Nightmares

I woke up at 3:20 from a very disturbing dream.  I dreamt that I was walking bedside Trayvon Martin laughing and having a good time sharing a bag of skittles when we both look back and see that Zimmerman fellow with a gun running toward us.  We both take off running and then Trayvon was shot and stumbled to the ground.  I was screaming and attempting CPR and then a group of people run to us and I woke up! 

Trayvon Martin

I woke up sweating with my heart racing and a heavy feeling in my chest, and this was just a dream.  I can’t imagine what the parents of Trayvon Martin had to go through and are still going through with the trial in full swing.  It hurts my heart. It angers me. It scares me. 

Evan and his hoodie

Do I believe that Zimmerman set out to kill Trayvon?  No.  But I do believe that Trayvon was killed because of the color of his skin.  Let’s face it.  Zimmerman probably would not have been so suspicious of a Caucasian teenager walking in his neighborhood in the rain with a hoodie.  And even on the off chance that he was suspicious of a Caucasian teen, he would not have been so fearful that he would have brought out a gun and killed him.

I think about my beautiful little boys and I hate that they will more than likely have to deal with being feared, judged and disliked just because of the color of their skin.  I mean, it’s happened already.  We’ve already had to deal with the little white girl in Evan’s class who said she doesn’t play with black people.  To that my poor confused little Evan says
‘but mommy, I’m caramel…not black”.  I fear that I’m doing them a disservice by placing them in a school where both of them are the only blacks in their class in a school where black faces are few and far between.  They are just now starting to notice the difference and are actually OK with it but what do I do if this changes?  When the kids are older and meaner and they feel more and more isolated. 

Evan and his hoodie….again

I am not playing the race card because I think that racism flows both ways.  I’m stating reality.  It’s all around us.  Flat out prejudice.  Racial Profiling. It’s not just happening to other people.  It’s happening in our own backyard.  From the most rural of southern towns to most liberal of northern cities.  I won’t even mention what’s going on with Paula Deen because that’s a whole ‘nutha post entirely. 

I pray for justice for the Trayvon Martin family even though justice won’t bring their son back.  I pray for my babies sons.  I will not be overcome by fear for their lives because I know that they are covered by the blood of Christ and He will keep them protected.  He will keep them secure.

First Day of School 2012-2013

Well, I thought I’d be emotional.  I thought there would be tears. After all, both of my babies are now in school.  Next step…graduation… then college… then marriage… then grandkids!! I digress.  I’m happy to note that there was not one tear shed by anyone in the Lofton family.  I was a little nervous for my shy, reserved Ian but he was perfectly fine.  All that worrying for naught. Of course I have to post pictures for the world to see:

Here we are at Meet The Teacher Night…Ian is getting acquainted with his new ‘desk’

I laid the boys outfits and backpacks out the night before…we didn’t want any surprises

Evan looks like he has gas…just jokin’…isn’t he cute!

Ian really didn’t want to participate in the photo session but at least I got a smile.

And off we go!

In front of Ian’s classroom

Ian went straight to his new ‘desk’ like he’s done it a million times before. 

All in all, it was a great first day of school.  Ian got a certificate for singing a solo in music class (he loves to perform despite his shy personality).  And he even mastered the lunch line with ease.  There aren’t any pictures of Evan at school because he left Ian and I and wanted to go to his room alone.  By the time I made it to his classroom he was already deep in his math problems so I left him to it. Okay, actually his teacher stopped me at the door with my camera in hand and politely told me that Evan had already started his day (in other words…go home mommy and let your boy be a big kid) I was kind of bummed that I didn’t get a picture but education is more important than a photo shoot…right!?

Money! Money! Money!

The other day I decided to cash in all of our coins so I emptied all of our piggy banks and headed to Coinstar to turn our coins into cash!

After 15 minutes of pouring pennies, nickels and dimes into the machine and enduring all the stares from the people in the check out line at the grocery store, we ended up with $183.36! Watch out now! We are living high on the hog!

I decided to take the boys to open up their first savings account. They were really bored throughout the whole process and they didn't understand why we were giving their money to a nice little white lady to keep for us instead of heading to Toys r Us to spend our newfound riches on video games. Perhaps I should have done more education...ya think?

For Sale

I guess Evan is trying to tell me something. I found this message written on the etch-a-sketch...

