There is much to do to prepare for Halloween. We put far less into it than some others, but still there's the pumpkin picking, the costume making, the school parties, the house decorating, the candy buying, the final dressing up, and, of course, the trick-or-treating.
Saturday was pumpkin carving day, so while I was at gardening class, Michael and the kids set up shop in the kitchen.
This poor pumpkin is shedding a tear!
Oh no!!
Not you, too!!
And on Sunday, Arden took one look at the recipe Tracy posted in the comments the other day and insisted that we make Candy Corn Cookies immediately. So we did. (Thanks again, Tracy! They were delicious!)
The recipe made lots and lots of cookies so we bagged some of them up nicely and gave them to friends.
It had stormed the whole night before but on Halloween day, the temperatures were mild and the skies were fair.
That made the trick-or-treaters happy.
The Mister wore his yearly costume—a weird bird in a bowler hat. I think the mask finally fell apart, though, so we might be seeing something new from him next Halloween. (That also made the trick-or-treaters happy, they've been begging to see him in a new look for years.)
We winded our way to all of our favorite haunts—our favorite being the house with the lady who sets up a little stage then tells the kids to reach behind the curtain and pick out wacky prizes and garage sale finds. The kids can either keep the prizes or trade them for candy. My kids love the prizes and never trade them for candy. A few years ago Perry got a trophy and he still has it up on a shelf in his bedroom. This year, he got a wallet and Arden got a little purse made from a striped baby sock. Arden's friend got a ceramic turtle and a can of ginger ale. No one is ever disappointed.
Next we went searching for the haunted house from last year but they weren't putting on a show this time. We went to another house and when the woman opened the door, she screamed at the top of her lungs and one of the kids nearly fell over. Perry grew tired and said that he'd gathered enough candy for the night so the boys soon went home but the girls stayed out until our feet hurt. We walked through the dark and heard the squeals of the kids visiting the house with the fake electric chair. We ran into more friends and they gave us glo-lights. When Arden's little pumpkin was finally filled to the brim, we shuffled home and were welcomed by our flickering pumpkins and happy Perry, beckoning us in to the warm and toasty house, waiting for us inside.
