Trick-or-Treat!

Saturday night was our trunk-or-treat at the church building.  I worked all week showing them television shows that illustrated trick-or-treating in hopes that they would catch on to what we were doing.  It didn't seem to work.  Neither of them were in the mood to get dressed up so we just left hoping that seeing the other children in their costumes would inspire them a little.  So we arrived with only partial costumes on.

We parked and sat there a little until children started to arrive.  Weston instantly became interested.  "Trick or treat?!" he yelled.  I think he was more interested by their pumpkin candy buckets than anything else.  I instantly felt bad for being cheap and deciding that their church tote bags would be sufficient.  The pumpkin was all the rave in Weston's eyes.  Oh well. 

At least it got him moving though.  He was up and out of his chair and getting that costume on as quickly as he could.  He was so excited.  But, of course, Weston would not be Weston if he didn't show his independence.  There was no cowboy hat for him - he was going with the baseball hat.  So, we have Mr. Weston the cowboy (with a baseball hat).

We got Natalie, topped off her costume, and we were set.  Again, our children like showing their independence.  Natalie absolutely loves hats, but she would not put on her penguin hat.  So, Miss Natalie was a penguin without a head.  She was still absolutely adorable.  We could usually distract her for a second or two to delicately plop the hat on for a quick picture at least.

Since this was the first time Weston or Natalie had ever been trick-or-treating, we both wanted to be there.  So, we left our candy bucket on top of the trunk and off we were!

After a few practice runs, Weston had it down.  He would walk up to someone, yell "trick or treat!" and hover excitedly over their candy bucket.  He would graciously take his candy, open his bag that was slung over his shoulder, and plop it in.  "Thank you!" he would scream, then he was running off to the next place.  I don't even think he realized it was candy at first.  He just liked this fun game we were playing.

Natalie and Daddy just wandered.  Natalie had more fun looking at everyone in their costumes and playing with a pumpkin decoration by a car.  She would not leave those pumpkins, and when she did, she would always find her way back. 

The next favorite form of entertainment?  Collecting acorns.  These kids love acorns.  So, we sat under a tree and collected acorns for a while.  Natalie's bag had no candy and lots of acorns.  She was very content. 

After a while we switched it up and Weston and Daddy walked around while Mommy and Natalie played.  Natalie spent her time digging in her bag to feel her acorn collection.  When she wasn't playing with acorns, she was eating the two pieces of candy she did get - tootsie rolls (wrapper and all).  I wasn't paying attention and all of a sudden I see her chewing.  I peek in to see a tootsie roll still in it's wrapper.  I tried to get the wrapper off and out of her mouth but she was not having it at all.  So, she ate it all.  What a weirdo.  At least I got the wrapper off for her the second time around.

Natalie eating her tootsie roll with the wrapper.  Can you see the concern on her face?  She knows something isn't right.

We met up at the end with Grandma and Grandpa Summerhays and Aunt Andrea.  Natalie showcased her acorn collection for everyone and Weston dug into his candy - jabbering the whole time about pumpkins and "trick or treat!"  They had a fabulous time.

We arrived home and Weston dumped all of his candy on the floor.  He dug in like an addict.  "Treats, treats!" he would scream.  It was just too funny.  Eventually we stepped in and told him treats were done for the night.  That did not go over well.

Then, the sugar rush kicked in.  Weston was running around, jumping, squealing, and making lots of random noises.  We let him run it out for about a half hour then decided to give bed time a try.  It was actually quite successful thank goodness.

The treats magically disappeared in the night.  Weston woke up with one thing on his mind.  He spent the entire day frantically searching for his treats.  He thought of everything and every place they could have disappeared to.  He did find one and spent several hours trying to open the package.  The one rule was he needed to eat his oatmeal and he could have the treat, but that never happened.  He was dead set on that treat and only the treat.  I guess this is the reason we don't have sugar in our house.

Halloween night we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Summerhays' house for a visit.  Weston saw all of the trick-or-treaters out and got excited again.  "Trick or treat!" he would yell.  We told him that they were but that we were not going to tonight.  We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's and both Weston and Natalie instantly zoned in on the candy bowl.  It was very impressive.

Weston was the official trick-or-treat greeter (which Grandma and Grandpa were grateful for so they didn't have to get up).  Everytime the door bell rang, he ran to the door, and greeted the kids with his own, "trick or treat!"  I think he was more excited than they were.  He would hand them candy then yell "bye, bye kids" as they walked away.  It was very entertaining.  Oh, and the best part?  He of course had to get candy each time he handed it out, so he was a very happy boy - so was Daddy who snuck away large portions of each piece of candy prior to handing it to Weston.  We had to be good parents somehow. 

We had an enjoyable Halloween.  The kids had a lot of fun.  I am sure they are already ready for next year!