Going back a few weeks: Twick or Tweat!

Small fact about myself: I never went trick-or-treating growing up. We always went to the big events that our churches put on for the community, which I thought were awesome. Games, prizes, candy, friends. Who wouldn't want to do that?

Well, the church we've been going to in Durham doesn't have a Halloween event, so we decided to take Claire trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. And, boy. She fell in love. She asks me almost daily if we can go again. Apparently, two-year-olds don't get the whole Halloween-is-once-a-year concept. Bless. Here's her costume:

To make things more fun, my parents, sister, and brother-in-law were all here with us! Mom and Dad had already scheduled a trip for that weekend, Amiee decided to come for her (super quick) fall break, and Tim was staying with us while doing medical residency interviews in North Carolina. So much fun going on at the Boswell house. This should also tell you how many folks we can accommodate at one time, so please come visit!

I would also like to note that we only went to houses that had porch lights on or candy bowls on the porch. Thus, we didn't knock on one of our neighbors' door. The next day, she stopped by the house with the treats that she had intended for Claire: a children's book about North Carolina and a plate of homemade pumpkin cookies. How sweet was that?? In return, Claire made a thank you card, dressed up again, and hand delivered it. 

Amiee can always be counted on to dress up.

Claire was SO mesmerized by Amiee being a cat. She just kept looking at Amiee and meowing.

I don't know what it is about it, but I LOVE this picture.

Here's one of the few pregnancy shots you'll see of me. This was during the block of time where I would get motion sick from watching TV. That was super fun. Also, those are leopard ears/fur on my head. Just FYI.

Tim, Brad and Claire. By the way, Claire calls Tim "Takia." We're not sure where that came from, but he rolls with it.

Brassart family shot. I'm dealing with my issues of pride and vanity by not cropping myself out. Baby steps, y'all.

We also invited our buddies to join us in the trick-or-treating. After acquiring our loot, we played on the playground across the street from our neighborhood, in hopes of burning off some sugar before bedtime. Didn't really work, but it was a good idea.

Claire came away from the experience with the idea that trick-or-treating is the BEST THING EVER and that chocolate is an acceptable substitute for any food I put on her plate at mealtime. She also occasionally refers to herself as Super Claire. Oh boy...