Oh my gosh.
This was the best year EVER. :)
I thought nothing could get better than Layla in her heaven last year, but Finn totally managed to top her energy and drive, and with BOTH of them going full tilt this year, it was priceless!
Seriously, though. I laughed the entire time, I'm pretty sure. My cheeks still kind of hurt from smiling. Watching your kids having so much JOY for an hour straight is pure delight, plain and simple.
Finn didn't know what was going on until we got to Mom and Dad's house and put him in his costume, but Layla? Layla has been talking about this for days. DAYS. And we have not been talking to her about it, obviously, being the wise parents that we are. My philosophy is give a 5 minute warning for anything fun that is going to happen, otherwise you will live to regret the moment you opened your mouth too early. ;) So, needless to say, she was amped. Excited. Worked UP. The past two days have been a great learning experience on waiting torture for her. I told her when Papa came home we would "go to Halloween." Mistake. I SHOULD have said "When Papa comes home, and AFTER we have dinner, THEN we will go to Halloween." Dinner was...painful, for her, and for us all. ;)
We were worried about the weather for several days now. The last two years have been perfection, but this year it was going to be something like 38 and rainy, possibly. :( Booooo. Our backup plan was to take the kids to Rosedale mall, which has indoor trick or treating from 5-7 p.m., then maybe do a few houses in my parent's neighborhood, if need be. Turns out it was chilly for sure, but not precipitation until we pulled up to our house that evening, so it worked out just fine. I am pretty sure my kids were NOT warm enough, but as they were running the entire time I didn't feel as bad about the lack of coats...sort of. Finn's hands were awfully cold, though. :( (To my credit, I had all their winter gear with me, but Finn wanted nothing to do with that. Layla did accept my offer of gloves at some point...)
Finn LOVED his (Knight) costume, and Layla loved his costume too! He stood there when I had him fully dressed, in front of Mom's full length mirror, and he kept turning from side to side, admiring himself and his big shoulder pads from all different angles. Cuteness. He then said "Finn to da RESCUE!" and shoved his fist in the air as he ran off. Love it!
Layla, as we all know, feels very comfortable in the role of princess. She got a kick out of being a princess with Anja, her idol, and being protected by Sir Finn.
So, here are some videos from the night. They are probably pretty shaky, as I try to walk and keep up with them (by video) from a distance, and they might also have us talking loudly on them, but if you want to see what the first few houses looked like for the kids (before it got dark), have at it!
Seriously, though. Finn ran the ENTIRE time. RAN. He YELLED "Trick or Treat!" at every door, long before the home owners even got there. He was in heaven. Layla could not believe this was happening again: She showed me each and EVERY piece of candy she got at each and every house as she walked away. "Mama, LOOK! MORE CANDY!!"
I can only imagine how much fun next year is going to be. Personally, I can't WAIT. :)
Going over the LOOT at the end of a successful hour. Finn was eating as much as he could shove into his mouth, and Layla kept opening things, trying them, NOT liking them, and requesting something else. I think she really ate almost nothing. :)
And a few pictures from the evening:
 |
| Princess Anja, Princess Layla, Brave Knight Sr. Finn, and Eastern European Peasant Girl Claire. ;) (Claire as pretty sure she was too old for trick or treating until very last minute, so alas, she was not a princess...) |
 |
| Renee asked him to shower her come candy. He was loving life, not that you can tell... |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| Layla, with her dairy-free candy selection in front of her. Still a lot, obviously! |
 |
| Finn's helmet stayed on for exactly 2.3 seconds. I don't blame him. It didn't balance right and he couldn't really see out of it... |
 |
| He held it like this for many of the first few houses...then Papa wore it for the rest of the time. |
 |
| 1 out of 2, not bad... |
 |
| Better, but Grandma photobombed in back... ;) |
 |
| This is truly how Finn looked all night. A blur, running, singing to himself, telling himself stories, totally loving life. |
 |
| Finn was very brave. A fearless knight, you might say. |
 |
| He wasn't even scared by anything that creeped out the older girls...he liked to touch them and laugh! :) |
 |
| Layla, showing me her loot. Again. Every time. Without fail. |
 |
| After one house had a DOG, though, then Finn got a little nervous. (Said homeowner was a tool and let the dog run outside among the children...who does that?? Sheesh.) So, after that, Grandma often went with Finn in case there was barking and he needed to be held. :) |
 |
| WINNER. |
 |
| Trying to decide if she likes it or not. She was very choosy about what actually went down her throat. |
 |
| Finn. NOT choosy. Just shoving it all in. |
 |
| Check out those cheeks. :) |
 |
| Whoa! Candy!!! |
The End.
I love it when other people write how I feel. Saves so much time and energy. I'm posting this here so I have record of it for later, but you can read it too if you want.
http://troublefacemom.com/2012/10/31/on-halloween/ "If Jesus can go straight to hell, stare death and the devil in the face, win and come back alive, why can't we open our doors to the 6 year old in a Batman costume and his shivering mom? Why can't we?"
I would add that if the pagan roots of this holiday offend you (and you would have to dig very deep to find those pagan roots--very far back Celtic--as Halloween comes out of the Christian holiday All Hallows Eve or All Saints Day), then there are likely things you should be offended by (and absolutely quit doing/cut yourself off from) in almost any celebration you do as well...Christmas, Easter, weddings, etc. Best to check it out before getting all up in arms, usually.
