all week long, in preparation for trick-or-treating, mary claire practiced knocking on doors and saying 'trick-or-treat'. she was very excited about her ladybug costume, which i let her try on several times before the big day! halloween night, she put on her costume and dan and i put on our bank robber costumes and we started our rounds of the neighborhood. we opted to pull mary claire around in her wagon, provided by 'anana' or amanda, and let her get out at the end of each driveway. unfortunately, not many people in our neighborhood participate in trick-or-treating, but mary claire got more than enough candy (not to mention the large amount we have left over since we didn't stay home to give it out). now every time mary claire wants a piece of her candy she asks me for 'trick-or-treat'.
our neighbors across the street take halloween to a whole new level. they spend the entire month of october in preparation. we have to take mary claire by their house before it gets dark because they are dedicated to scaring the you know what out of all trick-or-treaters. the screams they evoke can be heard all around the neighborhood. this year's theme was what i would call a creepy carnival complete with clowns, a fortune teller booth, and a giant jack-in-the-box with one of the said clowns inside. they even put a disclaimer at the end of their driveway before you enter.
that night mary claire stayed at the hankin's house, our good friend leah's parents, while we went to a halloween party and then downtown with leah and a few other friends. halloween in downtown orlando is like a whole other world. it is fantastic for people watching! we saw everything from giant tetris pieces to the entire cast of sesame street (sadly we did not have the camera). it was great for dan and i to have a night out sans mary claire, which is a very rare occurrence around here. overall, halloween was great and now we have thanksgiving to look forward to!
