Sophia and Madeline were so excited about Halloween and I think all of their anticipation was fulfilled. For at least six weeks now, Sophia has been asking, "When is Halloween?!" and we'd show her on the calendar. It was a long time coming!
The festivities began on Saturday with the church Halloween party, as I mentioned. (I'm glad we went to that because it was the only time all three girls were dressed up!) On Monday, Sophia got to wear her costume at her dance class, and then went straight from there to a Sparks and Brownies Halloween party where she got more treats and played lots of games, including bobbing for apples. (It was Neil's turn to take her to dance class, so he also went to the party, while I stayed home with the other two.)
This morning, Madeline had her preschool party for which she wore her Rapunzel dress instead of the pumpkin/ Jack-o-lantern. Sophia wore her cat costume to school this afternoon as her class also had a party and participated in a costume parade around the school. Finally, at about six o'clock, we kicked off an evening of trick-or-treating. I took the girls out while Neil and Georgia stayed home to hand out candy (40 kids came to our house this year). (We're taking turns with this too; I stayed home last year, but not the year before.)
First, we went to Bronwyn's new neighbourhood to do some trick-or-treating with her. The girls received plenty of candy there, but then we had to visit our own neighbours too. We finished trick-or-treating shortly after 8:00 p.m. and they ended up with a ridiculous amount of candy! At one house, the people practically unloaded their
bowl into Sophia and Madeline's bags because they said they were the only trick-or-treaters they'd had, and that was about 7:30 p.m. After we got home, we looked at all the candy and let the girls eat quite a bit. I recall the candy lasting way too long last year and I don't want that to happen again.
The weather wasn't too bad. At about minus five (Celsius) with a breeze and flurries, it was a bit chilly on exposed skin, but we were dressed appropriately so it was fine. 
It was great to have warm costumes for the girls. We found both the cat and pumpkin on a second-hand rack at Value Village in mid-September. They were in perfect condition and the price was unbeatable.
Neil carved two pumpkins with Sophia yesterday and two with Madeline today. This has become a tradition in our house. Thanks to Neil's mom for growing the pumpkins again, and for making the girls' Halloween bags!
