My Trick-or-Treaters

I have said it before, but it is a point worth repeating. Scott is a really good sport especially when it comes to wearing costumes and matching clothes. Saturday was Halloween and time for his annual father/ son Trick-or-Treating event.

This year Robby asked to be a Dinosaur. He is quick to point out that he is a friendly dinosaur, not scary. And, although he is wearing a costume, his name is still Robby!

With the help of his Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin DVD, as well as the Berenstain Bears', Robby was fully prepped for the procedures around Trick-or-Treating. He talked about ringing the door bell, standing back and saying, very loudly, "Trick-or-treat." He was eager to get candy and rocks.

Yes, Robby was convinced that he would receive rocks when trick or treating just like Charlie Brown on the DVD. After all, to a three year old rocks are probably more fun than candy. He told me he was going to use his rocks with his digger truck, and he would play with them outside.

Knowing that nobody would foresee Robby's desire to receive rocks, I decided to be proactive to thwart a disappointed dinosaur. I spoke with our neighbor and asked him if he would give Robby some rocks when he came to his door. Thinking the request was a bit strange, he agreed anyway.

Robby was so excited to go trick-or-treating. All day, running errands, he kept pleading for me to hurry home. "Hurry Momom, hurry. Trick-or-treat any minute... hurry Momom hurry!" The clock must move slowly when you are an anxious toddler, especially when you don't yet understand the concept of time.

We tried to explain to Robby that he couldn't go out for Halloween until it started to get dark. Unfortunately, it was overcast outside and looked like dusk for most of the day. We then opted to tell him that he had to eat dinner first. He sat at the kitchen table, telling me that he was hungry. It was only 3:00.

Finally, after quickly feasting on a meal of roasted raven (turkey), it was time to get into his costume. Robby got into his costume in record time. Since it was Saturday, Scott didn't require a lot of tweaking to look disheveled!

It was a relatively warm night which worked to our advantage. Pants under the fur toga dress would have ruined the caveman look for Scott! Although he was a little chilly, he wasn't freezing cold in his costume.

Before I knew it, my little trick-or-treaters were off to conquer the neighborhood. The caveman was chasing a quick little dinosaur who was running from house to house. My two boys seemed to fully adapt their costume personae.

Robby was busy roaring and smiling because, after all, he was a happy dinosaur. Scott was grunting, walking stooped over and swinging his club at traffic. They both enjoyed trying to scare fellow trick-or-treaters. Apparently Scott even hid behind a tree to startle a small group of older kids who claimed they weren't frightened by the caveman. His plan would have worked had he not slipped on the grass and fallen on his sparsely covered bum.

Unlike their prehistoric counterparts, our dinosaur began to tucker out. My little happy dinosaur returned home, carrying a bag full of candy and a few rocks, and riding piggy back on a caveman's back. They were both wet because it started to rain halfway through the neighborhood.

Scott continued to walk stooped over for the rest of the night. Initially I thought he was still in character. It wasn't until he asked for the Advil that I realized that carrying a little dinosaur caused him to hurt his back.

Despite a slightly sore back, it was a successful Halloween night for my boys. Robby is thrilled with his rocks, and we are happy with his candy loot. We have wonderful pictures and memories. Someday Scott will be able to tell Robby about when he carried a little dinosaur through the neighborhood, trick-or-treating for rocks in the rain.