The excitement built early in the day. Gretchen asked what day it was and when we told her it was Halloween she instantly knew that she could go trick-or-treating. She was very excited. So excited that she didn't really want to wait for evening to get started!
Late morning/Early afternoon we stopped by a couple of friend's houses. These are friends we had from living here previously. It was so warm the Monkey and the Tiger couldn't even wear their entire contumes. Who plans for 80+ degree heat on Halloween?
Anyway, Lindy was delighted that we stopped over and raised the energy level in house considerably (we tend to do that when we go somewhere). Both kids picked Jellybeans for their treat and the trick-or-treating officially kicked-off. Somehow Lindy got the idea that his neighbors needed to see the Monkey and Tiger. We approached a group of neighbors who thought the kids were adorable. When one of them got the bowl of treats out, we asked the kids, "What do you say?" We had practiced. They knew the answer was, "Trick-or-treat." Is that the answer that came out of the Monkey's mouth? No - his answer was "Gimme." At least everyone thought it was funny (except JILL and I). At the second neighbors house the Monkey and Tiger barged right into the house as soon as the door opened. Luckily they are really good friends with Lindy and didn't seem to mind. Another review of the trick-or-treating rules included not barging into every house that opens it's door for you!
Onto another set of friend's house. We arrived at Mike and Judy's house and rang the doorbell. When the door to the house opened what did the Monkey and Tiger do? Did they stand at the door and say "Trick or Treat"? No - of course not. They barged right into the house! I thought we went over that! We visited for a little while and got to see 6 week old kittens, other cats and a dog. It was a good stop!
Evening arrived and it was time to go out. The Monkey and Tiger dressed up fully, including costume pants this time. The 4 of us went next door so that Mom could take a few more pictures. After a second house together, Mom went back home and the 3 of us went on.
The neighbors who recognized us couldn't believe the size of the Monkey and Tiger. For the most part they said "Trick or treat" and also said "Thank you. Happy Halloween." after they got a treat. One house had a bat on a wire and a spider that moved after setting off a motion sensor. The Tiger reacted exactly like the homeowner wanted. She asked if they were just decorations and when I told her they were, she went on and on about how she was scared at first until she knew that they were just decorations with the homeowner.
Last year at one house when the owner opened the door, I asked Gretchen "What do you say?" and she said, "He isn't wearing any socks!". This year, at the same house, she said, "What's your name?" instead of "Trick or treat" Oh well.
Other highlights included petting a poodle, getting coins and candy at one stop, fresh apples that we can actually trust and talking with everybody. The Tiger likes to talk. The woman with the poodle asked if it was really her hair or a wig. I quizzed Gretchen on the shape of a jack-o-latern's eyes and she quickly came back with the right answer and a woman commented on how smart the Tiger was. The Monkey did a good job with Trick-or-Treat and thank-you and Happy Halloween. He had a relatively long conversation with one woman about the banana in his pocket!
After maybe 20 houses (or about 2/3's of the small loop we were following) the Tiger decided she was too hot. She asked to take off the costume. I told her taking off the costume meant we were all done trick or treating and she agreed. When the costume came off, it looked like she had taken a shower! It was still well over 70 degrees. When the Tiger disrobed, the Monkey immediately asked to disrobe too. After the Monkey coat came off, he tried taking the pants off too - which might have been OK except there were no shorts under the costume!
All in all, it was a successful full day of trick or treating for the Tiger and the Monkey!
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