Halloween fun

Oh, did we ever have a great Halloween with the kids!

The night before All Hallows Eve, Ed was making worried faces and saying things like "I wake up, a be scary of pumpkins!" I think he was extra-stressed from spending his First Full Dry Day in Underpants (ROCK ON!). We managed to convince him that the pumpkins wouldn't hurt him. We carved pumpkins Thursday night -- Lucy drew her very own face, and I wielded the knife. No pix of that -- sorry.

Friday morning, I had my first rehearsal for Pirates! The Musical at Oakdale Elementary, so I hustled both kids through breakfast, into clothing (Lucy in a sheep costume, complete with black Mary Jane shoes she remembered to call "hooves" all day) and out the door and over to the Dalys' by 8:30 AM. As someone who typically doesn't roll out of bed until near 8 and can barely get herself contact-lensed and dressed by 10:00, I assure you this was quite an accomplishment.

Carol says the kids played marvellously together, hooray! and after a seriously delicious (maybe because I didn't have to cook it, though I maintain it was also Independently Delicious) taco lunch, we headed home for "quiet time" (WAY too excited for trick-or-treating to take naps). Joel's 'rents and Jean came over for our Second Annual Eat-Like-A-Pirate Halloween Turkey Drumstick Feast, during which Lucy made her final costume decision: fairy princess (whew!). Ed eschewed Spiderman/Superman and stuck with the lion costume he wore last year.

John and Donna and Joel and I took the kiddos outside where it was a balmy 50 degrees. We trucked up our block until we met up with the Daly and Mathews families, where much adorableness and kid-wrangling teamwork ensued.

Lucy and Josie immediately palled up... Will was less about the "trick-or-treat" and more about the "climbing-stairs!-and-sprinting-down-the-block!", Will and Eve had some adorable hand-holding moments, 3-month-old Keaton passed out, adorably, in his stroller, and Ed charmed the homeowners we visited by chirping things like "Trick or treat! Can I come in?" and "Merry Christmas!"

Everybody loves a sleeping dragon baby:

And I have to say, a grownup:kid ratio of 4:3 was about perfect for keeping a fairy princess, a black cat, a lion, a doggie, a bear, and a dragon in check. Now, one final pic of me repairing some damage one of the munchkins did. Blasted Republican toddlers.

Strangely enough, I am not even wearing a costume in this photo.