Out of the mouths of babes

I recently spent an entire night with five boys ages 3, 4, 5, 6 and 3 months old.  It was actually a pretty docile night even with a baby that woke up every three hours.  Even Terrance was exhausted from all of the baby rocking.  I was pretty proud that I got through the night unscathed. I put on my big girl britches and packed them all up in the mini van and put my best foot forward.  I will admit that I was a bit nervous, especially with the three month old, but  baby Cannon proved to be the perfect overnight guest.  All he wanted to do was eat and sleep!  I wanted to share some of the quotes heard throughout the night from the rambunctious bunch ‘o boys to give you a snippet of the fun times we had!

Ian: Hey Gavin, did you know that Michael Jackson died because he was old and sick? (my boys love MJ’s music and have recently become obsessed with his tragic demise)

Gavin: My dog died too like Michael Jackson

Harrison: My teacher’s husband is dead too, he’s old…like 98 and he’s bald.

Ian: People die when they get old.  Like mommy is gonna die when she’s older than 34.

Harrison: You know, My dad pulled my teeth out with his t-shirt and there was blood on it.  I like the taste of blood.  It tastes good!

Me:  Umm…that’s kind of gross Harrison.

Harrison: Well, it does taste good.

***while swinging on the swing set at the park***

Evan: Hey Ian…does swinging tickle your penis?

Ian: yes, it does tickles my penis!

Evan:  Weee…it tickles my penis!

Greta: Ok,  how many more times can we say penis out loud and have all the moms look at us like we’re crazy!

Ian: Mommy, Gavin doesn’t want to be my best friend anymore…only Evan’s and I was jealous.

Me: No need to be jealous because people can have more than one friend!

Ian: But he’s my friend!

Me: Hey Gavin…You know your brother fell and broke his arm?

Gavin: Yeah, I know.  That was a bad decision.  He needs a time out!

 

There were so many more laugh out loud moments but I’ll leave you with these to brighten your day!

12 Signs That You Need To Clean Your Floors!

1. Your socks and/or feet turn a nice shade of black when walking on your floor

2. You actually feel the dirt on your bare feet when you walk

3. You accumulate enough food on your kitchen floor to make a meal

4. Your children pick up old potato chip and fruit snack remnants and actually try to make it a meal

5. You find a half eaten strip of bacon on the floor... and you last cooked bacon a week ago

6. Your 6 year old son says "Mom, this floor is dirty... I'll help you clean up!"

7. You don't bother wiping your feet before you come inside

8. You mistake a dried up piece of hamburger meat from a pizza topping and you think it's a bug

9. You actually have to shoo away bugs

10. You hope your friends don't drop by unannounced and see how you actually live

11. You don't want to acknowledge to yourself how you actually live

12. When cleaning your counter tops, you just sweep the crumbs onto the floor cuz its dirty anyway

* the above 12 things may or may not have occurred in our household...I'll never tell!

Father of the Year

Just wanted the world (or at least the 16 or so folks who read my blog) know that despite the fact that he sometimes gets on my last nerve my hubs is a pretty awesome dad. He will take the boys any and everywhere on his own with no questions asked. Church (check) doctors office (check) birthday parties (check) movies (check) drag races (check) chuck e cheese (check) ER visit (check)! He has always been a hands on dad. He changed diapers, took over the 2am feedings, initiated potty training, and he even bathes, and puts the boys to bed with a bedtime story! Yep, he's pretty amazing. And yes ladies...he's all mine!

Well it's always good when someone other than your significant other recognizes your awesomeness so Terrance was proud when he received the Father of the Year Award from our church on Father's Day.


It is no secret that I am frequently absent from church due to my job and my extreme need for sleep, so I was not there to witness him receive this honor and I was pretty bummed but I let him know that he truly did deserve the award and so much more!

So if you see him around, give him a pat on the back and say "Congrats Father of The Year" just so we can see him blush! Wait, do black men blush?!

Mama Bear

My rational mind knows that I can't keep my kids safely tucked away in a cocoon in order to keep them happy, healthy and safe, but the 'Mama Bear in me wants to protect them by any means necessary!

Where is all of this coming from you ask! Well the other day Evan came home from school and told me that he touched Mackenzie (a pretty 'lil caucasian girl in his class) on the shoulder and she told him that she doesn't like for brown people to touch her. Evan's little feelings were so hurt. I think it was magnified because Evan has spent the majority of his life thinking that he's white since his skin is lighter than the rest of the family and all of the other black people he knows. So to hear from one of his peers that not only is he really black, but that also people may not want to have anything to do with him because he's black was a double whammy!

