I’ve always had a thing for Halloween. It’s long been my favorite holiday. Unfortunately the members of my household fail to share my enthusiasm. The husband has absolutely no interest, but I thought the little man might. In past years he had absolutely adorable, but somewhat expensive get-ups…a dinosaur, a lion, a fuzzy blue monster and a cuddly bear. We’re a little broke this year, so the plan was to dress him up in his firefighter outfit (a raincoat, boot and hat set which we already had, courtesy of grandma) and have him assist me in handing out candy. But things so rarely go according to plan. He wasn’t in the mood to dress up, and a few components of his costume were missing to boot (including the boots). He did go to the door with me about half the time, though. When handing out candy he tried to be sneaky, doing a little “one for you, three for me” but I busted him. Most of the time. Also not according to plan, my video selection for the evening. I thought we’d give Nightmare Before Christmas a go. The husband doesn’t care for it and went to hide upstairs, but I forged ahead. For a few minutes. The opening music alone was enough to spook the little man. He had the strangest look on his face when he turned to me, asking if he could watch one of his old Baby Einstein videos instead. Eventually we settled on a video we all love, but that isn’t very Halloween-ish…The Princess Bride. At least the actors are in costume. Also a bit of a letdown…the trick-or-treater turnout. I was expecting more kids to be out and about, as it was a Friday night. The first year I was in the house I had an unbelievable ninety-eight kids come to the door. It was unseasonably warm that year, though…and it’s been a steady decline each Halloween since. Though I do my best to draw ‘em in. This year I had a lit up jack-o-lantern, luminarias lining the walkway, glow in the dark ghosts hanging from the boulevard tree, and a black light (which the killjoy husband claims is cancer causing) on the front porch. I may have gone overboard with the candy. Had enough to fill up the little man’s Radio Flyer wagon. So for the few kids who did show, each got a handful, and then some. And we still have a wagon half full of candy. Click on the photo below to view a gallery of photos from the evening.