Something Strange in the Neighborhood

First of all, Mommy's sweater in this picture is AMAZING.  It's like an ugly Christmas sweater, but with a Halloween theme.  It's so perfect!  Daddy is David S Pumpkins one more time, and of course Madison looks lovely as Uma once again.  It looks like we're ready for the big night, October 31st!

But first, as soon as Madison got home, it was time to carve some pumpkins!  We watched an Addams Family movie, and a Scooby Doo one as well, all while drawing and carving away at our pumpkins.

First, here's Madison's pumpkin.  If you've been reading this lately, you know this has been a theme for her. She loves the song, and can't get the Ghostbusters theme out of her head this month.  She's asked for it on the way to school each day.

Next, here's Daddy's pumpkin:

This was an attempt at Totoro, and although not perfect, it came out pretty good.  Yes, Daddy used his new tools to make this creation.  It turned out pretty well, especially sitting there next to that Japanese lighting there on the porch.

One more pumpkin:

This was done to look like the pumpkin from the Addams Family movie.  I actually really like this design a lot, as it is so simple and hilarious for some reason.  It might just be me though!

So with the house decorated on the porch, we set out for our trick-or-treating adventure.  We met with  the neighbors across the street, and together walked down the street, following the same path we've done the last few years.  The weather was so incredibly perfect too:  not too hot, not too cold (like Sunday).  It was amazing!

The houses in the neighborhood were, of course, decorated like it was Christmas time - just with Halloween decorations.  One neighbor actually built a small pirate ship for their front yard.  It was a perfect time for a pirate picture, right?

Madison ran into three of four friends from school as well.  She'd stop and talk for a bit - all of them ride the same bus, of course.

We ran into Dawn and her family, just like last year, and got a free ride on a trailer up and down the streets, stopping frequently to rush out from home to home to say trick-or-treat.

The candy was amazing.  We had so much by evening's end.  As always, there was that one family that gave out full-sized candy bars, although many others gave a lot of candy out to the kids.  And the decorations and music were just fantastic.

It's so great to see a neighborhood go this all out each year for any of the holidays.  The kids were everywhere, running up and down lawns with their bags filled to the brim with lots of candy.  Mommy was on the porch, meanwhile, giving out her share of candy as well.  We didn't quite give it all away by evening's end, but we certainly did see a lot of the kids.

There came a point early on - earlier than last year - where Madison was just ready to swing back home.  She wanted to see more of the houses that were closer to ours on our street, as we were on the bigger stretch along the main section of the neighborhood.

Part of that was a desire to go see Mommy again, and help hand out candy to visiting trick-or-treaters.  So we started to head back, and the timing was probably just right.  Madison has gotten so much free candy lately, especially when you consider she started trick-or-treating in September.  It's not so much about the candy as it is the experience, and she was ready to head back to see Mommy.

So once again, we said goodbye to Halloween and the decorations and lights and candy.  The houses really went all out this year.  Just behind us, there were a few places that looked more like the Haunted Mansion than a regular suburban home.

Our house was a little more reserved, of course.  Daddy sat on the porch when we got home, with Madison helping to hand out candy from time to time.  But she was counting her loot, and sharing Peppermint Patties with Mommy inside.

Quietly sitting on the porch in between trick-or-treaters, it's a time for reflection on the end of the day itself.  It's this big build-up all month long to this day, and it's been a great month, hasn't it?  We've done so much, and have been so blessed.  Sitting on the porch there, it was easy to take a deep breath and just be thankful for all the blessings we have.

We read more to Madison tonight - almost done with this latest mystery!  We said our prayers, and then it was time for Mommy and Daddy to head to bed as well.  Although we were there to wrap up the last two episodes of season one of "Stranger Things."  It's a creepy science fiction mystery story that seems to have everyone talking lately.  Mommy and Daddy have been binge watching season one this last week, and we wrapped it up appropriately enough on this evening.  We'll get to season two next - it's pretty good.  It's also not necessarily anything for Madison yet.  Some parts would be pretty scary for her, for sure.

We went to sleep tonight after a long day, and in fact a long month filled with fun.  It's been a grea, hasn't it?