halloween fever

hello november! i hope you all had a great halloween. we certainly did here, although parts of it didn't go as expected (isn't that always the case?). ashford doesn't normally attend his preschool on tuesdays, but they were having a halloween party and invited all of the kids to dress up in their costumes and attend even if it's not their normal day. i took him to school at 11, thinking i would be hanging out there with him at the party for an hour or so. when we arrived there were no parents there and his teachers informed me the party was just for the kids. (two years ago when azalea went there they had a halloween party for the families with a costume parade, so i just assumed). i was kind of bummed because i was hoping to hang out with them and get some cute pictures, oh well. i went home for an hour and enjoyed some peaceful work time and lunch, so not all was lost. when i went to pick him up, many of the kids had taken their costumes off, so there are no pictures from the morning. ashford got a treat bag from his teachers, which he was excited about! 

we had a couple hours before azalea got out of school, so i made ashford take a nap so he would be rested for trick or treating. he woke up feeling hot and was also clingy and whiney, but i didn't think much of it. we picked up azalea. they did not do anything too halloweeny in her class (the school does not allow costumes or formal halloween celebrations to be respectful of everyone's beliefs). last year they had a "harvest party" for the families that i attended, which was so fun. this year they just did a craft and her teacher gave them each a candy bar, so that was nice. again, it's hard not to compare to past years, but i guess things do change. by the time we got home, ashford was super hot, whiney, and clingy and laid on the couch. we had about 30 minutes before we were supossed to meet thatcher and our friends vanessa, matt, and ewan in the business district for trick or treating and i was starting to worry that ashford wouldn't be able to participate. he was crying that he didn't wanna put on his costume and didn't want candy, but also that he wanted to see his buddy ewan. 5 minutes before it was time to go, he rallied and i got him into his costume. i figured thatcher could always bring him back if it didn't go well. i attempted to get some pictures of the kids outside before walking down: 

my fairy princess striking a pose. ashford ran from me every time i lifted my camera.

the tears in her eyes were from a bee that flew near her and freaked her out.

walking down to market street. ashford was still skeptical at this point. 

 we met up with thatcher, and ashford tentatively trick or treated at a few businesses.

the moment he saw ewan his adrenaline kicked in. he wanted to wear his blue wig and run around and started having a ball. 

 people loved their costumes. can you blame them? these boys are two peas in a pod! 

she was so excited! we ran into lots of her classmates there. 

best we could get of the 3 of them :) 

all the store/restaurant employees dressed up. it was so fun!

 after about an hour and a half we had hit all the trick or treat spots and we were ready for dinner.

vanessa had made us a reservation at "the hi life" which is a great kid-friendly spot in our neighborhood. we had a delicious and fun dinner with them. 

we were home by 7:30pm to sort our loot!

i was worried that i would feel like we "missed out" by not doing normal house trick or treating this year, but the business district was even better in a lot of ways! it was earlier so it was still warm out (57 and sunny!), we could see everyone's costumes (so many cool ones!), and it was like one big party down there. every one told me it's a blast and I'm a believer now! 

ashford was more than ready to go to sleep by the end of the night. he was clearly sick and i feel a little bit guilty that we took him out for the festivities when he wasn't feeling well, but we all had so much fun. i kept him home from preschool today, so he can get better. poor guy. 

happy best time of the yeeeear!