Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Hallowe'en 2017

4:45 pm - first trick or treaters. Two young'uns. A construction worker and a soldier (Eric says 2/5 of the Village People). Still very light out. Inkwell raced up the stairs and is now locked away safely in the bedroom for the duration.

5:12 pm - Five more, including a couple of superheroes and a Dalmatian in a firefighter outfit.

5:14 pm - Three more. One was a very little girl pink Supergirl outfit and also a Spider-Man. I suspect the flow will be getting intense shortly, as it's a school night so most people are trying to get ToTing done early.

5:23 pm - Lost count already. That's fine, they are dribbling in. We got a very cute minion, then a handful more. The last rays of the sun are hitting the houses down the street. Lots of cars in the neighborhood already, and plenty of people walking around. It'll just get more crazy from here on out tonight.

5:27 pm - Another run, including two little cowboys, and a family of Things (Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing Mom, dad was NOT dressed as the Cat in the Hat).

5:38 pm - A serious run with lots of children, including one that said "Hi Mr. Gjovaag!" It was the first serious run, but tiny compared to what we've become used to here.

5:44 pm - A break in the action, Cheese Zombies are in the oven. Inkwell wants out of the bedroom. I'm playing a song selection from Amazon Prime. Lots of people out in the neighborhood.

5:58 pm - Lots of kids, some really good make-up and some not so good. Pennywise! A child dressed as a box! Ninjas! Superheroes! More make-up! Ack! Crowds! Almost out of first bowl (about 75 candies).

6:06 pm - Another run of LOTS of kids with a large scary clown at the end that I didn't see until he said the magic words because of a group of little and very cute children ahead of him behind held by their parents. I had a minor heart palpitation... Then we got another long run after that.

6:16 pm - Through the first bag of 150 candies. Zombies ready and Eric is heating up the soup. Lots of kids.

6:17 pm - First Wonder Woman.

6:21 pm - First kid with the nerve to ask for a second piece of candy. I explained that we get 1,000 kids and don't have enough candy.

6:28 pm - Almost through 3rd bowl, which would be about 225 candies. Roughly.

6:38 pm - We are working in shifts now with one sneaking up to grab the bowl and take the place when one of us gets tired. Lines and lines of kids. I will need to jump up and replace the bowl soon.

6:40 pm - Poop emoji, tiny Scooby, Vampire, lots of Day of the Dead make-up. Through two Costco bags. 300 kids. Hubby said, "Only 300?" and I'm also in agreement. Seems to be slow this year.

6:56 pm - Long stream of kids. So many kids. So many... so many... so many...

7:06 pm - Lots and lots of spider-man. Lots.

7:08 pm - Through three Costco bags. That's 450. Long runs during which we can't close the door. One child attempted to grab the bowl of candy. Several smaller ones have tried to come into the house. Several without costumes had to be coached to say "I'm an undercover cop" or "I'm a teacher on his/her day off". So many children. So so many.

7:12 pm - Some clowns with make-up and masks. I asked them what their costumes were.

7:16 pm - Traffic jam in the neighborhood. Amazon Prime party music is playing "I Want Candy" and both of us are dancing.

7:24 pm - Opening smaller bags now.

7:29 pm - More than 600 now. Last year it slowed down about 7:50... so we will probably have a little leftover candy this year.

7:38 pm - The doorbell toy is a hit. Little ones are pressing the buttons to hear the various monsters.

7:51 pm - More runs, including teenagers. Fortunately, the teenagers were in costume. Lots more. I have no idea how many bags we've gone through. I will need to count eventually.

7:58 pm - A few kids that were just starting out with empty buckets. Either that or they'd emptied their baskets somewhere along the way. I'm thinking we're over 700 now. Some have tried to sneak back for seconds.

8:03 pm - Lots of Harley Quinn, the neighborhood is crawling with Spider-Men, lots of various Super-family members, lots of Batman, tons of Ninja Turtles, quite a few Disney Princesses (mostly Elsa), Clowns, a couple of monkeys... But they are still coming. More time in between kids, but there's still plenty and we still have some runs where we leave the door open for awhile.

8:11 pm - They are still coming. Like hordes of zombies. By the way, we had the cheese zombies and tomato soup for dinner in between runs of children. Basically, Eric made dinner while I manned the door.

8:16 pm - After reading my updates, Eric noted we've also had a lot of Minnie Mouses.

8:22 pm - Eric and I each had a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Then a really scary gargoyle came to the door. I hope it wasn't related.

8:30 pm - A fellow in a scary mask just came to the door. He was WAY taller than me. I gave him candy anyway. He was scary.

8:32 pm - A group of teenagers, about 10 all told in two groups. Good costumes.

8:39 pm - Wow... we've had nearly ten minutes without a ToT'er.

8:45 pm - Another run of about ten kids, mostly teenagers... and here come some more.

8:47 pm - After a bag count, we think we've hit at least 800.

9:00 pm - It's definitely winding down. I shall leave the lights on some time more since I had a Dr Pepper and won't be falling asleep any time soon. But I think we're close to the end. It *IS* a school night.

9:05 pm - Inkwell has been released from the bedroom and is wandering the house in befuddlement.

9:15 pm - No one for half and hour. It may just be over this year.

9:28 pm - Still no one. I took down the Halloween lights and closed the shades. Porch lights are still on, along with indoor lights. But I think it's just about over. I'm tempted to jump into the candy and gorge myself, but I'll be good.

9:30 pm - Doorbell rang - it wasn't even a teenager... Then another two in baseball outfits. Inkwell ran and hid both times.

9:35 pm - Inkwell is guarding the front door. I'm amused.

9:55 pm - Lights are mostly out, just the front window light which is on a timer still on. I turned off the porch lights and am ready to hit the hay soon. Eric has already gone upstairs. Inkwell is prowling the front of the house, checking for strangers or any bugs that got in. I had a fun-size Snickers bar... mmm.

10:30 pm - And Halloween is officially over at the Gjovaag House. I'm headed to bed now, where I will buzz around on a caffeine high for a few hours listening to Eric snore. G'night all!

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