First, let me just reiterate (for those of you who have missed it the last 542 times I said it) – I grew up on a farm. We lived out in the country, at the end of a long asphalt road, in a house that looked like a castle, hidden behind lots of trees. My cousins and grandparents all lived at the end of similar roads in similar houses less than a mile from ours. And most of us (with the exception of me and my mom) were all TALL. Some freakishly so:

My cousin, Jill, on some High School trip. I found this pic on FB and snatched it up. I've just been waiting for the right opportunity to post it! Isn't that hilarious???
In fact, when we all traveled to Canada on a family vacation years ago, they called us “The Sixteen Tall Americans” – only they said it in a Canadian accent, which made us all giggle.
So needless to say, not many people from town came out to trick-or-treat at our house. Actually, no one ever did. Not once. In fact, we usually just ignored Halloween, although once in a while, mom would take us to town to trick-or-treat at some friends’ houses.
After I married Brad and we moved to the city, I was so excited to finally have trick-or-treaters!!! Except we lived in an apartment for the first 7 years and no one ever came knocking on our door.
Then, finally, the Halloween after we moved into our first house, lo and behold – little children – and some not so little – knocked on our door and begged for candy!!! It was, well…kind of a let down.
I mean, what’s fun about getting up and down over and over again to answer the door and say “Happy Halloween” to a bunch of kids I don’t know? I decided that would all change once we had kids – and it did. It got a whole lot more annoying as our kids were small and inevitably cranky because of too much sugar or not enough sleep or not liking the itchy giraffe costume they were dressed in, and we found ourselves trying to hand out candy AND deal with babies and toddlers. I was sure that once they were old enough to understand it all, it would be so much fun for all of us!
Fast forward to last night. All 3 kids are now in school. All 3 kids picked out their own costume and so had only themselves to blame when they were hot and itchy. All 3 kids were excited about the chance to answer the doorbell. [Side note: I want to publicly apologize to any neighbors who have small children who encountered my not-so-small children at our door last night. I’m afraid they might have overwhelmed some of you when they all started talking at one time and asking your children what they were dressed as and telling them Happy Halloween and ONLY 2 PIECES OF CANDY – NO, YOU CAN’T HAVE JUST ONE, YOU HAVE TO HAVE 2!!!]
But despite all the hubbub, it did free me up to work on my own costume, which consisted of a ladybug mask with those little glow sticks in them that I found at The Dollar Store. (Actually I had a wand full of colorful glowsticks – also from The Dollar Store – that I forgot all about. Now I have my costume for next year, too…Glenda the Good Witch!)
After a while, we went out trick-or-treating ourselves and did what all our neighbors do – left the candy in a bowl with a sign that said “TAKE 2 PLEASE” – on our front porch. We made the circuit, then came home to an empty bowl and did the only thing left to do when the candy runs out – turned off all the outdoor lights, closed the shades and checked out our haul.
Whew! Thank goodness we’re done for another year! I can’t wait until we’re old enough to keep the lights off and blinds closed and pretend we’re not home.
City life is for the birds.
It looks like the boys had a great time. Thanks for sharing the pics.
(i wonder why the parents never get their pics posted??)
No one reads my blog to see pictures of the kids’ parents!!!
Britany, Anonymous was Loren…..I like pictures of parents and children. You all were cute, especially when sitting at the kitchen table. We actually had about 17 kids this year. None for the last couple years.
Wow! 17! Did you have any candy or did you have to rummage through your drawers???
Britany Just
Sent from my iPhone
In my defense, I guess I’m just imagining all those candy sacks I fixed up so cute to make up for not going trick or treating. And don’t you remember when we went on Margo Drive to visit our friends, you couldn’t drive for all the cars (and each one full of kids!) Those friends would buy 500 pieces of candy, giving them out one by one and run out before the evening was over! Just saying…
Haha! I think you MORE than made up for it, mom! In fact, if you remember, one of they few times we did go to town, someone threw a water balloon into the window and hit Lisa so hard, it knocked out one of her gypsy earrings! In fact, that might have been the last time we went…
Britany Just
Sent from my iPad
Yes, Britany, I just had the feeling we would have kids so I bought some candy. Now Grandpa got his pick first, but there is still a bowl full for the Grandkids. I know they will love the “jelly eyes” which Dad tasted and said they were good..YUK…Our little trick or treaters were all about Ainsley’s size, very small. One little boy couldn’t reach the door bell so Dad went outside and picked him up to ring it. I gave out his candy!!! Ainsley told us last night that she couldn’t say “trick or Treat”!!!!!