Trick or Treating

We had to have James wear the green dragon costume for pictures. He is the fourth boy to wear it! Just like four boys wore the smaller red dragon costume (which I have now passed on to my brother Peter).

I thought this was a cool angle I took with my Iphone. And can I just get a hallelujah for a great picture-taking session? Everybody smiled and nobody tried to scream their way out of the shot! 

Andrew used his light saber he got at his cousin's Star Wars birthday party. Ben was a ninja hunter (I made that vest with special slots for nerf gun darts), and Max was Gordon Hayward. We (JB) had just finished carving those pumpkins.

After the pictures with pink Love-a-Lot CareBear Millie calmly laying in the grass, looking around, Max picked her up -- but I had forgotten that Ben had asked me in the house if he could hold her. So he has his arm around Max below.

 And then it was his turn to hold her.

I fully recommend, even if it is a quick conversation, talking before-hand about Halloween night plans and expectations. This was one of the smoothest nights of trick-or-treating that we have had.  Max and Ben arranged to go trick-or-treating with two friends, and we told them all the rules of boundaries, safety, and manners and when to be home. I got feedback that they did very well. They also hit every single house they could within the given radius, and had very full pillowcases when they returned. Ben counted something like 150 pieces I think. Oh boy.

I took the little kids for the first round, and pushed the double stroller with water bottles and jackets piled on it. A thirsty, cold Richards is an angry Richards. And James hopped in between houses, so I kept chuckling to myself as I wheeled my three-year-old right to the doorsteps. Only in America can a child get a free ride door to door to get free candy. Then when Millie was thirsty and cold I switched with places with JB. And we were all in bed about a half-hour after normal bedtime.