It was a good thing the church party was a week before Halloween, because Halloween itself fell on a test weekend. This means that James was MIA for the holiday, but never fear! Sariah and Henry went trick or treating with friends.
Out here people don't really go house to house to trick or treat. (Neither of our Halloweens in our area have yielded a single soul at our door. Extra candy for us!) It may be because houses are so far apart (with no sidewalks or street lights), or maybe the local drug problems make people feel unsafe, but it just doesn't happen. Instead there are all sorts of events where different organizations provide a trick or treating experience. Henry and I went to one such event at James's school. Each sports team (and many clubs and programs) had a table and you would walk by and, in my case, say, "Trick or treat for the baby!" Then you would get candy. I went with friends and their kids, but I felt weird getting candy that clearly wasn't headed for my baby's tummy. I felt less bad when I saw middle-aged adults going through for themselves; I mean, hey, free candy is free candy, I guess. One of the people at a booth grinned at me and asked, "Which of these candies does mom want?" I, of course, chose Reese's. (Seriously, who on earth chooses Laffy Taffy? Pick Laffy Taffy! It's a tooth cement, complete with cavities! Bonus!)
Because Henry's Han Solo costume wasn't as complete as ours (the blaster and holster were not part of his outfit as he would have eaten them), and because we happened to have a baby monster costume on hand anyway, Henry went as a monster to the school event. James stayed home and dressed up as a studious student. Hal and I went with a family with girls, so here we see Henry in a pink stroller meeting the mascot of James's school. Hal is clearly beside himself with excitement.There was a very long line to get into this event, and by the time I got in and went around collecting candy for...well...myself, Henry had fallen asleep after patting his puffy belly for a while. And that's how Hal spent his first Hal-oween!
