Happy Halloween!

This year we celebrated Halloween in Tehachapi with Gram. That means the kids got to go trick-or-treating with their cousins.

Piper was a monkey (can't let a good costume go to waste!). Parker was Scooby-Doo (this is the first year he got to choose his costume). Carli was a cat. (No, Scooby was a gentleman dog and didn't chase Carli around all night.) And Josephine was a suffragette. (She recently finished a book on famous women and would have been Amelia Earhart -- but her friend already snagged the idea.)

Tehachapi was a great place to trick-or-treat. Lots of houses in the holiday spirit. A lot of people got nostalgic when they saw Scooby (which is always good for the candy haul). Even better, the kids got to share the fun with Gram and Grandpa (who are also very good for the candy haul).

A Disney Halloween

So we decided to take Parker over to Dland to see the Halloween decorations. We were hardly in the park and who do we see? Mickey in all his Halloween finest. And then we turned and immediately saw Pluto. Talk about a good day.

The weather was also in our favor. Cloudy and overcast, the threatening weather seemed to scare people away because it wasn't crazy crowded. (Lucky for Chris!)

We hit up a few Parker favorites -- the train, the carousel, and Dumbo. We even caught up with Woody in Frontierland. Plus a mom and dad favorite -- the Haunted House, which was decked out in all it's Nightmare Before Christmas best.

Of course, we had to introduce Parker to another element of the park. This time, it was the rocket ships that circle in front of Tomorrowland. As expected, HE LOVED IT.

After that, we ended the day early and, as it sprinkled a bit coming home, felt good about the decision since they said they would cancel the fireworks if there was rain.

Halloween 2008

Parker and Chris stopped by the office before we went out Trick-or-Treating, which have Parker a chance to take Bulls-Eye out for a ride. Rebecca loaned it to us for Parker to use with his costume but after some thought we figured it best that we leave it behind. With all the stuff that Parker had to focus on...and in the dark, we figured the last thing he need was an extra pair of legs to trip over.


This year we hit up Andy and Page's neighborhood, which gave us a potty stop, if the need arose.

Being his 4th Halloween...and 3 year at Trick-or-Treating, Parker was an old pro -- hitting up houses and flirting with everyone who couldn't resist a cowboy (''Woody'' for those in the know).

The evening ended back at Andy and Page's, which gave us a chance to catch up, ending the night on a nice note.

Halloween 2007

Halloween 2007,
originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

This year, Parker was a fireman and his entourage consisted of me, Chris, Aimee, Geof, Jan, and Thommy.

I tell ya, after a bunch of brush fires hit a region, the best costume is...yes...the fireman. Everyone loved Parker's costume, which meant a big haul this year. The good thing, though, is that Parker still doesn't have a concept of candy so I didn't have to worry too much about him snacking along the way on a bunch of sugar. Which is good, since we ended the festivities at Bob's Big Boy. (This is the second time in a row we've done this...could this become our ''thing''?)

L-R: The setting on my camera switch but it kind of looks like Fireman Parker's escorting the masses out of an inferno. Yes? Parker inspects his haul. Happy family calls it a night.

Halloween

Parker has some pumpkin bread as Chris talks about his day. (Let's just say, the fact that Chris is able to join us tonight -- rather than work his normal insane hours -- should give you an idea of how
his day went.) But eventually, Parker had to put his foot down. "All right! All right, Daddy! Enough of the yapping! Let's go trick or treating!"

One house down, many more to go...what ever that means. Parker is still working his brain around what this whole trick or
treating thing is all about. In the meantime, he has his entourage to keep him focused on the important thing...having fun.

Things started to click and make sense after a while. Mommy or daddy would knock on the door and it would open. Everyone yells, "Trick or Treat!" Hold our the bucket and the stranger will drop something into it. Then move onto the the next house. Got it.
Follow the yellow brick road. Follow the...errr...grey concrete
road. It's Daddy, the Cowardly Lion, and their little dinosaur, Toto.

"Puppies to our left and to our right! We're surrounded, Daddy!"
By the end of the night, Parker was an old pro at this trick or
treating thing. Now, we were never able to get him to actually say "Trick or Treat". And while he does a great growl, he never said it a doorway for a stranger. But he was able to carry the bucket on his own and he could grab the offered candy on his own. (Call me a bad Momnmy but no, Parker didn't get to eat any of the received candy. I'm sure he'll get enough to make him sick ten times over in the years to come.)

Only one thing would bring this night to a screeching halt...a dirty diaper. Have no fear, Parker. The night's not over...not without a burger at Bob's. Parker shared a milk shake with Mommy, who had a chili spaghetti with American cheese (old school style).

Halloween Fever

Well, Parker ended his day at daycare today with a fever so not only will there not be any trick-or-treating but he'll be spending the day with Daddy tomorrow at home.

Monkey

Monkey
Originally uploaded by Car2nGrl.

This weekend we had a trial run of Parker's Halloween costume. It's a little warm but cute nonetheless.