Halloween......

As the massive bin of Halloween candy is starting to dwindle down at an alarming rate, I thought it was time to write the Halloween post. Halloween was a lot of fun this year. It rained during the day which didn't forecast a fun night of trick or treating, but it held off the entire time we were out. In kind of a tone setter for the next couple of years, we just had the little kids for trick or treating. Jake went to a pizza party, trick or treat, sleep over with a bunch of his friends. We figured we would see them out trick or treating, but ended up missing them all together. He left after dinner and we didn't see him again until we picked him up the next morning with his pillowcase of candy. 

Marisa had planned dinner at the Merc for Tanner and his two best buddies and their families and we set off trick or treating from there, hitting our old section of the hood. It was nice to be able to walk behind and talk to the other parents as the kids sprinted from door to door. There was only one house that was scary enough to require parental accompaniment so mostly we just stood on the sidewalk and talked. One of the great things about Halloween in this neighborhood is that everyone is out with their kids. You run into groups of parents and kids that you know and hit that block together before you go your separate ways until you meet up with another group of parents. We have been here long enough that houses have Halloween reputations now. There is the Turners house where they give out cans of Shasta instead of candy (a must hit). The kids know the houses that give out full sized candy bars, the houses that have scary people answer the door. The grown ups know the houses that have fires going in the drive way and parents that are quick to share a glass of wine while your kids hit the next few places. 

The only downside was our house (in the midst of a construction zone), didn't get very many trick or treaters. So not only do we have a massive bin of the candy the kids brought home, we had to add in all the Halloween candy we didn't give away. We put the bin high up on a shelf (otherwise we have found that Tanner sneaks it - ALL THE TIME) and I swear my weightlifting workout extends to the number reps I get taking the candy bin down, rummaging thru it, and putting it back up on it's high shelf. At this rate it won't last much longer any way so it doesn't really matter. 

The kids had a great Halloween; Jake went as an NFL coach, Faith went as a fairy, and Tanner, with a last minute costume change, went as Harry Potter. Next year we might just have Faith and the houses around us will be built out, so next Halloween might be a whole different beast. But for this year, Halloween is over, just the candy remains (for now).