Candy bandits, Halloween thugs, Spirits of the Night----they were really cute! Actually October 31st, 2007 probably made Halloween history for the Galer family. Not only were all costumes completed before Halloween, trick-or-treating was almost all completed before dark (thank you for the extension on daylight savings!) two neighborhoods canvassed and the intake of delectable chocolate treats was large enough that children were easily coerced into parting with Reeses, Almond Joys and M&Ms without us having to sneak them on the sly. And, as you can see from the picture the weather was mild, for Rexburg, defined as no wind, no snow and temperatures above 30 (at least when we began). Highlights included watching the adorable and fearless sea monster who quickly followed his big sibs to doorsteps begging for treats, happy to consume them still in their foil and paper wrappers. The best spook awards went to the two seemingly stationary monsters seated outside of one house that suddenly sprang to life when Harry touched their arm, and the spook alley at Atkinsons, scary enough to bring Elliott to tears. And the best quote of the evening was from Owen, who, wearing thin on formalities dispensed with the traditional 'Trick-or-Treat' salutation to simply asking, 'So, what kinds of candy do you have?' The evening ended with our tradition of sharing a fabulous bowl of Helene's split-pea soup with the Benevidez family, at our house, bread and salad, but, come on, who are we fooling? The main course of the evening (the early evening, late evening and the next morning) was CANDY! Harry has shown forth much fiscal savvy and self-control as he sold his candy to Scott for $5 after eating a few favorites claiming (a bit unbelivably) that he didn't want to get a cavity!