Dulles Air and Space Museum Halloween party

So the week before Halloween we went to the Dulles Air and Space Museum for their Halloween party.  I thought it would be a fun thing to do since we weren't going to do trick-or-treating this year due to Halloween being on a Sunday.  Unfortunately about a bazillion other people had the same idea.

Our excitement was crushed on the Beltway when we sat in traffic for about an hour until we got past a major car pileup.  We were going about 10 miles an hour from Connecticut Ave until right around Rt. 66.  Lots of fun.  The next fun thing to happen was Michael drinking a bunch of juice right before we left.  Normally the drive would take an hour or less, so it shouldn't have been a problem.  Unfortunately with the traffic we now had a desperate ready-to-explode-any-second four-year old in the back seat.  When he stopped whining and started screaming we pulled over and let him moon the cars driving past.  We were pretty close to the museum at this point.  We thought just a couple more minutes and we'll be there.  Wrong.  The museum collects their $15 parking fee when you enter, so there was a long line just to get in the parking lot.  At this point I suggested we turn around and go home, but was overruled.  After what seemed like forever, we were permitted to find a parking space and go inside.

Jesse, Michael and Isaac with scout trooper

The Dulles Air and Space Museum is pretty spacious so it takes a lot of people to make it feel crowded.  It was pretty busy, but we could still maneuver our stroller around.  The kids made a toy parachuter with a napkin, some yarn and a paper monster, and listened to a spooky Halloween story read by a witch.  There was also a professional storyteller there.  I liked the Star Wars characters wandering around the best.  There were several different kinds of stormtroopers (regular, scout, and Death Star trooper).  You could have your picture taken with them.  Darth Vader was also there, but there was a long line to get a picture with him.  I was hoping there would be Boba Fett there since that is Michael's favorite character, but, alas, he was not.

There was also trick-or-treating around the museum, but not enough in my opinion.  There were maybe half a dozen different trick-or-treating stations and lines for each one.  Since the kids were hungry, they ate their candy as soon as they got it.  When we got home we had a total of three pieces of candy left.

I think the kids had a good time, but I don't think we'll do it again. Too much hassle getting in and too many people.

(Oh, and Isaac isn't wearing a costume because he started to cry as soon as we put it on him.)

Jesse and Michael with Death Star trooper and regular Stormtrooper