I spent some time explaining to Evan that he's smart and wonderful and handsome and a good friend and black is beautiful and so forth and so on in an attempt to build back up the self esteem that 'lil miss Mackenzie attempted to tear down.

One of my character flaws is that I tend to hold grudges so I had to swallow the disgust I felt toward the child that hurt my baby's feelings when I saw her and her mom the next day in class. I wanted to say something to the mom but what could be said? I had a few things in mind but it would not make the situation any better! I was itching to lay my hand on her little shoulder and say "Good morning Mackenzie" just to see what her and her mom would say. Instead I just smiled my sweet smile, uttered a faint 'good morning' and walked away.

I do realize that Mackenzie could have picked up her distaste for brown people from someplace other than her parents. It could even just be a personal preference instead of some type of prejudice! For instance I don't really like for random people to touch me at all, whether they are black, white, purple or green! And maybe Mackenzie was just being descriptive. I realize I'm reaching here...

Anyway, Mama Bear is safely tucked away for the time being. Evan was fine this morning. He even smiled at Mackenzie (although she didn't smile back). So if he can carry on like nothing happened then I can too. I'm sure this won't be the last time we have to deal with something like this so I'll just keep my bear claws sharpened till next time!









With Love,
Shanita

Ramblings

Being a parent is the hardest job I've ever had.  I absolutely love my children so much that it hurts.  They are fun and smart and handsome and they can be so amazingly sweet at times.  I feel so blessed to have them in my life.  I love being their mother.  Despite the fact that they keep my house messy, they can be very loud, and they require constant attention... and food! I have an intense desire to protect them at all costs and that is what I will do until my dying day!

I'm sure you're wondering where all of this came from and I'll explain one day.  I hate to share it all with you at this particular time because it will open the floodgates that I've tried hard to keep closed.  I wonder sometimes if I'm actually thinking rational thoughts.  I wish someone could actually just look into my brain and see what I'm thinking so I don't have to actually explain it in words.  But I know that this too shall pass and I take comfort in knowing that God will never leave my side through any and all of my trials.  So I'll turn my frown upside down and enjoy each day to the fullest!

Finally....A Post

It's been a crazy couple of weeks around these parts.  As evidenced by my lack of posting.  For the first time in 2 1/2 months I don't have a menu planned for this week!  My goal is to utilize the food we have to throw together meals for this week.  We'll see.  I'm not very good at last minute planning especially when it comes to cooking.

My boys are doing fabulous.  They amaze me with how much they've grown in the past few months, especially Ian.  He's taller than everyone else in his class and he's often mistaken as a student when we volunteer at Evan's school (I personally think he still looks like a 3 yr old and these people are crazy but whatever).

Evan has a new girlfriend at school named Sophia.  He started writing a book to express his love to her.

 Translation:

My Girlfriend

From: Evan  To: Sophia  By: Evan L.

Illustrated by: Evan L.

I asked him why he likes Sophia and he said "Because she has long hair!"  Umm....OK!  I then started to ask him about some of the other girls in class and why he didn't choose them to be his girlfriend.  His reply was "Sally Sue is mean to me" and "Betty Boop is bossy" so then I asked him why he didn't choose the only other black girl in his class to be his girlfriend (I couldn't resist) and to this he said "She's browner than me".  My eyebrows shot up to my hair line and I went all sista girl on him (I may have even rolled my neck!)  Terrance was sitting across the table saying "Sweetheart, he's only 6!"  I educated Mr. Evan on all the different shades of brown and how one is not better than or worse than the other and he should like someone because of the person they are inside and not because the color of their skin.  I then asked him what he thought of me, daddy and Ian since our skin was darker than his.  I got no answer!  At this point Terrance is shaking his head and muttering something under his breath about me needing to relax!

Maybe I'm taking it too far or going about it the wrong way (or maybe I need to check my own emotions) but I feel like now is as good a time as any for a reality check. This is the same kid that for the first three years of his life, claimed that he was white and argued with us when we told him different.  We've bought books on the subject, tried to expose him to other little brown friends, etc. At least now he tells us that he's light brown instead of white since he has darkened up a little bit over the years.  I'll take that as progress.

