when m1 was little ~ i think i might have one more year with it then it will have to be retired. i also made a matching raggedy andy costume but strangely enough my little guy grew up and will not wear it any longer.  m1 wants you to know she is a doctor, not a nurse, because that's what she wants to be for reals. oh, and happy birthday to me!

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!