Halloween

Though the week leading up to Halloween this year was a bit hectic (sickness, too many things to accomplish), the day itself (or should I say, eve?) was lovely. Annabel kept her gnome hat on reasonably well, and Alexander's snail costume got lot's of compliments. He definitely stood out in the sea of store-bought costumes.

Michiel constructed the shell with cardboard and tape, and Alexander and I painted it. I, of course, had to supress my urge to make it look perfect and yield to the mother/son creative process.

We all went over to Mom and Dad's house and went trick-or-treating from there, since our neighborhood isn't the best for that sort of thing. Alexander was so cute walking/running around the neighborhood, as interested in looking at the Halloween decorations as in getting the candy. He always said, "thank you," after getting candy.

Annabel got a lot of attention for her outfit. The teenagers especially liked her. One punk kid saw her and said, "Oh, sweet, a garden gnome! Gimme knuckles, girl!"

When we got back to Mom and Dad's, Alexander barely had time to examine his loot before he had to answer the door and pass out candy. I'd say he liked that better than trick-or-treating himself. When he and Michiel went out for a second round, he hadn't even got to the door of the first house before he stopped in his tracks, turned, and ran back. Michiel says it was an epiphany. He realized he would miss out on handing out candy. So, back he came. And every time the doorbell rang, he bolted for the door.

I think my parents got around 300 trick-or-treaters this year. That's a lot of candy!