Trick or Treat

We celebrated Alex and Ari's first Halloween yesterday in our new neighborhood which, we have learned, takes this holiday very seriously. There is an annual Halloween party and parade, house decorating contest, and other Halloween-themed events in the days leading up to October 31. One street in particular gets into the spirit in a major way- houses are decorated, residents (adults and kids alike) are dressed up in elaborate costumes, and special effects make for some fun and scary experiences. One home had (among other things) a coffin in the front yard, from which a live person emerged (amidst fog) and roamed around the yard, likely inflicting psychological damage on some of the younger trick-or-treaters. Another enterprising neighbor erected a dummy on a motorized scooter and maneuvered the scooter around the neighborhood via remote control and two-way radio, which allowed the ghoul on the scooter to talk to the passing trick-or-treaters. We've never seen anything quite like it.

Our good friends Mark and Melissa brought their three kids (Alex, Vivi, and Zach) over for an early dinner and trick-or-treating. Alex and Ari joined their older pals in their double stroller until they got too tired to enjoy the festivities. As you can see from the picture below, neither was in the best mood by the time trick-or-treating began. Alex may not have been too pleased with the fact that Mommy and Daddy put him in the hot pink dragon costume, but because it was much larger than the purple dragon, it fit him better. Alex wanted us to make sure to tell everyone that tough guys can wear pink. Here he is with his sister and with friends (big) Alex and Vivi:
And here are Ari and Alex with the pumpkin Nana won for them earlier in the day at Trader Joe's:
We're already planning for next year when Ari and Alex can walk door-to-door, and plotting our strategy to win the neighborhood house decorating contest!