All Hallows Eve

Happy Halloween, America!!!

Abby and her cop costume (that she later abandoned.)

The last couple of years, Halloween seems to be over the second our party wraps up.  Never mind the fact that Halloween itself hasn't happened yet - for us, the season ends when the last guest leaves our house.

So, consequently, Halloween itself has been a little 'meh' for us lately.  Kris takes the day off, in order to take pics of the kids' (well, Abby's, at least - the Cannonball's in middle school now) costume parade and parties at school.  I generally get a half-day at work, skip the optional professional development session in the afternoon, and come home to help get kids fed and in costumes before the Trick or Treating begins.

Chestnut Hill costume parade. . . you can spot Abby's total '80s-ishness.

This year, I had to cram a few other things into my already hectic schedule before all the festivities started.  I had a 2 o'clock teeth cleaning appointment at the dentist, and before that I had to buy a new vehicle (I'll touch on that in a later post, though.)  Once I tackled those two things, though, I was able to pick up the girls and head home to get things rolling.

So yeah - here's how our particularly cold and rainy Halloween went down.

Behold. . . .

Ella's smooth criminal

The earlier picture of Abby dressed up as a cop was from very early this morning.  She ultimately changed her mind at the last minute and switched to her '80s costume for the school parade and parties (which Kris was super excited about, since that meant coloring and doing up Abby's hair when she was already running short on time.)  Parenting can be a real bitch sometimes. . .

Kris was able to snap a quick, couple of blurry pics of our niece, Scarlett, as she walked past in her class' costume parade.

She dressed up as her dad for Halloween, which I think is cute.

Sophie, as a Hogwarts student.

Later on in the morning, in Abby's classroom for the Halloween Party.

Party games don't change much over the years - pretty sure I did this in elementary school myself.

What the hell, are those real gourdes?

Cyndi Lauper, gettin' down with some snacks.

Around 6pm-ish, we drove over to the Johnson residence for their annual Trick or Treating Party.  The moms and kids all trick-or-treat around 'the Horseshoe' (the neighborhood around Sweetbrier, that resembles a giant horseshoe) while the dads 'man the fort' (tending a fire, drinking beer, and passing out Halloween candy.)  It's a pretty cool setup.

It was about 36 degrees and raining - f***ing misersable .  Not really ideal for trick-or-treating, but not a single kid there was willing to pass up an opportunity to score a bag of free candy.

(That's Jackson in the giant Pokemon costume.)

We'd take turns huddling around this fire like a bunch of hobos, but it did little aside from making our clothes smell like a campfire.

Preparing for departure around the block.

Cops and Robbers: the Dynamic Duo

Kris is having a lot of fun, here.

Trying to hunt down Alayna (who had run off across the street with some other girls to score some candy.)

Not a lot of folks out and about this evening, that's for damn sure.  As you can see from the picture, here, the grass was starting to get frosted with snow as the temperature continued to drop.  Eventually, the rain completely turned to snow. . . which, you know, is frickin' terrific when you're trying to do something outside with your kids.

This was pretty good for an amber.  Though, as cold as it was outside, I probably should've been drinking a stout.

Later that night, after we returned home so the kids could eat some candy and watch a Halloween movie - you know, 'cause traditions and all that - I let the dog outside to go to the bathroom, and beheld this foreboding spectacle in my backyard.  And so it begins. . .

 - Brian