Best Halloween Ever.

Cinderella and Ariel!

 

I love these two girls!

"I like your princess dress!"

My beautiful Cinderella!

Kids were allowed to wear their costumes to school today! Anna Claire really wanted to be Cinderella, so it ended up being a great compromise. I knew she'd be cozy and warm indoors, so she could be Cinderella during the day, then she agreed to her Cheer Bear costume for trick-or-treating to keep her warm at night. T

They had a party/fall festival at The Red Barn and loved seeing each other all dressed up!

Amy and Anna Claire...do you think they're excited?

Trick-or-treating in style ;)

Cinderella by day, Care Bear by night to keep warm!

Sweet Amy!

Nothing like sippies full of hot chocolate on a fun night trick-or treating!

Pouring out her stash!

View of her costume from the back. :)

This Halloween was the best one I've ever had. We never did Halloween up like this when I was a kid.

I should start be saying I owe a huge thanks to our friends Paige and Mike who invited us to their spirited neighborhood to partake in the festivities. Their adorable little girl, Amy, is one of Anna Claire's best friends. They go to The Red Barn together and are in the same dance class.

The actual evening of fun was beyond what I could have imagined. There were hayrides and golf carts cruising all over their neighborhood. Most of the homes were decorated for Halloween more than most people decorate their homes for Christmas. Lots of jack-o-lanterns, orange twinkle lights, webs...very cool and spooky. Some had haunted music and dressed in costume to give out candy. Many people, Paige and Mike included, had fire pits set up in their yards or driveways to keep warm while they handed out candy. They also had hot chocolate for the kids to warm up mid-way through their trick-or-treating.

Larry and I brought Anna Claire's Radio Flyer wagon for the girls to ride in from house to house. This ended up being a life-saver. The girls didn't tucker out as quickly and they were able to cover more ground than if they'd done it on foot. We were also reassured that they were contained, rather than walking down the road.

There was a ton of traffic since people come from all over Clarksville to this neighborhood. Guess word got out and they have quite a reputation now for being THE place to trick-or treat! Some people even resorted to caravaning carloads of kids in vans or SUVs with the door slid open, letting kids run in and out of the car. Nice for those kids, but making it unsafe for those of us on foot.

All in all, the girls had an absolute blast. They did a great job saying "Trick or treat!" and "Thank you!" to everyone. I would love a repeat next year. Great fun!

The only complaint from the girls was that they did not have time to play with Amy's toys. Looks like we'll need to have a follow-up play date.