Chili, Candy, and Cousins

When our kids were little, one of our favorite Halloween traditions was trick-or-treating in Riverside with their cousins.

Dave's mom always had her large iron soup pot full of chili. We'd join Dave's brother Eric and sisters there early for dinner, then get the kids into their costumes and hit the streets.

Since we were in the neighborhood where they grew up, Dave and Eric often stopped to chat with former neighbors and show off their kids. ("See Batman over there? He's mine, and the S.W.A.T. team guy, and the princess.")

During the early years, I wondered at the wisdom of choosing Riverside, since all of the bungalows have five or six steps up to the porch. My job was helping the littlest one keep up with the others. Often the big kids were racing to the next house by the time the toddler got to the steps.

We knew that the house two doors down from Aunt Julie would have the spooky display, and the bravest would reach into the coffin to get the candy (the mechanical rat that had a motion sensor nearly sent me over the edge). And there was the house further down on Coolidge that gave out hot dogs and cans of pop. We were always full from chili so we never had hot dogs, but sometimes a drink was nice.

2006 was Janet's last Halloween. Aunt Julie has assumed chili-making duties some of the years, as she will tonight. Our kids are too old to trick-or-treat, although they still will. Let the fun begin.

Halloween 2001- Cousin Betsy with cat ears, Laurel as a cow (her trick was to say "moo") Cousin Kelsey as Josie and the Pussycats, Caleb as a dinosaur (costume handmade by Aunt Julie for Nathan and passed down to us), and Harrison as a knight in shining armor.

Halloween 2003- Laurel is a princess, Harrison as Batman, Kelsey as the Scream character, Caleb as a S.W.A.T. team guy.

 

 

 

 

Halloween 2005- Laurel as a puppy, Cousin Betsy as a pincess, Caleb and Harrison as Freedom Fighters (uncle Kurt hooked them up with fatigues and ammo boxes) and Cousin Kelsey as a basketball player.

Halloween 2006- Our last Halloween with Grandmother (wish I would have a picture of her with the kids) Harrison as a girl (his football coaches loved this picture!) Laurel as the Lady of Shalott (easier to say than Guinevere), and Caleb as the FBI.