Those of you with kids, you know how every now and then a moment comes along that just goes tinnnnnggg like some sort of wonderful reverberating triangle and you have this glorious unreal sense of reliving one of the best memories from your own childhood and it’s like the universe has somehow pulled itself inside out because this time you are the parent and no matter what anyone told you, you had no idea it could be this good?

That’s how I felt tonight standing with my husband at the end of a darkened driveway watching our boys, in their twin cowboy hat silhouettes. Two small figures walking up to the door by themselves, Riley blaring “TRICK OR TREAT!” as soon as someone appeared. Dylan’s helium-tinged voice squeaking out a thank you. JB and I grinning like fools.

It was such a fun day from beginning to end. Oh, these boys. This life.

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Victoria
13 years ago

Your happy makes me happy.

Awesome.

heather
heather
13 years ago

Aw. Loved this a lot.

Scott Dierdorf
13 years ago

Them’s look like RUSTLERS to me. Yep, a coupla super cute rustlers.

Jo
Jo
13 years ago

Awesome. They are two seriously cute cowboys!

Eric's Mommy
Eric's Mommy
13 years ago

Sooooooooooooooo sweet!!
I love the scary pumpkin man, very cool.

nikka
nikka
13 years ago

Great shots of the best parts of Halloween! Love your toothless pumpkin outside too. We love the big candy sort when getting home – and the negotiating with Mom and Dad (just one more please?). Now to take down the decs…or leave them up another day? :)

Erin
13 years ago

Oy. Making the pregnant lady get teary! :)

Courtney
Courtney
13 years ago

That third one looks like it belongs in a calendar.

Michelle
Michelle
13 years ago

So cute! The best little cowboys ever!

Diane
Diane
13 years ago

The third photo kinda looks like a Norman Rockwell painting, and I love to read about the times you are so completely happy. Many years from now you will find out what a miracle it is to watch your grandchildren do the same things. Hugs!!

Madeleine
Madeleine
13 years ago

I totally know what you mean. You made me cry.

Wendy
13 years ago

I love the picture of them with the candy. That was always my favorite part of Halloween: the post trick-or-treat candy sort and trade negotitions.

I’m glad you had such a good day.

Suzette
Suzette
13 years ago

I can totally relate. Our two year old was so excited to be going trick or treating. We made the rounds in my Mom’s neighborhood where I used to trick or treat thirty!! years ago. It was so cool. She received treats from people I used to receive treats from! We had a blast sorting the candy and just giggling. Pure bliss.

Nolita Morgan
13 years ago

Your boys are so cute! We enjoyed watching our little brood go into hobo mode last night too! The oldest (went from being a zombie hippie last weekend to dirty hippie last night) running ahead of us with her friends and going through the “haunted” house without us, the youngest getting “‘cared” by the costumes and ending up getting carried back to the house. After we finally got the kids in bed we turned our attention to the Walking Dead! Thanks so much for recommending! We actually upgraded so we could GET AMC for this show (we were so deprived before last week). Wow! I had to watch the boring news afterwards as a sort of rinse for my brain so the undead images wouldn’t reappear in my dreams later… Glad you guys had such a great Halloween!

Donna
Donna
13 years ago

Yeehaw, ride em cowboys!!!!

Veronica
Veronica
13 years ago

Victoria said it so well in the first comment. Linda, your happiness makes ME happy! Last night was the same for us and our two little ones. all the whining, the vomitting, the fighting… it’s alllll soooo very worth it. Seeing them walking in their cute little pirate and ladybug costumes. Trick or Treating on Halloween. I LOVE this holiday more and more with each passing year.

kristylynne
kristylynne
13 years ago

I know exactly what you mean. Makes those midnight pukes totally worth it, doesn’t it?

Mim
Mim
13 years ago

Adorable photos! I have to ask, though, sicne my kids are about yours’ ages (Theo is 4 1/2, hazel is 2 1/2), I can’t imagine at the end of the night a single pile of candy between them! Didn’t Riley want HIS candy to be clearly delineated from his brothers’ during the Great Sort? (PS Dunno about up in Seattle, but here in Portland we had great weather — it was supposed to be rainy and wasn’t! score!)

clarabella
13 years ago

Just lovely. We had a similar evening. Happy sigh.

April
13 years ago

I thought exactly the same thing last night as I walked through the dark with my 2.5 year old fireman. It is probably my most favorite parenting moment to date. Halloween with kids is SO AWESOME.

