Happy Halloween!

We had an awesome three-day Halloween extravaganza this year! Friday at school I had a day full of festivities for my students - crafts, dancing, singing - and it all went off without a hitch. In the afternoon we had our parade - no rain! After school, I cleaned my room and set up my sub plans for Monday (I have a really interesting - no sarcasm - professional development to attend. Nice way to ease back into the week!) P and I went straight from working in my room to our school Halloween carnival, where the little one had a BLAST. She was sick last year, so this year there was a lot of 'whooping it up.'

Saturday we hosted a small party for some friends. I cleaned up our office, spooked it up a bit, and turned it into a craft room and game area for the junior set. Big people were upstairs watching the world series, eating, and drinking. Other than the Giants losing, it was loads of fun.

Today, after Sunday school and church, we had a lazy afternoon decompressing and enjoying the sunshine (70 degrees!) Then P and I headed over to our school neighborhood (unfortunately not our home neighborhood), and met her best bud for trick or treating. This is where it became a bit bittersweet for me. Miss P had pleaded with me to let her trick or treat with this little friend. The mom and I are also really friendly, so I jokingly asked when they'd be home so we could pop by, and she invited us to join them. Thing is, they were already invited to a neighbor's party that we weren't invited to. The plan was for us to kind of meet outside afterward. Well, when we got there at the planned time, it was still a little early for the main event, so the host graciously invited us in (she and I are friendly - in fact, I hope she isn't reading this!) Anyway, I joked about us crashing the event, and she said, 'no, no, please come on in!' I knew tons of people there (being a teacher helps) but still felt a little awkward. Part of it is, I like where we live, but being separated from the school neighborhood, you can feel a little like an outsider (or moocher, as I feel I often have to ask my local SAHM's for favors, but rarely have anything to offer in return, other than an occasional play-date at my house). Anyway, then I hear the host's youngest son - Miss P's age - ask her "Who invited you???" Bless her heart, she said 'Uh nobody! I'm just here to trick or treat with ____." Not a bit embarrassed. Then a few people were kind of shocked that E had stayed home to watch the game, instead of joining us. Finally, we were off to trick or treat and had an awesome time. One house was themed after Alice and Wonderland, and featured costumed actors, and an entire performance. We went in the house and it was like being on a ride in Disneyland, it included going down a slide into the rabbit hole, shrinking, growing, playing croquet, and having heads almost chopped off. Magical! It was very much a storybook Halloween, with the streets filled with families everyone knows, everyone having a great time. The miss ended up with about 60 pieces of candy. All in all, probably our best Halloween.