Halloween 2016

Eons ago when I asked Marcus what he wanted to be for Halloween he was quick to reply, "A football player!" Internally I groaned. A football player seemed so generic, and honestly, kind of boring.

As Halloween neared, I persistently asked if a football player was really the costume of choice. A resounding, "YES!" was always the answer.

For the first time in.... ever?... I purchased our costumes (usually my mom creates the most magical costumes). Marcus, the football player. Julia, the cheerleader. Scott (not pictured), the football coach. Me? I'm the referee. While not as creative as I was hoping, each costume seemed so appropriately representative of our actual roles in life.

Admittedly I initially had zero intentions of putting this post together, or using any of the photos I took. And all for a number of (selfish) reasons... For example, the photo above: Scott's not in the picture, the focus is completely jacked, Julia is probably distracted by a bird, and my hair is frizzy (like, woah). But, it's really the only photo I have of us, and I want my kids to remember.

And last night? Oh my gosh. Let's just talk about how much fun Trick or Treating was. At first I don't think Marcus really grasped the concept until we were sitting down for dinner and the doorbell rang. Once Marcus realized kids were dressed up, going to houses, FOR CANDY, it all clicked. He looked up from his dinner plate, his eyes wide and innocent, and said, "Mommy, after we're done eating can I go to people's houses and say Trick or Treat, and get candy, too?" Absolutely.

That's precisely what we did. We rounded up our neighbors and hit up as many houses as possibly in our little neighborhood. Marcus and his friends went door to door like old pros.

Meanwhile, Julia held her own. Like the big kids, she insisted on walking to every single house, carrying her own bag, and going up to each door. She'd proudly thrust her candy bag out for her treats. Near the end of the evening her bag got so heavy she had to resort to simply dragging it behind her. Several times we tried to help her, but she wanted none of that.

Please excuse the horrible quality photos, but last night there was just too much excitement and chaos to actually think about picture taking.

Let's pretend Marcus wore the shoulder pads and black eye strips that would have completed his costume...

After we'd made our rounds we came back home, where Marcus quickly resumed to roll of passing out candy to those who rang our bell. He was so proud to open the door, compliment costumes, and diligently pass out candy.

At bedtime we asked Marcus what his favorite part of Trick or Treating was. His reply, "Passing out the candy to other kids." He was so honest and sincere, and I was resorted to a puddle of mush.

Before I fell asleep I told Scott that this Halloween was the most fun one to date.

And while my photos aren't anything extraordinary, our Halloween most certainly was.