Happy Halloween

Halloween always proves to be more festive than we originally anticipate. This year we kept searching stores and internet sites looking for a full suit for Christopher so he could join our neighbor, Garren, as the infamous duo: John McCain and Barrack Obama. Garren is an adorable little black boy and Topher's closest friend, so our families thought it might be funny given the political circumstances at the time. Alas, we could not find any suits so we ended up borrowing a skunk costume from Garren instead. Then on the Sunday before Halloween, Aaron and I learned that we were supposed to be an Indian shaman and squaw for a murder mystery party later that week. So on Monday, my sister Jandel and I stormed the local craft stores and came up with these costumes. Thanks to Jandel, we were able to fringe the cloaks and bead the necklaces and add all the details that made us truly distinguishable at the ward Halloween party. Then again, only three other adults were in costume at the ward Halloween party. But this year Topher actually got to carry his bucket and perfect the declaration, "Trick or treat!" as he passed from one car trunk to the next in the church's parking lot. By the end of the long line of cars, Topher's stash was full and his legs were on autopilot. He ran in circles and laughed in delight and flopped in the middle of the lot like roadkill.

On Thursday night, Aaron and I attended our murder mystery party and won the goblets of success, meaning that the hostess determined we accomplished all of our characters' goals. I had figured out who the murderer was while Aaron had several fingers pointed at him. But my main goal in attending the party was getting to know some of the other people in the ward. We've been here for three months and I'm still learning names. It's always a long process...

And on Friday, Halloween, we had all kinds of grand trick-or-treating plans that never transpired. While Aaron helped out a law school softball game, I took Topher to the Pavilion on the UVA campus behind the main building to go trick-or-treating among all the hoards of college students, little kids, and camera-carrying parents. It was insanely crowded with miniature creatures and cartoon characters, and Christopher had to learn how to fight his way through the masses to access the candy available at every door. We were supposed to meet Aaron on a specific corner at 6pm, and just as Christopher was grabbing his last treat from a giving college kid, he chomped down on the Butterfinger offered. His sharp teeth tore through the paper and he managed to swallow some of the candy. Peanut butter. I immediately snatched the candy bar away from him and made him spit out the chocolate in his mouth. He coughed up more because of the paper his had swallowed, too. But even with that little bit of peanut butter, Topher started getting welts along his chin. So I grabbed a student and asked where I could find Benedryl. She pointed me in the direction of Cohn's, a corner store on the opposite side of the hill where I was supposed to meet Aaron. So I ran. I chugged Christopher across the lawns and sidewalks and streets until we were at Cohn's and I could convince him to eat a quarter of an adult Benedryl tablet by calling it candy. And by the time I had pushed Topher back over the hill to the corner where Aaron would meet us, his welts were fading but the rest of our trick-or-treating plans were canceled. I was exhausted, and my little skunk needed dinner and sleep more than he needed more chocolate.

So that was Halloween--full of hoots and hollers!