Trick or Treat

So, our first Halloween in Tennessee.

The morning after, over breakfast, Jim says to me, “I think it was a success.”

Despite the fact that I’m less than thrilled with the photographic evidence of the night, I’d have to agree.

From the get-go, things were against us.  The Tennessee Vols game was smack dab in the middle of trick-or-treating hours; some of our best friends couldn’t attend our party because they were at the aforementioned ill-timed game; other friends had to cancel at the last minute…

But then we all dove in to the steaming pots of chili and potato soup:

And then Andrea showed up with these:

And the littles decided that grilled cheese wasn’t so bad an idea (except for Seth, of course):

And all was right with the world.

Seth was thrilled to see Strawberry Shortcake (aka his BFF Mady).  (I promise, the feeling is usually mutual, but I think the chaos in our dining room took her a little by surprise.) 

I wasn’t sure that we’d actually manage to get everyone out the door.  All together, there were 7 adults and 7 kids in our group.  Lions and chickens and Dora – oh my!

And here comes the “trick” part of my evening, and also the reason that we weren’t ever able to get one picture of ALL the costumed kiddos together.

Our group has a handful of “little mothers,” and the lure of all the baby paraphernalia in Seth’s room proved to be too great a temptation for them.  Within the first hour, the little girls had bathed, diapered, swaddled, and put to put every stuffed animal and toy in Seth’s entire room, using every blanket and diaper we own.

Poor George.  See his little paw?  He’s trying to surrender, I think.

But even George would have to admit, we laughed a lot, ate a lot, gave away (most of) our candy stash, and had a great time with our friends.