 We bought this book for Evan when he first declared that he was white!

I think my fear is that he will go through some sort of identity crisis when he gets older and realizes what it really means to be black.  The doors that will be closed for him that he'll have to push harder to open. (Cool metaphor, huh). The car doors that will be locked and purses held tight when he walks by.  The little girl of another race whose parents forbid her from dating him all because of the color of his skin.  I also don't want him to think that just because his skin is lighter that he's any better than his darker skin brothas and sistas. I guess I just want to instill in him a healthy respect and pride in his race.  I want him to embrace who he is instead of trying to be something he's not.  I'm sure you're thinking....man, all the boy said was that his classmate was browner than him.  Hey, it's about the big picture here people, the big picture!

 

Winter Weather Advisory

Evan just pelted Ian in the back with a snow ball!

Well, we have been under a winter weather advisory here in DFW.  We all know that a little snow and ice makes us Texans nervous and we start shutting the city down.  On Monday we hit 60 degrees during the day and overnight we were snowed in.  Gotta love it! We have been stuck here in the house for two days and I'm loving it but my husband is restless and has come down with a bad case of cabin fever.  He has risked life and limb for any reason to get out of the house including reasons like "I need to go to the Pawn Shop"  Are you kidding?  What could possibly be so important at a stinkin pawn shop?! When he's not putting his life in danger... he's out in the garage working on his mistress car: Candy, bundled up in two pairs of pants, hats, gloves and triple jackets trying to keep warm. Seriously!! We really aren't bad company... geez! Well, he did get to indulge in a couple of snowball fights with the boys, and he cooked some yummy meals and we watched a ton of movies so it hasn't been all bad!

Check out this fancy foot work while Ian tries to escape Evans vicious snow ball attack!

Mommy, It's cold out here! (I am behind the glass door taking pictures because I'm the only one with a lick of sense in this house)

Get him boys!

Video game 12 step program

Seriously! Sometimes I'm thankful that the games provide a distraction so that I can cook or clean or shower. But we may have to enroll these boys in a 12-step program to get them away from these handheld gaming systems!



Look how close they are holding it to their face! Geez! What kind of parent allows this type of behavior? And captures it on film. And blogs about it!?

The Uncertainty of Motherhood

A friend of a friend of mine is on the fence about having children. She said that it’s the unexpected that is the scary part. It’s kind of hard to sacrifice what you know of as a good life for what’s uncertain.

I mean with kids you have to deal with spit up down your blouse, floating turds that disintegrate in the bath water, stretch marks, hormonal shifts that cause horrible acne and mood swings, the fear of a raising a snotty nosed brat instead of an angelic Gerber baby, birthing a kid that’s not cute (let’s face it…not everyone can be beautiful), the feeling of being needed ALL the time, feeling tired and overwhelmed, back strain from that doggone overstuffed diaper bag and infant carrier, the nagging worry that’s always in the back of your mind about whether or not you’re doing a good job with this whole parenting thing, nursery rhymes in heavy rotation on your iPod, play dates instead of spa dates, the strain of kids on a marriage, the possibility of having a kid with a personality that's just hard to raise, not to even mention if you have a kid with a disability or illness.

But think about all of the wonderful things that come with motherhood despite the uncertainty. The smell of the crook of your kids neck (after a bath to remove the sweat and spit up), watching your mini-me grow up and discover new things, feeling loved and needed by your children, the joy of watching a kid be a kid, feeling a love like you’ve never known could exist (I have never had the desire to lay down my life for anyone until I had kids…I would allow myself to be paralyzed from the neck down for my husband and I would risk a limb for a friend but I would DIE for my children!), looking into the eyes of a human being that you helped create…it’s surreal, knowing that when you are dead and gone, you have left a little something on this earth besides debt, unselfishly thinking of someone other than yourself, taking pride in the fact that you have had a hand in shaping your child's future, knowing that you've done your part to ensure that the human race will continue on, experiencing things through the eyes of a child (whoulda thunk that blowing bubbles could be so darn funny), feeling a pride in your DNA creation (that's why there are so many facebook profiles featuring pictures of their kids), Let's face it, it may be super fun to be childless when you are younger, but when you are old and gray who else will be there for you to listen to your stories of way back when and who will fight for you when the nursing home aides forget to bathe you or clean your dentures....you guessed it, your offspring (ok, maybe that last example was a stretch, but you get my point).

