Halloween Rookies

To my surprise, I found out last Thursday that trick or treating in our town was not planned for the day itself, but rather Saturday afternoon from 1 to 5 pm. After recovering from the shock I realized it wasn't too big of a deal. I had already done my candy shopping, most of last year's decorations were still in tact, and Lola's princess costume was good to go. All we had to do was carve a pumpkin for Lola to bring to school on Friday. No problem.

The pumpkin turned out lovely. The Halloween parade at school where all the elementary school kids dress up and parents, teachers, and high school students come to watch, was the cutest thing you have ever seen. The decorations went up in time on Saturday. All but the black umbrella with the witch's tights. We'll save that one for next year.

While rummaging through the box, Lola found last year's witch costume and decided on a last minute costume change. Dressed as Winnie the Witch as she called herself, she and I set out on a gorgeous, sunny, and warm afternoon to join the kids already trick or treating in the neighborhood. We left Ryan to man the front door and dole out the candy.

This is the first time we celebrated Halloween at our own house. I had no idea what to expect as far as the number of trick or treaters we would see or how much candy I should buy. We live in a small town, 575 people including the three of us. How many kids could there be?

HUNDREDS!!!

I don't know where they all came from but they came to the house in droves. And we had nowhere near enough candy. Midway through I jumped in the car and raced to the store, dodging ghosts, ghouls, vampires, witches, and the occasional Green Bay Packer on the way. With arms full of toffee, chocolate, and lollipops, I returned.

After replenishing the bowl, Lola and I set off to scare the neighbors and local shop owners into giving her some more candy. We came back to find the front door locked, the lights turned off, and Ryan hiding out upstairs. We had run out of candy again. Instead of going out to buy yet more candy, we decided to join Ryan in his hideout.

Next year we'll do better. Happy Halloween!