Costumes and Candy

Halloween has come again and with it all the fun festivities that precede the actual holiday. The ward party came first this year and Bennett loved seeing all his friends in costume, especially those who dressed the same as he did. Eli could've cared less about the costumes: he was all about making the new activity chair's life miserable by messing up all the little games that were set up around the gym. Hijacking bowling pins for his own caveman club purposes, knocking down the wooden jack o' lantern targets for the bean bag toss, and then of course grabbing the fishing poles from all the other kids just in time to take their candy prizes. We could not keep up with that kid and his hi-jinks. Eventually he took to just spinning around the middle of the gym floor, making himself dizzy enough to lie down and do snow angels (minus the snow). Sigh. What are we going to do with this child?

Yesterday my friend Laura and her two girls braved the always-crowded Santana Row celebration with us for some trick-or-treating at Gucci and all the other upscale stores that for some crazy reason allow small children into their stores full of very expensive items. Bennett and Jordyn were so excited to be filling up their candy buckets, and even little Eli had an iron grip on his candy bag, dragging it on the ground when it got too heavy rather than let me help him. I don't think he trusted me. Smart kid. Especially once we hit the Joseph Schmidt Confections shop where they give out gourmet chocolates that make the whole trip incredibly worth it. Luckily they passed them out to the moms AND the kids, although that didn't stop me from stealing the boys' the minute we got home.

**Notice how tight and short Benito's dinosaur costume is on him. It's a darling hand-me-down from the Seattle cousins that I was hoping would fit when we had him try it on a few weeks ago. When I saw how small it was I told him no way. Not that that mattered. He loved it and insisted on wearing it, no matter how many costume alternatives we tried to present him. How did I get such stubborn children?! Anyway, that's why he's wearing the boots--to hide the floods. Every time he bent over at the ward party the other night I was sure he was going to split the crotch right then and there, but by some miracle he still hasn't, even after two wearings. Will it survive Halloween night is the real question? Such suspense.