I love Halloween.  I love the colours and the pumpkins and the garden mums and the crunch of leaves and the squeals of excited children.

 The boys had been counting down since October 1st which was when I hung the pumpkin garland and the orange twinkle lights.  I'm big into decorating for the season.  It makes it that much more exciting.

I told them we could go out at 6:00.  Any later and there might have been a mutiny.  It was still light but they didn't care.  It meant that the scary houses weren't actually that scary.  And all the good candy wasn't gone yet.

Liam was Batman - his heavy sweatshirt underneath the costume giving him some nice lumpy Batman muscles.  Zander was a pirate and Noa was his parrot - though she didn't quite get the connection - she just flapped her arms and cock-a-doodle-dooed while Zander did his best ARGH.

Noa didn't want to go up to the doors.  Jack-o-lanterns scare her.  Mostly she just watched the boys.  They actually say, "Trick or Treat" at every door which I think is adorable (or, in Liam's case, "Twick owar Tweet" which is a step forward from last years "Pick ol' Pete").  Zander's wonderful at saying thank you.  Liam is not.  "I dust keep fordetting!" he kept telling us.  Until we told him if he forgot again he'd have to skip the next house.  Funny how his memory suddenly worked perfectly.


So it was home for one treat, baths, the scrubbing of the pirate beard that just wouldn't come off - he went to school with a five o'clock shadow today - pajamas and bed.  And today I'll have to take down the pumpkin garland and it makes me sad.  Things are always so bare afterwards.  Oh well.  Only 30 days until we put up the Christmas tree!