halloween fun

once upon a time there was a little cheetah. she was the cutest cheetah in the land.





this cute little cheetah had a little brother who was called the tawny scrawny lion. who would have been the cutest lion in the land if he would have worn his mane and hadn't grown too tall over the last month. at least his tail was cute.




the day before halloween, we headed to the church for a trunk or treat.
which, by the way, we only went to because bayli begged and pleaded.
i hate trunk or treats.
jed hates trunk or treats.
but most of our neighborhood seems to like them, so they occur every year.

i hate that the traditions of halloween, that i remember as a child, have faded away.
what happened to the effort and drive that we had as kids? not to mention, how great our parents were to take us around the neighborhood.
if we were freezing, we walked the streets. if it was snowing, we walked the streets and filled our bags. if it was raining, we plodded through puddles to fill our bags. if we were puking, we filled our bags.
i want my kids to know the joys of trick or treating that i had. i want them to have that drive to race to the next house. to put forth the effort to fill their bags.
not walk through a packed parking lot and fill their bags to the hilt in 20 minutes time.



so when bayli bailed after two rows of cars, i was sad but happy. sad that she couldn't take the cold for very long. sad that we went through 150 pieces of candy and only got about 20 in return (i really don't care that she didn't make off with much candy, i just don't want to run out on the big day. her bag is always the backup candy.)
happy that i didn't have to wade in and out of the crowd hustling from car to car. happy that i didn't have to pack chase through those crowds. happy that we could actually stop and chat with friends. happy that i didn't have to freeze anymore.

when i was getting the candy for myself, i could totally handle the cold. it was like some super power that turned on just for that big day. furnace girl. heater girl. radiant girl.
now that i am older and wiser (candy makes you fat and your teeth fall out-my momma was always right) i don't have that drive to combat the cold.
i know that if my daughter did, i would match her drive. but when she bails, i will happily bail.



on halloween we took the kids to trick-or-treat at their grandma's. we first stopped at grandma bev's, where chase helped himself to all of her treats.



then we headed to grandma carol's where chase started to get this trick treat thing. he again tried to take all of the treats.



we tried getting pictures of his mane. he was a very grumpy lion indeed.



we took the kids home to have home-made clam chowder, before heading off to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood.
they were too hungry and couldn't wait for soup, so they settled for hot dogs instead.



grandma carol came over to trick-or-treat with the kids and i.
we were so proud of bayli. she had become as we were as kids. she was a ravenous trick-or-treater. she wanted to go everywhere. she ran from house to house with excitement in her eyes. i was so happy to see that she enjoyed the REAL halloween more than the alteration.



and the instincts of our little lion shown bright. after 2 houses, he knew what his job was.

1) run/climb, do whatever you can to get to the door

2) knock

3) say hi

4)walk into their house

5)
wait back up to 4. yes, chase walked into almost every house he trick-or-treated at. he was ready to make himself at home.

5) take or receive a treat. if they wouldn't stop him, chase would empty their bowl.

6)say bye, and wave like a mad man

7)climb down the steps

8) look in his bucket and ask for a num num

9) run down the sidewalk to the next house.



it was so cute to see him run along with his little tail flapping behind him. and he ran much further than we thought he would be able to.

when we had reached one of our friends, chase did step 4 and didn't want to leave. he wanted to take their ride on car with him.
so poor grandma got to take a kicking and screaming chase home while bayli finished trick-or-treating.
thank-you grandma!

soon after, bayli was ready to head home herself. "my bag is too heavy mom, you need to pack it."



she loved handing out treats to visitors at our home for the rest of the evening.
tank, on the other hand, enjoyed harassing the visitors. our little attack kitty.