Gretchen
13 years ago

I’m pretty sure having an amazing mom with the uncanny ability to turn nothing into something helped with them being so excited and so perfect this Halloween. Congrats!

Laura
Laura
13 years ago

I read this, then read it again because I can’t understand how you were able to capture how I felt last night watching my two boys do the exact same thing in the exact same way. Then I made my husband read your post and then I read this AGAIN and then, well, then I cried. Thank you.

~K
~K
13 years ago

ADORABLE! You have made me so excited for when mine is old enough to enjoy the holiday.

Lawyerish
13 years ago

Love.

Also, your Halloween decorations are seriously impressive, inside and out. The pumpkin-headed dude would have scared the ever-loving crap out of me when I was a kid!

gillian
gillian
13 years ago

awesome!

what did you think of the Walking Dead? we really liked it…although i kept turning to my husband and saying ‘doesn’t this guy know ANYTHING about zombies??’ which clearly means i’ve read a few too many zombie books.

Kym
Kym
13 years ago

LOVE the picture of them checking out their haul!!!

erin
13 years ago

I felt the same way trick-or-treating with my kids last night. We enjoyed every bit of it, the candy, the decorations, other costumes. It was awesome!

lindsay
lindsay
13 years ago

I love all your pumpkins! This Halloween really amped up my baby thoughts b/c I just had so much fun with my nephews. Glad to hear you guys had a blast too.

WannabeMommy
13 years ago

Cutest cowboys ever!!

Kristy
13 years ago

Cheese and rice!! When did I start confusing Dylan for Ryan? Woah….first photo…assumed it was Ryan. Um..not. Wow kids grow up so fast.

Cheryl
Cheryl
13 years ago

The boys’ costumes were adorable, and I can’t get over your pumpkin-headed scarecrow…whoa, that’s cool! Happy you had such a nice day.

Danell
Danell
13 years ago

I, too, agree with Victoria. =)

Lisa
Lisa
13 years ago

Two words: chewy lemonheads

Misty
Misty
13 years ago

I remember being so, so depressed postpartum, maybe seven days after Z was born. I think I had just told Chris that I was going to leave, good bye, you can raise this child yourself. Chris sat there and tried to get me to feel better by telling me to think about all of the fun that comes with the future, like baseball games, and halloween, and all that other fun stuff, and I just couldn’t see it.

Later, Z was diagnosed with autism, and it felt like all of those things that Chris told me to look forward to weren’t ever going to happen. And I started to look for other things to get excited about, like Z blowing a bubble after trying to learn for years, or hearing, after waiting for five years, him calling me Mama. And I found happiness in those things, even if they weren’t exactly traditional.

But then, I was sitting on the sidelines the other day, watching my incredibly tall, healthy, happy, almost-eight-year-old boy play soccer on an AYSO VIP team, having fun like any other kid, and I said to Chris, “Remember when I was so kooked out and I couldn’t come up with anything to look forward to? This. This is what I was supposed to look forward to. And it was totally worth it.”

M.Bailey
13 years ago

That is just awesome. I get that feeling. Makes all the not-so-great parenting moments feel so insignificant when you think about how awesome life really is.

tara
13 years ago

super the sweetest. and not just the loot.

Amity
Amity
13 years ago

Dylan’s getting so tall and thin!

Kathleen
Kathleen
13 years ago

That first paragraph describes my parenting experience perfectly. Mwah!

Em
Em
13 years ago

So cute. Glad you had a great Halloween. This makes me really look forward to having my own kids!

Amy
Amy
13 years ago

Picture perfect! I had the same kind of moment with my boys.

Jenn
Jenn
13 years ago

Just had that moment last night while swapping a toonie for a first lost tooth under my boy’s pillow…

lovinangels
13 years ago

Love.

Jessi Biensoul
Jessi Biensoul
13 years ago

Sundry…I hadn’t read your blog in forever (I didn’t know you had another kid), and this just made me smile. I’m so, so glad you are wonderful and happy! Your kids are adorable, and I’m thrilled you are still doing well. :)

Robyn
Robyn
13 years ago

*tap tap*

Having withdrawals over here!!!

jodie
jodie
13 years ago

Haven’t seen any posts in a while (is that stalker-ish of me to notice?); hope all is well!

Erin @ Mommy on the Spot

Beautifully written!! Love the pics!