This year, Elliott had many, many ideas for his costume. At long last, the local fire department visited his preschool and handed out plastic helmets as part of their educational program. It was set!
The day before trick-or-treating--10/29 for us--I had the brilliant idea to make him a wearable fire truck. My favorite part was the Chinese food container lids that served as wheels. Oh! And can you make out his bucket? It says "Firefighters' Fund--Thanks for your support!" (I'll have you know our careless neighbors didn't donate a CENT.)
I had so many duo costume ideas (Tom and Jerry, salt and pepper shakers, etc.), but with Mr. Safety up there, I didn't have time to fashion a human fire hydrant for his brother. Besides, Earth-conscious Patrick preferred to recycle one of Elliott's old costumes. (I didn't feel guilty since Elliott crawled to a total of TWO houses in this lion number two years ago.) Still pretty dang cute, right?
As soon as we headed out for photos in the fall leaves, our neighbors stepped out, too. How CUTE is this couple???
By the way, those yellow buttons were a last-minute addition. The story goes like this: The boys and I strolled around a craft store, trying to come up with things that might help us create a truck. One of my ideas was button headlights, but I nixed it in the end. After the boys went to bed, I spent 3.5 hours creating a truck from nothing--all while reminiscing about the awesome costumes my dad always made for me as a kid. When Elliott awoke the next day, he inspected the fire truck as critically as only he can. After seeing all sides, he calmly looked up at me and said, "You forgot the headlights."
I weep for when this kid is a teenager and becomes "difficult."
Meanwhile, Patrick and Brooke were delighted they were both kitties.
They humored the annoying one with a camera (me) for only a moment. There was WORK to be done!
Our neighborhood sees some serious foot traffic when free food of any kind's involved. The kids, for the most part, did great. Of course, the older kids were far more serious and speedy than the younger ones, so we had to shout for a number of breaks. 
Neither boy lasted as long as I thought they would this year, but Elliott does love to hand out candy. As the kids and families approached our outdoor candy store, Elliott the Enforcer answered each joyful "Trick-or-treat!" with a stern One piece or two?? No one knew what to say.
Patrick ended up terribly confused by the whole process. Say "trick-or-treat," get candy, say "thank you," theeennnn EAT IT, right?!? He wanted to stop after every house, inspect his loot and, most importantly, see if he got any suckers that needed immediate attention.
Neither boy lasted as long as I thought they would this year, but Elliott does love to hand out candy. As the kids and families approached our outdoor candy store, Elliott the Enforcer answered each joyful "Trick-or-treat!" with a stern One piece or two?? No one knew what to say.
Sooooooo ... Happy Halloween!
