Halloween Warm-Up Weekend, Pt. II

The Sheraton Vistana Villages

Welcome back.

Dad and Cindy are in town for the weekend, doing their annual Halloween visit, and are once again staying at the Sheraton Vistana Villages.  Unfortunately their plane got in too late for them to check out the girls' costume parade, but once they settled into their room and ran a few errands, they swung by the house and hung out for a bit before taking the girls back over to their room.

Yes, once again, Kris and I pounced at the opportunity to offload our offspring on doting grandparents.

After Kris got off of work we drove over to their resort for some. . . well, some really, really weird storytelling.

Check it out:

Dad asked the front desk for an additional bed (since sleeping with our kids in a bed is absolute murder.)  This is what they dropped off for him.

Checking under the bed for monsters. . .

The monster they're looking for is this dude.  Friendly Fred.  That imperial stout, by the way, was awesome.

Friendly Fred - a friendly monster - comes courtesy of the Sheraton to guests' rooms, accompanied by a 'handler,' of sorts, who reads a not-so-spooky Halloween story to little kids.  I can't speak for anyone else, but the notion of a giant monster walking into a small hotel room to hang out with a couple skittish pre-schoolers had me skeptical. . . 

Friendly Fred makes his dramatic entrance.

Thank God I had beer for this.

The creepiest thing about Fred was that homeboy didn't talk.  At.  All.  Nothing creepier than a giant, seven-foot-tall monster sitting silently on a couch in a confined space. . .

After the story, Fred and his handler gave our kids halloween bags full of candy and toys - like, more candy than they generally gather trick-or-treating.

Abby never quite warmed up to him, but Alayna routinely caressed Fred's 'arm' fur' throughout the story.  Which, I'm sure, was really annoying to the guy inside who was forced to stay in character.

Pictures with Fred and his handler (who was inexplicably wearing a pajama onesie.)

It's a fitting look for her.

Snuggles, Abby and Alayna prepare for a sleepover with Papa and Nana, who bought them a firefly book and lantern set that was a pretty big hit.

Stay tuned for more Halloween shenanigans, America. . .

- Brian