Halloween through the years

2010

Haunted House 2010

2009

2005




2003

 

Halloween sure has changed now that Katie, Andrew and Nicholas have gotten older.  When they were little, sparkling princesses, pumpkins and cute clowns were the typical costumes.  In preschool, they always had big Halloween parades where the kids would march around in their costumes for all the parents and grandparents to "ooh" and "aah" over.  We only trick-or-treated a few homes of family and friends when it was barely dark.  It is a tradition of ours to go over to their Nini and Papa's home and trick-or-treat in their neighborhood (the one I grew up in). 

I remember one Halloween in particular.  The kids were 7, 5 and 3.  We had just set out for the evening.  It was already dark.  Unaware, Katie stood in a fire ant bed that was right at the front sidewalk of my parent's neighbors.  She got bitten all over both feet and started screaming and crying.  We hurried back to Nini and Papa's house for some TLC.  Poor thing couldn't wear shoes for days.  She still has scars on her feet.  That was probably the shortest Halloween we ever had, but we learned a valuable lesson; wear closed-in shoes...even if you are a princess.

Katie, Andrew and Nicholas have officially passed the cute costume stage, and have replaced it with scary masks, black capes, ninjas and Shadow Hunters.  Now that the kids are older, we are having fun all over the neighborhood, visiting haunted houses and spooking one another. 

Tonight we went to a neighborhood haunted house in my parent's neighborhood.  Pete and the kids went last year, but I was propped up in my parent's recliner icing my torn Achilles tendonS (notice the "s" there- I messed up both of them).  I was amazed at all the effort these people took to create a fantastic spooky experience for fun and for free. 

They also had a good message to share: don't use drugs or drink, or you'll end up dead like the skeletons and zombies, and stay in school or the wicked witch will come and find you. 

Pete got one of the monsters to poke my shoulder and scare me, that little rascal.  The kid's weren't too scared, but the others in the group were going crazy screaming at the top of their lungs.  As Nicholas put it, "They were almost scarier than the haunted house."

We had a great Halloween and I am so grateful for that.  I cherish this time because I know all too well there will come a time when the kids no longer want to trick-or-treat on Halloween. 

What did you do for Halloween this year?