Of course whether to have children or not depends on lots of other factors as well.  I guess you just have to do some soul searching and have a little one on one time with God to really make the right decision in order to live a life without regrets.  Don't get me wrong, I think that you have to really want kids in order to be able to withstand all the uncertainty that parenthood can bring. I guess the point is that like all relationships, there are ups and downs and you just have to put on your big girl panties and make it through the hard times because the good times are oh so sweet!

Evanism

This is my smart aleck Evan all decked out in the Snuggie I received for Christmas.

Evan: Mommy I learned how to read really good in school. I also learn how to write and do math.

Me: Isn't it wonderful how much you learn by going to school and listening to Ms. Angela!? (his school prefers for the kids to address the teachers by their first name...it took a while for me to get over this one)

Evan: Yeah, because all I do at home is play video games and watch TV.

Me: ...after I pick my face up off the floor... Well brotha we can fix that right now! Click...off goes the TV and Snap...goes the lid to his Nintendo dsi! Now go and pick up a book!

Nothing like a six year old to keep you humble. And here I was thinking I was the cool mom for letting them get in a little video game overload for their holiday break before the spring semester started. I had no idea the kid thought I was a slacker!



Ok, in retrospect, maybe handheld gaming systems with four new games and new video rockers to lounge in while the games are blared through the speakers of the chair was a bit much! You live...you learn!

Surrounded

I have a house full of in-laws....I am surrounded by love.

I have two healthy children all revved up on a sugar high and lack of sleep....I am surrounded by love.

I have a fridge full of yummy leftovers which means I don't have to cook....I am surrounded by love.

I have trash bins overflowing with Christmas wrapping paper and boxes....I am surrounded by love.

I am constantly stepping on my kids toys and I have a headache from listening to them play video games....I am surrounded by love.

My cheeks hurt from listening to my bro in law tell stories about my husband growing up....I am surrounded by love.

I can sit back and let my mom in law discipline my kids so I don't have to be the bad guy....I am surrounded by love.

My kids have had five days to enjoy their extended relatives and get a chance to learn the importance of family....I am surrounded by love.

I hope all of you have had a holiday as wonderful as mine. Whether it's a house jam packed with family or an intimate holiday for two. Make sure you make the effort to surround yourself with love!

Sovereign

It’s been a rough couple of days here in our house.  Frustrations mounting, stress consuming, yada yada yada.  To add insult to injury (for lack of a better term)  yesterday my car died in the pick up line at Evan’s school.  Umm…frustrating and embarrassing.  The boys were in the backseat yelling, “mommy I gotta go potty! and mommy, I’m hungry!”  I was DONE! Thankfully my good pal Gretch came to the rescue again.  She pulled out some kind of starter thingy and we she hooked it up to the battery and we got the car started in two seconds.  Amazing!

Anyway, my point to that whole story was that this morning, Terrance suggested I use his truck so he could take the car and do whatever guys do to cars to fix them.  On our way to school, Ian said “Mommy I want to hear Sovereign God”.  I said something about not knowing where that CD was as I turned on the stereo and ….you guessed it….Sovereign God was playing on the CD player.  So I started it from the beginning and listened to Ian scream sing the words to the song.  Well, I decided to listen along and all I can say is, “Thank you, Ian for your request because mommy really needed to hear the words to that song!”

MAURETTE BROWN CLARK SOVEREIGN GOD LYRICS

There aren’t even words to describe just how great You are
In all Your majesty
You continually
Provide for me
There just isn’t anything that You can’t do
Lord I’ve seen Your work before
So I’ll trust you all the more
Because You are

You are the sovereign God
Bigger than all my problems
And every situation
There is nothing too hard
For the sovereign God

A wave of Your hand can command the seas to hold their peace
If you can handle the seas
Then I know that You can deal with all my needs
So I will put every situation
Into Your capable hands
I don’t have to know the plan
Because You are

You are the sovereign God
Bigger than all my problems
And every situation
There is nothing too hard
For the sovereign God

He is able to do exceedingly abundantly
Above all we ask or think
So take all your burdens and lay them at His feet
And watch Him meet the need
We have the victory
Because You are

You are the sovereign God
Bigger than all my problems
And every situation
There is nothing too hard
For the sovereign God
He is sovereign, He is
He is sovereign, He is
(repeat sequence 3 times, inverting each time up to one octave…)

You are the sovereign God
Bigger than all my problems
And every situation
There is nothing too hard
For the sovereign God

Blood Shed

Do you see something wrong with this picture?




