We went hard this Halloween. Well, about as hard as you can go with a 4-year-old and 1-year-old. With the holiday falling on a Sunday, we went on a trunk-or-treat weekend bender. By the time we went to bed late Sunday night, you could say we were sugar drunk.

Perhaps the fatigue is showing in the faces of Sloan and Beau after we returned from trick-or-treating on Sunday night.

Our weekend went like this: On Friday night we went to a trunk-or-treat that took place in the parking lot of a trampoline park. The participants were businesses in the area who not only gave out candy but also screaming deals to their shops and eateries. After we were done there, we zipped over to downtown Spokane and went to a trunk-or-treat that was put on by a church. We then returned home and carved pumpkins.

Sloan and Sidney prepare to carve a pumpkin on Friday night.

Once Saturday morning hit, I took the kids to a trunk-or-treat staged by Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services. We finished up there and then drove out to Deer Park for the community Pumpkin Lane event. If you have never experienced this festival before, put it on your bucket list. The whole town shuts down and there isn’t s single business that is not giving out candy. We drove back to the Spokane Valley and went to the St. Mary trunk-or-treat that was fabulous. Later that night, Sid and I drove the kids around the neighborhood to look at Halloween decorations while listening to spooky music.

Sloan plays a game at the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services trunk-or-treat on Saturday morning.

The main event occurred on Sunday. We took Sloan and Beau trick-or-treating in my parents’ neighborhood and were impressed by the stamina they showed considering the busy weekend. Once they had enough, we helped my mom and dad pass out candy. Their candy supply ran out after the 245th trick-or-treater knocked on the door.

We would add about 19 more tallies to this sheet before shutting things down at my parents’ house on Sunday night.

Just a few quick trends and memories from Halloween 2021…

Holiday Theme – We saw a lot of different trunk displays over the weekend but the most popular theme? Christmas! Just at the Friday night trunk-or-treat alone, we visited THREE different vehicles decked out in Yuletide spirit. Santa came earlier this year.

A look at the three different holiday trunks we saw at a single event on Friday night.

Best Costume – Throughout October, Sloan really got into “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” She enjoyed the movie a lot, especially Jack Skellington. When we saw a very respectable-looking Jack at the St. Mary trunk-or-treat, Sloan made sure to get a photo with him.

After getting a heavy dose of Jack Skellington this Halloween season, Sloan was thrilled to get a picture with him at the St. Mary Catholic School trunk-or-treat in Spokane Valley.

Candy Sorting – Growing up, it was a tradition that after the three of us Reser kids would arrive home from trick-or-treating we would dash downstairs, sort our candy, and make trades. Although Beau is a little young to wheel and deal, he was still able to keep his daddy’s tradition alive and sort candy with his sister.

Although their sorting might still be a little primitive, Sloan and Beau dumped their candy out on the floor just like I would do once I returned home from trick-or-treating.

Favorite Trunk – I mentioned the most popular trunk-or-treat theme we encountered during Halloween weekend but not our personal favorite. Okay, time to change that. Our vote for best decorated vehicle goes to the McDonald’s drive-thru we encountered. We admired this display for its creativity and its ability to make us crave some golden fries.

This McDonald’s trunk at the True Hope Church event in downtown Spokane Valley was #1 in our hearts.

A Picture Says a Thousand Words – My personal favorite photo from the weekend was this image of Sloan ringing the doorbell at a house on Halloween night. She is quick to lead the charge but, interestingly enough, once the door would swing open she would become a little timid and “forget” to say trick-or-treat. Oh well, I guess all that matters is that you get to that front door.

Sloan had no issue working her way to the front and ringing the doorbell.

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It was a memorable weekend hanging out with Moana and Farmer Beau. Special thanks to Sidney for allowing us to go all out…I am pretty sure we have enough candy to last us until next Halloween. Don’t Blink.