Boo! (and sometimes Hoo.)

Once again, Halloween was one of those times when it became clear life is so much better with children. The excitement of seeing their friends, getting dressed up and eating candy seem to combine and yield pure joy. This year, Sam successfully walked up to the doors of neighborhood homes, knocked and gave the customary greeting. He got more than enough loot to fill his candy strip. William made it a few more houses than last year and then came home for bedtime. There were two minor fatigue-induced meltdowns but nothing that a little redirection couldn't resolve.

This year I got to pick the costumes again although I suspect this is short lived and Sam will probably have a strong idea of what he wants to be next year. Of all my ideas that met my criteria of being friendly, funny and cute, he chose to be a fireman. Poor Will was subjected to being his Dalmatian pal. One day I'm afraid he'll suffer an inferiority complex but for now, he was happy to go, "Unh, unh" when I asked him what noise a dog makes.

As promised last year, we laughed in the face of a bad economy and gave out full sized candy bars to all the kids who came to our door. A bit much some might think but Bob and I remember thinking a whole candy bar was really something special. Now that we're the grownups, we were glad to share that awe with all our little friends.