Halloween

Halloween did not shine quite as brightly as it has in years past for the king. Last year the weather was great, and he had finally trained the children to make the most of all his trick-or-treating skills. They knew to avoid dark houses (chances of loot are slim), try to find neighborhoods where the houses are a little closer together, use a pillowcase so you don't have to come back so often, don't put your coat in the bag as it looks like you have more than you really do...He's a trick-or-treating expert.

Alas, this year, his children have about out-grown trick-or-treating. The prince didn't go at all (he's a sophomore after all!) But the princess did go with friends, and they did try to put his tricks, tips, and words of advice to work.

But before that could happen, there were pumpkins to carve. Oh, the sadness. Oh, the shock. Oh, the shame. Look who had to carve the pumpkins (donated from our neighbor's garden--no tornado could hold them down!) all by himself. Sniff, sniff. I'm not even sure we'll worry about pumpkins next year. The kids didn't. They were too busy living their more exciting lives! Please join me in a moment of silence for the king's lost dream.

He patterned them off a Halloween card one of the kids got, and they sure did turn out cute!

Cute! At 9:15 I texted the girls to head home. The princess quickly called back to ask us to come get them, as they were quite a distance from the house, and they were tired. When we came upon them, they weren't even trying to walk home. They were sitting on the wet sidewalk (it had been raining) waiting for us! If you're too tired to hoist your bag-o-loot (some people gave out cans of soda, not to mention all the candy they got), then it must be time to go home!

And here's a close up of her cute Ring Master costume taken the night before on her way to the school dance.