Halloween

Halloween wore us out. Emberly's been teething (three teeth now and two almost here), so the parents haven't been sleeping soundly. The girls enjoyed every moment and were fully energized by candy supplements.

Right after school, we drove to Michael's work. In their cafeteria, they had carnival games, a balloon artist, a face painter, and snacks like fresh popcorn, cookies, cupcakes, and drinks. Ansley loved the games because they handed out participation prizes. She got her arm painted, but then mentioned regularly that all that paint felt funny, and washed it off before bed so it wouldn't bug her. She and Hailey both waited in a very long line with Michael to get a balloon butterfly on a straw, and barely made it in time to enjoy 60 seconds of bounce house before they deflated it.


There was so much candy at cubicle trick or treating that Ansley's Spongebob basket was overflowing. We said some hellos to Michael's coworkers who were still there. And then we went home for thirty minutes before we headed to the church.

Michael's parents met us there. This is their first year with Melissa away at school. Nice for us because Michael's dad chatted with Michael while they handed out candy, and his mom helped me manage three kids in the trunk or treat craziness.

This is also the first year our ward added activities to our trunk or treat. The chili cook off was like a pot luck gone bezerk. I have never seen so much chili in my life. Fortunately, they had every variety of chili you can imagine, so I was able to find a low-bean non-spicy version that resembled soup. The girls just ate rolls and cornbread.

We happened upon the calk walk before the people in charge even showed up. Ansley and Hailey took the last seats available, and the parents looking on asked each other who was in charge of this thing and when were they going to show up and get things started. When they did show up, the responsible adults hadn't figured out how to award the cakes yet, and took a few trial runs and a lot of debate before they settled on a method. At least I assume they settled on a method; one of those trials ended in us getting a brownie cake and making a speedy escape (they were considering a longer process of elimination, and there was already a line forming out the door). I'm sure they'll have it down next year so the cupcake rewards will come swiftly, and the whole thing will end in time.

The trick or treat portion was fun. The activity was combined with the 5th ward who shares our building, so I didn't recognize everyone, but candy speaks a universal language. The girls must have felt like trick or treating experts, because they kept running too far ahead and had to wait for us old people to catch up.

Then we went home and marveled at the mountain of candy on the dining table. It seems like a lot more than years past; maybe trick or treating takes skill, and Ansley is old enough to pick up some candy acquisition talent.

Emberly was happy just to be held and mostly behaved herself. She got a lot of compliments on her cuteness. Ansley and Hailey also behaved themselves, although they didn't have much reason to complain.

p.s. You may notice the stroller in the pictures does not have a cup holder. It drives me nuts, but it does have great off-roading capabilities and weighs less than 13 pounds with tall handles for tall parents. I would never use it for shopping but it works great for walking to the park or outdoor activities like a trunk or treat.