Halloween 2008...Times Two

You might not have noticed, but Halloween fell on a Friday night this year. One might think that would be a rather convenient night for trick or treating. Not so in small town Texas. Friday nights are reserved for high school football, silly. So Saturday, November 1st was designated Halloween for us.





This little change created quite the moral dilemma for my dear husband. You see, November 1st is not only Halloween around here, it's also the opening weekend of deer season. Hmmm...go to deer lease and do man things for an entire weekend, or spend two hours in the chaos that is down town trick or treating? Decisions, decisions...



Me being the supportive, loving wife I am, suggested a compromise. Instead of heaping on the guilt, I thought it might be fun to take the kids to a few family members houses on Thursday before he departed on Friday. I also liked this idea because it let us get twice the wear out of our costumes.

Jackson was pretty stoked about the idea too. He had a great time ringing door bells and saying "Trick or Treat!" just like the old days.

He got ninja swords from Nannie and Dado,

new Crocs from Nana and Aunt Robin,

a stuffed deer from Aunt Judy, stickers and giant lollipops from Cody and Karen, trucks from Aunt Kim and Uncle Jed, and a "Jackson friendly" goody bag from Aunt Christi and Uncle Andy. It was just like Christmas!







Saturday was definitely an equally great time for both Jackson and Sadie. Our police/fire department close down part of mainstreet so that downtown businesses can entertain trick or treaters for two hours. I thought this was a great idea even before I had kids and loved handing out candy at my dad's office. This year we got to be a part of the craziness. Jackson's cousin Eli came down to join us, and the boys had a great time, especially when Elmo came to visit (Eli was brave and shook hands with him, but Jackson simply smiled and waved from a safe distance. I think the fact that his Elmo at home is two feet tall and this one was three times that).








Sadie did not have a treat sack, but she was perfectly happy as long as she was in the middle of the action. If we took her inside the office, she was not a happy camper. The plus side to wearing her costume twice was that she actually kept the hat (a.k.a. the stem of the strawberry) on for the entire two hours!

All in all, it was a win-win situation for everyone. Kevin got to be a part of the festivities AND do manly deer hunting things (including shooting a deer), I got more for my money in costume wear, and Jackson got twice the candy. There were no losers in the Reed household this weekend!