Boo!

It was a dark and stormy night. Ok, so it was only dusk, but it was getting dark fast. And it wasn't stormy, but in Texas in October, it could have turned stormy at any time. But I digress.

All Hallows Eve was upon us, and la familia de García set out on our Annual Trick or Treat Pilgrimage around the hood.

Strange tradition this is. You start by going to your local mega mart to buy 10 pounds of Halloween candy to hand out to the neighbor kids. Then, as soon as it gets dark, you leave the house with your own kid dressed up in a get-up, that at least for us, involves Princess garb, AGAIN. Your kid knocks on the neighbors' doors, and essentially begs for their candy. After an hour or so of this, you go back to your own house and begin to pray fervently for the love of all that is holy that now all the neighbors will send their kids to your house. Because now you have not only the 10 pounds of candy you paid for, but also the 10 pounds of candy your kid managed to collect on the pilgrimage.

I understand from some of my clients in other states that when their kids trick-or-treat, the kids get candy and the grown ups get beer. That would have made this night even better!

Anyway, LittleG is looking adorable in her blue princess gown and tiara, with just the right mix of glittery make up and stick-on jewels. She is, by all accounts, the most beautiful princess in the hood. And the neighborhood little old ladies LOVE her.

Thank heavens MrG was along, because we really needed a pack mule, and he served the cause well. By the third house, we had accumulated a pretty yellow gift bag with a bright green bow, two plastic character doll toys, and a specially created ziploc bag, crammed with so much candy that it wouldn't fit into LittleG's bucket. Like I said, the neighbor ladies LOVE my kid.

So off we go, with me handling flashlight duty and MrG on bag duty. LittleG has her spiel. It goes something like this: Ring the bell, and when the grown up comes to the door, put on your most adorable princess face and shout Happy Halloween. Shove your bucket towards the candy bowl and say Trick or Treat, then earnestly say Thank You. If you're feeling particularly lucky, give them that spectacular smile and hope they shove more candy in your bucket.

We'd been at it awhile when we turned the corner and found a scary yard, decorated with inflatable creepy guys and plastic tombstones, covered in fog from the fog machine. And of course, the spooky scary music was playing from someplace. Suddenly, our little princess puffs herself up like a fish who sees itself in a mirror and begins stomping her feet, and begins yelling...."I AM NOT SCARED! I AM A BIG GIRL. AND MY. DADDY. HAS. MY. BACK!!!!"

TAKE THAT, SCARY MONSTER! And leave our kid alone.

I don't know how many years we have left of Halloween fun, but I can only hope they were as much fun as this one was for us.

And for all you readers at the office, YES, I am bringing the Halloween candy to share with you all!