Trick or Treat!

Today is the one day of the year when we teach our kids to take candy from strangers, as long as they threaten them with malicious mischief first. I guess that's better than Christmas, when we encourage them to sit on the lap of a big bearded stranger.

After Liam was good and sugared up at his "Pumpkin Party" at school, we headed out in costumes: Liam the monkey, Sara the banana, and Mommy the animal trainer (it's my usual job - no need for a costume).

Rhonda at the Trib had a big goody bag waiting, then we headed out to Grandpa Bill & Grandma Elnora's. On the way, the monkey spilled his chocolate milk... but Grandma was ready with the stain stick and swiped it all away. Then Liam sneezed with a mouth full of chicken nuggets, and (as we have taught him) made sure to aim for the inside of his elbow. Thanks again, Grandma, for clean-up #2. Their neighborhood nearly filled up trick-or-treat bag #1 (Yes, he got so many goodies we had to have two bags. Don't worry, Daddy will help him dispose of the candy.).

Then it was off to Grandma Cindy & Grandpa Pete's, where Liam got goodies too big to fit in his bags, and Sara got a container of Cheerios (yay!) to entertain her and keep Liam busy feeding her while we drove to the next place... but first we got pictures with Princess Jaidyn.

We popped in at the home office of Randy Fleming Photography (http://www.randyflemingphotography.com/) for the Halloween open house. Professional pics of our duo, to be posted up on the website tomorrow under a special link. Great promotional idea, Randy! Finally we headed to the Harvest Festival at NCCTK where the monkey was fed yet MORE candy and goodies, and the banana was happy to chew on some non-edible goodies and hang out with Elias & Anna for a bit. And Liam got to hug on Princess Jaidyn a bit more.

John offered to drive the kids home if I'd take his truck. Knowing how long the night had been and how tired/wired/sugared they were, I jumped at the chance for 20 minutes of uninterrupted music. Now they're all tucked in and the bags have been properly raided. You know, to make sure there's nothing dangerous in there. Like sugar.