A Very Different Halloween

So... most kids in the US are about to hyperventilate with excitement on Halloween, right? They can't wait to go trick-or-treating, isn't it so? Well, apparently my Kiddo forgot he was an American child this year, because just guess what he did as soon as he got home from school?

Are you ready for this?

He crawled on to the couch and TOOK A NAP!!!

Are you shocked? I sure was. Now granted, he had been sick the week before and was diagnosed with asthma, so I guess it's not TOO surprising. And I thought it was probably a good idea, since trick-or-treating was from 5 to 7. I figured we'd go downtown, make the rounds at the local businesses, come home, have dinner, try to attempt FHE, read stories, do the bedtime routine. He probably wouldn't get too bed too early, so he could probably use the rest. All right. Sounds good so far. So he slept until about 5:00. After he woke up, I encourage him to go use the bathroom and then we'd put on his costume and we'd be on our way. But, NO. Guess what Kiddo wanted to do? Just GUESS!

Give up yet? He wanted to have Family Home Evening, and he INSISTED-- yes, he really did-- that we MUST do it BEFORE we went trick-or-treating. For reals.

So we sang a hymn said a prayer, and he still wanted to keep going. For the lesson, Kiddo wanted to read all THIRTY-SIX of his Bible Heroes cards in their entirety. No skipping. You can imagine that by the time we finished, it was nearly six o'clock. And neither boy were dressed in their costumes.

Little Friend happily spun the wheels on the fire engine.

Finally, we were dressed and ready to go. Never mind that it takes 15 minutes to walk downtown... Guess who *almost* missed trick- or-treating altogether?

Little Friend didn't know what to think. He was a cute little zebra, though.

Surprisingly, Kiddo still managed to get a respectable amount of candy, particularly when you figure he eats 2 or 3 pieces a day for about 3 or 4 days before he loses interests. However, in this Mommy's humble opinion, there was a shocking lack of chocolate treats. :(

Here are my cuties. Notice the sky getting darker...

Even though the festivities were supposed to last until 7, most of the store owners were packing up and going inside by 6:45. I was pretty dismayed on Kiddo's behalf.

Obviously, Little Friend wasn't worried. He was asleep for much of the excitement.

Little Friend did approve of the loot, though. ;)

He didn't get any candy, of course-- but not because he didn't try his hardest.

Trying to steal candy is pretty hard work, eh?

All in all, it was a pretty good night, but completely unexpected in many ways. I think my little Kiddo taught us all a little bit about choosing that better part. These are those moments I need to hold on to and remember when I'm ready to hand him to the gypsies.

Although, who'd give these cuties to the gypsies? ;)