Yep...that's blood on our bathroom rug and towel!




And this is the poor toddler responsible for the blood shed. Doesn't he look pitiful? Once again, I was at work when Ian injured himself. I'm starting to see a trend here. This time he slipped in the shower.

My firstborn son is a very cautious kid to a fault. I can count on two fingers how many times he has been injured and one of those was at the hands of his little brother! He doesn't take chances and he considers the risks before proceeding. But lil' bro Ian is cut from a different cloth. He's a risk taker. He just goes after it! Which has it's pros and cons. My point is that I'm not used to all of these mishaps.

I hate seeing my boys injured. I have a friend whose kids are always shedding blood. Cut lips, eyebrows, chins, etc. She just chalks it up to boys being boys. I guess I need to put on my big girl panties and learn to deal with it.

Or wrap them in Saran wrap 24/7. Hey... Thats a good idea!



~Shanita~

Pray my strength

My boys have been acting up these past couple of weeks.
This is what it's come down to....



Self help books!



Hopefully I'll find some useful tidbits in one of these books. If not...well, let's just say these books and a lot of prayer are all I have left in my arsenal. I'm really close to putting them on a plane to Kansas City and calling my in-laws to tell them to head to the airport for a nice surprise (they have both retired and I'm sure they need something to do to occupy their time)!



~Shanita~

Oh no she didn't!

I do lots of things I'm not proud of.  I justify all of these things in my mind while doing them...nevertheless, they probably shouldn't be done.  See for yourself:

Oh no I didn't:
1. Empty potty contents in the backyard and sprayed the potty with a hose or rinse it out with rain water dripping off of the roof. (it's better than wiping it out with a towel....GROSS!)

Oh no I didn't...
2. Wipe my kids nose with dirty jeans from the hamper (it was the closest thing to me!)

Oh no I didn't...
3. Threaten to leave my kids at the safe baby site (OK...not proud of this one, I was having a bad day)

Oh no I didn't...

4. Pick up hot dogs from 7-11 and called it dinner.(hey...my kids like hot dogs, it was dinner time, and we were already at 7-11 getting gas- makes perfect sense)

Oh no I didn't...
5. Make my boys repeat an outfit for school on Monday morning that they wore to church the Sunday before (in my defense, we immediately removed the clothes after church on Sunday afternoon so they were in them 3hrs tops)

Oh no I didn't...
6. Throw away my kids artwork from school that they are soooo proud of! (how many stick figure families and rainbows am I required to keep?)

Oh no I didn't...

7. Use a bobby pin to retrieve boogers (my finger wouldn't fit plus my aunt did this to me once when I was a kid and although I hated it then...it really is a good idea plus I really hate snotty, booger nosed kids)

Oh no I didn't...
8. Refill my pickle jar with pickles from the condiment bar at Cousins BBQ (OK, they have the best condiment bar ever, and they give you these Styrofoam bowls to take home and I filled it up with pickles and I couldn't just throw the unused ones away so I added them to my pickle jar...I'm one smart cookie!)

Oh no I didn't...
9. Stock up on plastic coffee stirrers from McDonald's (I love these coffee stirrers because they are long enough to fit in my tall travel mugs and I don't have to dirty up a spoon unnecessarily...I am a genius!)

Can't believe I shared all of that with you.  You know what they say, honesty is the best policy!

Halloween recap

I know Halloween is yesterdays news but I had to post a few pics of the boys on their first door to door trick or treat adventure.

We always spend Halloween at our church's Fall Festival which I thought was a fun, safe environment for toddlers but a friend of, mine who shall remain nameless, said that I was depriving my children of the true fun of Halloween. Well I couldn't have that on my conscience so off we went. I must say that we truly had a good time despite my lack of interest in the ghoulish holiday.



Ian as Venom



In case you couldn't tell...evan was a ninja like his buddy Harrison. Neither of the boys would wear their masks. Kind of defeated the purpose of dressing up if you ask me!



All the boys before we hit the streets



This neighborhood went all out for Halloween. I've never seen anything like it.



Waiting patiently to fill their bags with candy



Evan checking out the surroundings


They weren't too sure about this house. It had blood and scary music and accessories...whoa!



Sooo excited!

~Shanita~