Tuesday, October 31, 2006

No Candy Please

The school the kids go to had a field trip today to Cox Farms. The place was way too crowded. And even though my kids can be impatient at times, they got completely shafted by kids that had no concept of waiting for your turn and were butting in front of everyone (with their parents right there not correcting them). Last year when we went, we stayed till almost two or three, which worked out really well since the majority of the people there left around noon. Today though we left at around one since it didn't appear the crowd was dying down at all after lunch. Even with the crowds the kids had a blast, although they were really tired afterwards. I got lots of pictures and videos from the event, but I suspect it'll take a bit of time to sort through all of them (translation: I'll be milking that visit for the next couple of posts).




Even though Quinn isn't allowed to go out trick or treating, this year Ginger conceded to letting him go around and raise money for Unicef. The kids in extended day at Quinn's school were given boxes to raise money for Unicef. So Quinn got to go around to houses and ask for donations. I was really surprised how accommodating people were when he didn't ask for candy and just asked for denotations to help kids that need stuff. We had to work on his delivery some, at first his opening line was "Can you give me some money?" Eventually he got the whole thing down where he would explain how he wasn't asking for candy and was asking for donations to Unicef. There was only one house we went to that didn't donate something. Catherine on the other hand stayed at home, and she was going to hand out candy to the trick or treaters that came by, but only one group came by before she had to go off to bed. For some reason almost all the people that came by our place did so between seven and eight. Which is odd, since when we lived in Arlington the peak time was more between six and seven.

6 comments:

Buddy Tignor said...

That is really a good picture of Catherine.

Anonymous said...

I have been lurking but this is my first time commenting. I apologize if this seems forward or unwarranted, but why isn't Quinn allowed to trick or treat?

Anonymous said...

There are actually many reasons why our children do not actually trick or treat. Ultimately Quinn wanted to help children who did not have all the advantages that he does. To that end, he went to ask for donations in lieu of candy.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps one of the reasons listed on wikipedia applies.

JamesF said...

Buddy:

Thanks, that was a total luck shot. On the hayride I held the camera off the side and pointed it towards her without being able to see through the viewfinder or anything. And that's the picture untouched, so I got really lucky on that.

SuzyQ and Anonymous:

First off SuzyQ, welcome.

In regards to the Trick or Treat question, in addition to what Ginger mentioned Quinn's not really that interested in getting candy (not a great reason to not allow it, I admit). Also, since Catherine is allergic to nuts, they wouldn't be able to take any of the candy they did acquire into the house until Ginger could verify the 'nut-free-ness' of the product. And finally, I would agree that on some level some of the reasons listed on Wikipedia do play into the decision.

Anonymous said...

Thank you James. I have enjoyed your blog for some time now.

I was curious because Halloween has been an issue for our family as well. Trying to balance our religious beliefs with the pressures our children face with friends and at school has been a challenge to say the least. I may borrow your Unicef idea for next year!