10.31.11

I have a big annoucement to make.  Ready?  Halloween in no longer my favorite holiday.  This came as a slow realization to me as I drove around Charlotte for three days, going to multiple Wal-Marts and Targets and Halloween speciality shops, and thirft stores looking for green tights for Rex just to have to buy a pair of white tights and dye them dark brown, which ended up gray and then (luckily) finding a pair of tan pants the night before our ward trunk-or-treat.  And then it hit me as I was staying up way past my I-have-to-feed-a-baby-every-3-hours bedtime making Greg's costume.  I decided Halloween is for single people and children.  Married people have Valentine's Day but single people have Halloween.  Once you get married and have kids though...next year I'm just dressing the kids up.  Maybe I'll wear a witch's hat or something.

Nevertheless, we dressed up as a family one last time.  Rex was Peter Pan.  Alice was Tinker Bell.  Greg Smee.  And after finding only one blue night gown for $15, I opted for the free, cut up old clothes and be a pirate method.

And then the big day(s) came.  Saturday we went to a nearby neighborhood to walk in a parade and go trunk-or-treating.  Rex didn't really get it.  That day we practiced saying "trick-or-treat" and "thank-you".  Then that night we went trunk-or-treating again at the church.  Rex got the thank you thing down and by the last car was staring to understand the candy thing, but then we had gone to all the cars, and Alice needed to be fed so Rex sat in the car and ate candy while Greg chatted with some old friends.  Monday, the real Halloween, we went trick-or-treating in a wealthy neighborhood.  We hit about 20 houses before Rex started crying that he wanted to go home.  A few highlights from the night: one house was playing Halloween music fairly loudly at the door, Rex got super scared and for the rest of the night told everybody who answer ed their door about it and was so happy that they did not have scary music.  About 20 minutes after we started, Rex decided he had to pee, so while Greg and I were discussing what to do about it (since we drove about 20 minutes to get to this neighborhood), Rex knocked on the next door, told the owner he had to pee and walked in.  They were very gracious and let Rex use their toilet.  And lastly, Rex never did quite get the trick-or-treat thing down but he did say thank you at every door without being prompted.  Rex knows how to make a mother proud.  And where was Alice this whole time?  Asleep in the cave I built her in her car seat in the stroller--nice and warm and asleep.

And now a montage of pictures from the weekend.  Enjoy.

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Me and Rex sword fighting