Halloween

What a long day yesterday was. Long, but good. After dropping Andy off at school, Sam and I raced home, cut up some fruit for Andy's class party later in the day, packed a lunch, then raced back to school to help out with their Dance-a-thon. I use the term "help out" loosely, because we basically just danced for about 45 minutes, through two sets of age groups (grades 1,2,3 then grades 4,5,6 I think) while shooing the kids away from the sound equipment. It was a bit of a work out, because Sam didn't care for the event, and I ended up holding him most of the time. Here I they were doing the chicken dance. Andy ran out of the picture before I took it. We ate lunch with Andy in the cafeteria, then proceeded to his classroom to help out with the afternoon party activities. Sam and I were at the mask-making center (or should I say centre?). I should have taken pictures of the kids with their masks, but I guess I was too busy cutting out the eye holes. After crafts, it was time to change into their costumes! Then it was back to the gym for the parade of costumes. A tired alligator who did not get a nap; luckily the day before he had a long one! Then it was back to the room for some snacks, and home we went. (Actually, Sam fell asleep in the car on the way home and slept for about an hour, so his batteries were charged for trick-or-treating.) After dinner, they donned their costumes again, ready to GET THAT CANDY! We went back inside because Otto wasn't ready yet - he was making some hot chocolate for the hike. Andy took this shot while they were waiting. It was very nice weather for this time of year, I was told by several people. Apparently there is normally snow, and the kids are wearing their snowsuits under their costumes. Here was part of their stash. And here's the pile that got recycled to some lucky kids without peanut allergies (I asked). Sam reminded me several times that he isn't allergic to peanuts, but it's just not worth the risk.... But I sure hope Andy grows out of this allergy at some point, because I do love peanut butter, especially when paired with chocolate. You don't know how hard it was to give that pile away to those kids! So here were a few things in the pile that we didn't get in the States. There's a question on the side of this bar that asks, "Have you felt the bubbles melt?" And the answer is, no, I pretty much inhaled it. Next time I'll try letting the bubbles melt. I think I've seen Smarties before, but M&Ms still taste better to me - maybe because that's what I grew up with. And the Coffee Crisp I like. These I found out have peanuts after I popped them in my mouth for a taste, so the rest went into the recycle pile. I could have read that they had peanuts on the side of the package, but I think my brain was suppressing that thought process so it could possibly have a peanut/chocolate taste experience - and it worked! After the first one (which was genuinely a surprise) I did read the label on the second candy bar, but by that time I had already been contaminated, so I figured I'd throw another one back. YUM. I did avoid giving Andy any kisses until I thoroughly rinsed my mouth out with water, and brushed my teeth. Sadly, for some kids that still wouldn't be enough. So I'm glad Andy's allergy isn't as severe as some others.This morning there was the great sorting of all the loot. In New Orleans, we not only did this with candy after trick-or-treating, but with the beads after every Mardi Gras parade. Then there was a tally of the three biggest piles. Sam enjoying a sweet in the sliver of sunlight that the living room gets for about 10 minutes a day.