Zoe&Caleb: Candy-fest

It seemed harmless enough, on face value. A Halloween parade at the new school was on the docket for Friday, with the full-time and morning tots programs planned to get together for an event promised to be no more than a half hour. The festivities were to start at 9:30, and I wasn't sure what to to expect...would we walk around the block? Would the kids trick-or-treat from classroom to classroom?

After a tug-of-war that resulted in multiple costume changes (cow onto Zoe, Caleb full-on meltdown, cow off of Zoe, cow onto Caleb, penguin onto Zoe...) we made it to the jammed parking lot of the school. My attempt at dropping off Zoe at her class with be-costumed teachers, over-heating children in costume, and hyped-up parents was to no avail. We ended up upstairs in the auditorium with approximately 5,000 paparazzi parents and grandparents and classes of wary looking kids sitting on the floor. About a third were crying, another third were trying to pull off some park of their costume, and the other third were looking around in trepidation at all of the people.

The "parade" ended up with Zoe and Caleb sitting firmly on my two knees (why did I wear a skirt suit??) actually IN the glom of kids that were Zoe's class. Thank God my cousin is the lead teacher and let us break the rules a bit, and didn't make me scoot to the back with rest of the parents. It felt like there was some kind of angry, amormous beast swelling behind the kids with the multiple eyes of zooming camera and camcorder lens. Each class took turns walking simply around the middle of the auditorium...thank goodness there was no attempt to leave the building.

Caleb sit for this photo for approximately 2 seconds and then came right over and wouldn't release his grib on my hand/leg, poor thing.

Zoe didn't really want to be anywhere but on my lap

They walked hand-in-hand out with the rest of the class for about 10 steps...

...took one look around at the crowds, and scooted right on back to me!

The weather dropped into the 50's during Halloween week, so all the costumes were for the usual night-time fall temperatures...Zoe was getting so hot in her head-to-toe penguin garb.

The evening's neighborhood trick-or-treating was so much more their speed! "Trick-or-treat!" was soon discarded for howls of "Candy!!!" at the neighbors' doors...who can blame them. When else do you get to bang on people's doors and get stuff for free?

Lola and Grandpa came in for the fun, and manned the house while S and I went to about a dozen houses with the kids. No scary bizarro chicken costume at the one neighbor's house this year...