(An aside :: It is so nice to see that the girls are friends at school too and enjoy each other without parental influence, especially knowing that they will definitely begin first grade together when they are six years old. It adds a new dimension to seeing them play together, knowing that they will be friends for the next ten years, or even for the rest of their lives...)
Upon arriving at my friend's house I realized that I hadn't told Annabelle a thing about Halloween! She's learned a lot in recent weeks from the other children at school, but none of it has been talked about at home. Still in the car, I turned to her in the back seat...
Me :: Annabelle, do you know what we are going to do tonight?
Annabelle :: We are going Tricker Treating!
Me :: What does that mean?
Annabelle :: That means we are going to drive to a store and buy some candy!
Whoops. So I shared some details about the activity that we were about to try out, telling her how fun it is to meet new people and have them give us little treats. She immediately voiced her anxiety about visiting a bunch of strangers and asked if I would please be the one to knock on the door. We got out of the car and headed into my friend's house and within about a millisecond of observing the other children's enthusiasm and excitement, Annabelle could hardly wait.
Together with the others we began a casual stroll down a quiet residential street at dusk. Nearly every house had a few simple decorations and the porch lights were all on... we went to our first house and I took a picture just as Annabelle came sprinting down the driveway to show me that some nice lady had given her CANDY! The look on her face said, "Oh my god this is going to be the best night of my life."
For the next hour the children literally sprinted as fast as possible from door to door. I was relieved that I had decided to wear my running shoes! We quickly had to create a rule that the two girls had to wait at the end of the driveway until an adult could be there to walk with them.
At one point Annabelle stumbled on the sidewalk and dumped the entire contents of her basket onto the street. We helped her gather the candy back into her basket and went on our way. Less than one minute later, I snapped this picture of them waiting on the driveway while overhearing their conversation...
Friend :: Remember when you tripped and all your candy spilled?
Annabelle :: Yes.
Friend :: And remember when they helped you pick it all up?
Annabelle :: Yes.
Friend :: I almost cried for you.
Towards the end of the walk we came to one house that had set up a basket full of candy on the porch, with a little sign inviting visitors to help themselves. As the girls reached up to take their share, I leaned over and whispered...
Me :: Let's play a funny joke!
Girls :: (wide eyed and smiling) Yeah!
Me :: Instead of taking candy from this basket, let's dump all of OUR candy into it!
Girls :: YEAH!!!!!
And so the candy was unloaded into the basket. Amazingly, they still ended the night with a huge collection of treats. We walked into my friend's home and I told Annabelle that it was time for the very last part of Halloween, the part where she gets to choose one piece for herself and two pieces to save for Daddy... because the Halloween fairy was coming to our friend's house that night to get the rest.
We left a big pile of chocolate and candy on the carpet. But we made quite a little memory for us both! Such a spontaneous night, much more fun than I would have ever expected. Annabelle fell asleep in the car within just a couple minutes of the drive home.
I placed her chosen lollipop right next to her banana on the kitchen counter so she can grab them both after she wakes up tomorrow morning. It will be so fun to talk about it all in the morning! And I'm so glad I didn't wait till next year...
