goodbye, halloween

Growing up, I loved Halloween.

Somewhere my mom has pictures of me as Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan and as a self-invented blue conehead martian.

Can't quite put my finger on it, but it's not my favorite holiday as an adult. 

I can't remember the last time I dressed up, it's been a while. I really don't love all the candy, well, actually I do and that's the problem!

Erik wondered where the candy went. I seriously mowed it all down. Yuck.

I can't say I love the battles of a 7 year old boy wearing or not wearing his costume at the parade.

He feared that he would be made fun of and wiped off the awesome beard I drew, but at least Captain Jack Sparrow made his appearance. And, wouldn't you know, just like last year, he had a great time!

That said, I loved the heart of his expression...

the child in him that I hope remains forever.

I loved the excitement in her voice when she said, "Next house, Mommy, Next house!"

I loved the pitter patter of her little feet as they hit the pavement 

 with intense desire to keep up with her siblings.

I loved that even when her big sister has moments where she's not always nice,

 there's more moments like these where I ask to take their picture and their sisterly love radiates. 

It truly melts my heart.

I loved that this big sister made sure to include her tired baby brother as he had no choice but to ride from house to house wondering what was going on.

I loved his cute glow in the dark skeleton jammies.

No, I can't say that I'm sad to see Halloween go.

My very favorite holidays are ahead.

Gratitude, love and joy await us as Thanksgiving and Christmas draw near.

Time to pack it up,

and call it a day.

Still, I realize that there will come a time where trick-or-treating will come to a screeching halt. There won't be anymore elementary school parades (not until I'm a grandma anyway), or Halloween art projects. 

It may not be my favorite holiday, 

but I loved that Erik and I got to spend it with them.

I loved sharing in their playfulness, silliness, and fun. I can only imagine that that is what it was like for my mom watching me paint my face blue, strap on rainbow suspenders and put on some boxer shorts in my conehead glory. 

No, this holiday is not at the top of my list, but making memories with my family, now that's number one.

Goodbye, Halloween,

see you next year!

trick-or-treat!

Start of the night...almost didn't wear his hood again!

Until Daddy told him that he looked like a "Kieran" and not like a dinosaur...the hood went up immediately.

And they practiced their best cat and dino pose :)

Attempted to take a family (minus me) shot...but the cow had other plans for the evening.

Our very first stop was our neighbors house, who had a haunted house in their garage, it was pretty cool!

Kieran doesn't look especially happy in the picture (awkward shot). Maybe it's as if to say, "Mom, you're lame, you're not wearing a Halloween costume like the rest of us!" I promise I'll do better next year!

How cute are these trick-or-treaters? Too bad I cut off Anna's face :(

By this point, Anna has really caught on. Though she says everything else in complete sentences at 18 months, I couldn't get her to say trick-or-treat. No, instead, she walked right up to people's candy bowls, grabbed, and said, "Want one!" I made the mistake of giving her some chocolate along the way, so every few minutes became, "I want more candy!" oops.

"Ha, Ha, Ha", he says in his spookiest voice.

"How did he get in there?", she wonders.

She figures it out and attempts to copy :)

One street loop later, Kieran says, "I'm tired. I don't want to go trick-or-treating ANY-MORE".

So I tried with all my might to get one last picture of the two of them together in costume, but this was as close as I got.

And then there was one.

They sorted through all their candy, which sadly, has seen my tummy more than I care to admit!

And another holiday checked off the calendar...really glad the next one doesn't include a costume!