We had a pretty busy time this Halloween if you include the weekend.

Milly decided she wanted to be a unicorn for Halloween this year. Tristen and I, inspired by Pinterest costumes taking advantage of pregnant bellies, decided on going as the cast of Castaway, with me being the Tom Hanks character and Tristen (or the twins, or her belly, if you will) going as Wilson, the volleyball.

We, along with Johnny, Torrie, and Sebastian, planned to go to Trick or Treat Under the Sea at the Aquarium on Friday night. Milly had a half-day at school so I picked her up then the Romeros picked us up and we went to Tristen’s work to pick her up. (I drove her to work in the morning so we wouldn’t have to go back later to get her car.)

Tristen and I hadn’t gotten our own costumes together yet, so she was going to go as a redneck with a beer belly, but I forgot a few things for that and she ended up going as a doctor. She was already wearing scrubs anyway. Milly pulled together an angel outfit for me. It consisted of me wearing a halo and some angel wings that were in her closet along with a white shirt.

After the Aquarium we stopped by The Lazy Pirate to eat. It took a while, but I’ll give it to them that it was pretty packed outside. Laura, who had been a creepy clown in the tank at the Aquarium, stopped by to join us for a bit.

Amanda had asked about getting Milly for a little while on Saturday morning as her boyfriend’s mom was in town. Milly likes her and we didn’t have anything planned early Saturday, so Amanda picked Milly up and we picked her back up early in the afternoon to go to a birthday party.

The party was at Smith Creek Park for our friend Dina’s step-son. Milly had only met him once and he was just turning four, but there were several kids there her age, so she had fun. I spent some time pushing a bunch of kids on a sort of carousel thing. It’s raised up off the ground a good bit and is bent, so it uses its own momentum to keep going. I think I messed my shoulder up a bit doing it though. My right shoulder was hurting really bad by the time I went to bed that night. I figure I just pulled it or something, but I had a hard time raising my arm or doing anything that involved my shoulder muscle.

That evening we went to a Halloween party thrown by Milly’s school librarian. His daughter is in Milly’s class and they’ve known each other for a few years. I volunteer at the school about once a month, and Mr. Holland and I talk a good bit. We’re both into nerdy things.

Milly went as a unicorn again, as did Sophie (the daughter), but the outfit was changed up a little. Tristen and I did the whole Castaway thing. I somehow ended up winning a prize for Best Overall, which is silly because my outfit wasn’t that great and it was nothing without Tristen’s Wilson belly. When Byron (Mr. Holland) announced that I had won that one, I was genuinely shocked. I looked around to see if there was another Zach and said, “Me? Really?”

Tuesday was actual Halloween, and Milly’s unicorn outfit changed a little yet again. Milly had Lion King rehearsal, so time was a bit tight. I got her home, she ate, we all got ready for Halloween then the Romeros picked us up to go see what Laura and Craig had done for Halloween. Tristen’s parents actually met at a haunted house and they always do the yard up for the occasion. We trick-or-treated in their neighborhood for a little bit, grabbed a couple slices of pizza for dinner then headed over to Forest Hills.

Forest Hills on Halloween was like something out of a movie. We hit it up a couple years ago, but it wasn’t like this. You know those 80’s movies where you see sidewalks full of costumed kids and lots of houses all decked out? That’s what it was like. We then hit up a street in Carolina Place (the next neighborhood over) because our presence was requested for a quick stop. That’s a great neighborhood too because it’s a pretty tight neighborhood, both in terms of people being neighborly and how close the houses are together.

Amanda had asked for me to have Milly home in time to get to take her around her neighborhood, and I really did try, but I didn’t get Milly back to Amanda’s until almost 8:00. I felt bad about that and apologized for it. Technically, according to our custody agreement, we are supposed to all be able to go trick-or-treating together. I’ve always wondered if that was inspired by Matt and Melissa Davis, who we saw out trick-or-treating with their girls the first year they were apart. Despite that provision, we’ve never done it. Amanda had Milly for Halloween last year, but I had her the two years before that. I probably won’t get her for the next few years, but I’m assuming that when the boys are two or three years old, Milly might want to be with them for the first Halloween they participate in.

When I dropped Milly off she went up to her mom’s door and trick-or-treated her. Driving down the road, we saw that a few trick-or-treaters were still out and Milly told me later that she and her mom went out for a bit, which I’m glad of.