Mayhem - Halloween with the Boo Crew

When you have a family like ours, I don't know who Halloween scares the most: me - wondering how much money this year's costumes and things will cost or the neighbors - sitting and praying that we save their house 'til last so that they can actually still have enough candy left to pass out to the other little neighborhood Trick or Treaters. No matter, it always marks the beginning of the crazy busy holiday season, and as usual we had a calendar filled with, well, Halloween Mayhem! Appropriately so, I guess.

There were treats:

There were tricks:

There was was the seasonally appropriate gutting and dismemberment:

There were work and church carnivals to attend:

There was an elementary school costume parade:

And, of course, there was Trick or Treating!

I just had to take a moment and document the above picture for posterity. Sometimes it is ok as a parent to pat yourself on the back and tell yourself, "Good job." This picture represents one of those parental positive affirmation moments.

All of the kids had already swarmed upon and were leaving a home where there was a bowl set out on the front porch with a sign asking the kids to just take one piece. Payne had already gotten one piece, but then turned around to go back for seconds. Brian and I kept yelling at him (not in anger, we were at the street) to only get one piece, but he grabbed another piece anyway. He came running down the driveway with a big smile on his face. When he got to us he said, "This one's for Lucy." Lucy, of course, was happy to oblige his generosity. Those two kids were meant to come here so close together. They love each other to pieces.

Needless to say, we are happy to have a little break before Thanksgiving and Christmas (we have already received in invitation to a Christmas Open House and there are homes here that are already lit up in red and green!) My only regrets are that my kids do not live closer to their friends and family to be able to create these wonderful memories with them! Well, that and the fact that we have about 16 lbs of candy sitting in our bedroom floor that we aren't quite certain what to do with! And that's even after we asked the kids to only take one piece!

And I'm not talking that nasty black and orange wrapped peanut butter non brand candy stuff, either.

I am talking good 'ole Hersheys and Willy Wonka and Nestle around here. Perks of living near a million and one candy vendors, I suppose……

Good times, Good times, Good times!