halloween part three

At last the big day arrived. Paul and I carved pumpkins the night before Halloween and showed Tim how to light them from the inside. Mom gave us some nifty lights that look like flickering candles, and Tim loves playing with them. He arranged and rearranged the pumpkins and other decorations many, many times.

tim had no interest in getting his hands in the pumpkin guts, but he was happy to play with the carving tools

We dressed the boys and headed out into the neighborhood at about 17:30 while it was still light and warm enough that Tim didn't have to wear a coat. Luke rode in his costume in his stroller. It took Tim three houses before he would say 'trick-or-treat' but after that he was a pro.

leaving the house of our neighbor with his treat

We soon saw other trick-or-treaters, many of them about five years older than Tim and dressed in scary costumes. One boy that we kept seeing was dressed in a monster mask and wild hair. He must have been getting hot or tired of it because he took it off between houses. Tim said, "Look, there's a real boy in there."

one of our neighbors decorated the front lawn like a cemetary

chocolate grin

He likes chocolate, but his favorite treat is a sucker, especailly the kind with a tootsie roll in the center. After we finished with our neighborhood, we came home to take our turn handing out candy. Tim enjoyed this as much as getting candy and was very good about putting one in each bag.

The day after Halloween, Tim told anyone who would listen to him this story: "I go trick or treat my whole neighborhood. I give some kids candy out the bowl the sun came down."