Our Untraditional/Traditional Halloween 2012

Dear Em,
Halloween was full of surprises this year. I have to say, waking up to find we still didn't have power was a little bit of a downer. Having to go to Grandma & Papa's house to take showers was kind of a bummer (although it felt so amazing to be able to take a hot shower at all). As I was driving to work, a determination grew inside me. Maybe we didn't have power. Maybe our beloved coast had been damaged & destroyed. Maybe towns were postponing & canceling Halloween altogether. Not us, our family was going to have a Happy Halloween & make the most of it regardless.

The fun started with trick or treating, a Halloween party, & a cute parade at your school.

Best Teachers EVER!

Your class photo. It's no surprise to me who is sitting on the ground crying. You wanted to go trick or treating, not wait around for a parade.

It was such a sweet little school parade.

After school, we headed to the Olde Mistick Village in hopes they would still be holding trick or treating even though half their town was destroyed by hurricane Sandy. We were in luck, trick or treating was in full swing. As an added bonus, the Mystic Aquarium had also opened it's doors for free trick or treating since so many towns had canceled it.

We met up with little S, who you have dubbed your big sister. It's become a Halloween tradition to trick or treat with her & her family (Halloween 2011 & Halloween 2010), & we felt so thankful that we were all stayed safe during the storm & could still go out trick or treating. You were beyond excited to see little S.

The two of you skipped together, giggled together, & held hands together. It was adorable.

You were both so excited to see princesses.

Especially Rapunzel.

You were great at saying "trick or treat" this year, & it showed us how much you've grown up since last year. I think we also learned not to give you candy until the end of the night. Once you had a taste, you begged for more. "Daddy, give me candy! I need candy, pleeeeease!"

After the village, we headed to the aquarium.

First stop: beluga whales!

I remember going trick or treating with S's mom when we were young. It's so fun to watch our girls together on Halloween.

It was so kind of the aquarium to open it's doors to all the families for free. It was also crazy crowded & hectic. Once we had started tirck or treating, we realized there was only one way out, & we had to walk the whole thing. It took forever, but you were having a blast with little S & who can say they go trick or treating at an aquarium? All in all, it was a great time.

Just to add to the healthiness of all the candy, we went to McDonalds for dinner. I know I should feel like a bad mom, but hey, you were happy with your happy meal & it beats trying to make dinner in a power-less house.

When we got home, you & I put our skeleton PJs on & used our lantern to light them up so they would glow. I went to grab something in another room & returned to see you had shut the lantern off & had a huge smile across your face. "Mommy, I made myself glow!" You knw just the way to melt me heart. We read a book using lantern light before I tucked you into bed. We said our prayers, & when I prayed for the return of power, you chimed in with "& TV!" 

I couldn't help but smile, thinking about what a special day it had turned out to be. Hours later, it got even better. I was the only one still awake when I noticed a blue light coming from our cable box & heard the hum of our heat turning on. I felt like it was Christmas morning. I shook your Daddy awake & jumped up & down, turning on lights just to be sure. We had our power back!

When you woke up this morning, you mirrored our excitement. You ran to your light switch & flicked it off & on & off & on, with a big smile on your face. You spent the rest of the morning talking about all the things we can do now that we have power again. I don't know if we'll ever take power for granted again...at least not for a while.

So, what started off kind of rocky, ended up being a sweet Halloween memory...I don't think it could've been without you. Thanks for keeping smiles on our faces.

I love you so,

Mommy