Mam and Colette had such a good time last year, they decided to come back and spend Halloween with us again this year. Cliona was a little older and so got the whole dressing up and candy concept much better. I found a pumpkin patch in Santa Monica that had a ball pit and a bouncy castle so that was a great hit. Cliona wasn't too interested in the pumpkins but did stay very still for her first tattoo (a pumpkin of course!). Once Mam and Colette arrived we headed to a local patch to pick out our pumpkins. Unfortunately Cliona got stung by a bee early on which put a little damper on the trip but she was a real trouper. Didn't cry very much and didn't seemed as shaken by the ordeal as her Mammy and Daddy. We were worried she make be allergic but luckily not.
So what did we all dress up as? Well, we were a bit scattered this year. Cliona was a princess for Dana's work party and the Manhattan beach fair (more on that later) and then was Dora for Halloween. Mam and I made a 'map' costume for me to wear on Halloween so 'Dora' would know which way to go to get her candy! Stephen was a clown that night and Mam and Colette dressed up as witches. Another night Stephen and I went to a party as an 'Out of control wildfire' and a firefighter. So there was plenty of costume making and decorating going on.
The Manhattan beach fair was brilliant. Half of downtown was pedestrianised, there was trick r treating at all the shops from 4-5, cookie decorated and pumpkin racing. Yes, you could put wheels on your pumpkin and let it hurtle down the hill with other hopefuls. Cliona was a little worried about crashing pumpkins but I'm sure she'll love it next year. It was definitely the highlight for Mam and Colette.
On Halloween night, Cliona, Stephen and I went out trick r treating while Mam and Colette gave out candy. It didn't take long for Cliona to gather so much candy that she was having difficulty carrying her basket! There were lots of houses to go to and lots of children out in our new neighbourhood. I put all the pictures up on Picasa - there were too many cute ones for the blog.
http://picasaweb.google.com/igycrctl/Halloween02
