All Hallows' Eve

Anyone who knows me well knows that Halloween is by far my favorite holiday. Thanksgiving and Christmas are fine, but who doesn't love a holiday that revolves entirely around dressing up, partying and free candy? In my younger days I would spend literally months in search of the right costume. This year I was extra excited because my sister Peg was coming to visit from Rochester and it was Beck's 1st time trick-or-treating. Rob was out of town on a long-due trip up to Wisconsin to go to the UW-Purdue game with some friends of ours. Peg and I had a great time and, as usual, had many bouts of giggles. I took off of work on Friday so that her and I could enjoy some time together without the kids. We even managed to find the elusive Peanut Depot which I have previously attempted to find on 3 separate occasions, with no luck. Who would hide a peanut shop underneath a bridge in the middle of the city? It was worth the hunt, the peanuts are amazing. We tried some cajun-style boiled, but in the end stuck with plain salted.

Beck was really excited about going trick-or-treating, it was all he talked about for days. He kept changing his mind about what he wanted to be, but in the end decided that he wanted to be a skeleton again, like last year. I was happy with that, since it meant little money or effort on my part. I did do a little face paint on him, which ended up looking much creepier than I originally intended.

 

 Baylor was originally supposed to be a lion- he rejected that idea outright. I tried several time to have him try on his costume, but that only elicited tears and screams, so in the end he just went as himself.

 Maybe next year.

We stopped by our friends Harrison and Katy's for some pre-trick-or-treat chili and snacks (and glasses of wine for mom), and then headed down a couple of blocks to a street know as the "Halloween Street."  This street is amazing, every house on the street does up wild decorations and everyone tries to outdo each other. Kids come from all over to trick-or-treat on this street, they even block off both ends and have police guard.

 

                                                                                  

This whole thing was kind of like Mardi Gras for children.

This house had a Peter Pan theme and was actually showing the movie on their front yard on a projection screen.

           
               This robot girl is the niece of a co-worker of mine and happens to live on the Halloween street.
                                                                               

                                                              
                                           This little guy was awesome.
                                                                     

All in all Beck made out like a bandit, we are definitely going back next year. 

Thanks for coming to visit, Aunt Peg!