Spiderman & The Green Lantern

Early yesterday morning, Nathan woke me up to follow him to the bathroom. Then, taking him back to bed he asked, "Is it Halloween today?" I sleepily replied, "Yes, it's Halloween today," as I lied back down next to him. Wrong answer! Immediately he was wide awake, with excitement. I was still so tired that I figured it must still be early, so I looked at the clock: 4:00 a.m.!!! Oh no! Nathan was too excited to go back to sleep and I faded in & out of awake-ness while he kept a steady stream of questions coming: "Is it time to go Trick or Treating yet? Can I put my costume on? Is it time for Trever's class party yet?"

 When Trever woke up, he gasped as he realized, "It's Halloween!" With more energy than usual, he got dressed and ready for school. Nathan continued asking "Can we go trick or treating now?" over and over and all day long.....

Luckily, we had Trever's class Halloween party to volunteer at, (Nathan was welcome to join) so I was able to offer him a little holiday excitement before dusk. Nathan loved seeing everyone in costume at Trever's school and was amazed to see another Spiderman there! Trever was happy to have us there, and kept looking over at me, while I helped out. Nathan stood by Trever's desk, asking Trever all sorts of questions about school and trying to fit in with the rest of the class. It was pretty cute.

 After school, TJ and I wondered how we were going to contain these boys' excitement for another 3 hours till dusk. So we decided we'd drive to the mall and let the boys wander around in their costumes to kill some time. To our lucky surprise, the stores were handing out candy, so the boys got some Trick or Treating practice, while satisfying their dying need to start Trick or Treating--"for real." On the ride home from the mall, the boys stuffed their faces with candy and by the time we got home, they had some very achy bellies. But after some pizza and milk and TUMS, they were ready to hit the streets and knock on some doors! FINALLY!

 The first couple of houses were duds....TJ and I wondered if a lot of people were out Trick or Treating themselves, or if they were just Halloween Scrooges. We know one lady was for sure, since the boys were knocking at her door, her dog was inside barking at them through the window, and she was sitting in her chair reading a book! hahaha! Yes, we saw her! It was pretty funny.

 But we found enough houses that actually were "home," and the boys definitely got their share of candy.

 TJ and I expected the boys to be experts at Trick or Treating, but we found ourselves constantly reminding them to say "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you!" Nathan had a habit of saying nothing and just reaching into the treat bowls, while Trever stood there hesitantly, staring at scary decorations. But TJ and I kept on them, reminding them of what to say, and by the time we'd reached our half-way point, they'd become the expert Trick or Treat-ers that we'd expected. They even went an extra mile, by saying "Thank you" and "Happy Halloween," multiple times at each door.....maybe TJ and I were a little too repetitive? haha. 

 After their bags (which were courtesy of TJ's last Podiatry conference) were super heavy, we made our way back home. When we walked to our door, I asked that they put their candy on the table, not on the floor....but who was I kidding?! The second they stepped inside, both bags were poured out onto the floor in a mad rush and wrappers were flying everywhere! Oh, well....Halloween's only once a year, right? So TJ and I joined them on the floor, talking about our own childhood Halloween memories, while the boys gorged themselves with more sugar. It was like Thanksgiving, if candy was the only thing on the menu! haha.

So, this morning on our drive to Trever's school, I asked the boys if they had fun last night. "Of course!" they cheered, and Nathan asked, "Can we go Trick or Treating again tonight?"