Halloween Adventures

Ah, to be a kid again. I think Zach asked us 14 times if it was time to go trick-or-treating on Sunday. And while I know he was excited to get the candy, I suspect part of his excitement was that he got to RING DOORBELLS!!! Zach discovered doorbells a few months ago, when he learned he could cross the street and press the magic button to see if the kids could come out to play. Not a day goes by that he doesn't ask if he can go ring their doorbell. Literally.

But anyway, back to Halloween. My parents were here in the days leading up All Hallow's Eve, so Zach's level of excitement and fun was already at a maximum. As another side note, it turned out to be extremely helpful to have my parents here, since it meant we had only had to deal with having one driveable car for 3 or 4 days, and then got to go car shopping without having to make elaborate arrangements for the boys. I had never really considered how a parent with small kids test-drives... can you imagine if we'd shown up with a preschooler, a baby, and two car seats - ready to install them into a shiny brand new car so we could take it out for a spin??

Yes, the Civic died. It was a nice peaceful death in the garage, which in my opinion that car deserved, after 13 years of dedicated service. The black '97 sedan was my first brand-new car, and while the newness and shine had certainly worn off, it served us well for a long time. So RIP old friend! Soon you will go to a new deserving home, where some mechanic students will fix you right up again. In your place is a platinum gray Volkswagen Jetta, with all sorts of bells and whistles we like but don't really need. :)

I'm supposed to be talking about Halloween. Ok - first, Zach had a party at preschool, so he put on his Lightning McQueen Pit Crew (or is it a driver??) costume, grabbed a bag of treats for his classmates and had some fun. The kids were doing the limbo when we picked him up! On Friday we took him to a party sponsored by the early childhood arm of our school district, which has become a fun annual tradition. He loves the games, and loves the junk he gets as prizes even more!

^Posing with his buddy Vincent; doing the "boo walk" (think Halloween version of a cake walk) with Sylvia

^Bowling... look how his mouth is wide open. I noticed this trend in many of the pictures I took; this is apparently how he concentrates. And check out Zach in the second picture - he actually made that shot! Look at that form!! :)

^The Willards, minus one (thanks Grandma and Grandpa for watching Charlie so we could have focus on Zach, and not worry about racing home for C's early bedtime!)

And, of course, on the actual day of Halloween, Zach did eventually go trick-or-treating. He and Scott were out for just under an hour, while Charlie and I handed out candy to the 80+ kids who rang our doorbell. But that was enough time - he got plenty of loot!

^Neither boy was a big fan head-gear part of their costumes. While Charlie's 6-month bat costume fit him perfectly everywhere else, the hood was pretty tight, and he protested mightily when we put it on. Zach suffered through his hood for these pictures, as is obvious by his expression.

And a big thanks to Zach's friend Jack for lending us the LMQ costume!! I had decided last year that I would let Zach be whatever he wanted to be this year. All year long I kept hearing ghost, but once he saw a pit crew costume at a store, that was the end of that. Our boy is consistent - he likes what he likes!