Where did October go??

I'm so mad at my computer today. The SD drive will NOT work and I wanted to post pix of my lil Mad Hatter. Tracker won his class's costume contest Friday with his Johnny Depp impression altho, he flat refused to let me paint his face. We did a trial run Thursday nite so I'd know how long I needed to get him ready and that was it. Burned him right out on face paint. He said it itches and chaps his lips so NO MORE. With more than a little persuasion, Amanda and I finally did talk him into orange eyebrows at least. Geeze. Stubborn, strong-willed...whatever you wanna call it, at my house it all means the same thing....Tracker Eli.

I also got the privilege of taking Mr. Tracker trick or treating for the first time Saturday nite. Well, the first time that he can actually recall anyway. We took him when he was one but the poor thing had to stay wrapped tight in a blanket in his stroller on that extremely COLD Colorado nite. Wasn't much fun for any of us...we all returned home with wind chapped faces and runny noses. He opted out of the Mad Hatter costume for trick or treating...well, more like he bawled and had a fit to not wear it. The top hat and wig are a miserable ensemble I guess. Who knew? He plainly told me that next year, he was bein' something NORMAL. Okay, okay. So much for my bright and very adorable ideas. He dug thru Josh's camo til he found the leafy set that reminds me of The Swamp Thing and went as that. Happy as a little lark too. Brat. (Coulda saved myself trouble and money!)

Mom's house was his first stop. I didn't figure she was expecting us, so we parked around the side so she didn't recognize Track by our car. The camo set has a hood and only his eyes were showing. I love my mom...she is the most dramatic person I know. She would have rocked as an actress. She opens the door and yells, "OH MY GOD! It's a trick or treater!" as she turned and ran for her bowl of candy. She was home alone. Maybe she was telling Cooper the cat?? She was so thrilled to get to hand out candy! I got tickled cuz I knew by her reaction she didn't know it was Tracker. So me, Josh and Matt are laughin our heads off and motioning like crazy at Tracker not to give it away. He ripped off his hood when she asked him what he was dressed up as. We got another, "OH MY GOD, it's TRACKER!". She thought that was the best thing ever, that he tricked her and she just laughed and laughed. I love it...love her drama and hearing her laugh. It made our nite, too.

He was a little bashful at the first couple houses, not too sure about bangin' on door and saying "Trick or Treat!" and expecting something in return. He got the hang of it pretty quickly after the chocolate started piling up in his bucket. He was so excited to run from door to door. I hadn't taken any of them trick or treating in so long, I'd forgotten how much fun it is to watch all the excitement. I had a blast and we came home with boat loads of candy. Good stuff too. He got full sized candy bars and light stix. He was most impressed with the lady that gave him a Koolaid Burst...he was wiped OUT from all that candy gathering! Matthew Lee wiped him out on Three Musketeers and Taylor stole most of his suckers. He politely informed us, "It's okay, I'll share....I didn't buy any of it anyway." They must have worn their welcome out with him, however, becuz it wasn't long and he'd labeled everything in the blue bucket as HIS and his alone. The rest, he said, was fair game. :)

We polished off our weekend with a Fall Fest at church yesterday afternoon. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, the kids played flag football and basketball, shot some pool, and of course, the highlight of the evening was yet, more candy. I know that's the teenager's favorite part of the night, when they get their beloved bag of goodies....I don't care what they say, how cool they pretend they are....they LOVE getting candy and you may likely lose a finger if you try to take it from them. I only wish I'd have sat a little longer around the fire. There's something so calming and relaxing about the smell and sound of a campfire in the fall. I didn't even dread Monday morning...but I have a good reason...the kids' first basketball game is tonite!!! I am so excited...can't wait to go watch the mystery unravel...will my sophomore and freshman make it off the bench????? :)