Happy Halloween

Halloween through the years

2010

Haunted House 2010

2009

2005




2003

 

Halloween sure has changed now that Katie, Andrew and Nicholas have gotten older.  When they were little, sparkling princesses, pumpkins and cute clowns were the typical costumes.  In preschool, they always had big Halloween parades where the kids would march around in their costumes for all the parents and grandparents to "ooh" and "aah" over.  We only trick-or-treated a few homes of family and friends when it was barely dark.  It is a tradition of ours to go over to their Nini and Papa's home and trick-or-treat in their neighborhood (the one I grew up in). 

I remember one Halloween in particular.  The kids were 7, 5 and 3.  We had just set out for the evening.  It was already dark.  Unaware, Katie stood in a fire ant bed that was right at the front sidewalk of my parent's neighbors.  She got bitten all over both feet and started screaming and crying.  We hurried back to Nini and Papa's house for some TLC.  Poor thing couldn't wear shoes for days.  She still has scars on her feet.  That was probably the shortest Halloween we ever had, but we learned a valuable lesson; wear closed-in shoes...even if you are a princess.

Katie, Andrew and Nicholas have officially passed the cute costume stage, and have replaced it with scary masks, black capes, ninjas and Shadow Hunters.  Now that the kids are older, we are having fun all over the neighborhood, visiting haunted houses and spooking one another. 

Tonight we went to a neighborhood haunted house in my parent's neighborhood.  Pete and the kids went last year, but I was propped up in my parent's recliner icing my torn Achilles tendonS (notice the "s" there- I messed up both of them).  I was amazed at all the effort these people took to create a fantastic spooky experience for fun and for free. 

They also had a good message to share: don't use drugs or drink, or you'll end up dead like the skeletons and zombies, and stay in school or the wicked witch will come and find you. 

Pete got one of the monsters to poke my shoulder and scare me, that little rascal.  The kid's weren't too scared, but the others in the group were going crazy screaming at the top of their lungs.  As Nicholas put it, "They were almost scarier than the haunted house."

We had a great Halloween and I am so grateful for that.  I cherish this time because I know all too well there will come a time when the kids no longer want to trick-or-treat on Halloween. 

What did you do for Halloween this year?

Babies make Halloween fun

Momma Chelsea having fun with baby nephew Jonathan

When I was growing up, Halloween was so much fun.  I used to wear my costumes to school (which most of the time were homemade), go to carnivals, haunted houses, hayrides and trick-or-treating with my friends; no adults allowed!  We would have most of the candy eaten by night's end.  Even when I started teaching, we were able to wear scary costumes on or around Halloween and decorate our rooms with whatever we wanted for October.

Of course things are much different now.  Children are not allowed to wear scary costumes to school.  If they are lucky, the school will have "dress up as your favorite character from a book" day, since drug awareness week is the last week in October.  Teachers are not allowed to decorate with any form of Halloween symbols (witches, ghosts, goblins, monsters) anymore. They can only use scarecrows, pumpkins or other autumn-related items to adorn those classroom walls. 

Children rarely go trick-or-treating; and if they do, grown-ups are with them.  The kids must let their parents inspect the candy before they can dig in.  The new fad is trunk-or-treating, where families gather in a church parking lot and fill their trunks with treats.  Kids parade around as the adults "ooh" and "ahh" over how cute the little ones look in their expensive costumes. 

I remember how fun it was to dress the kids up when they were babies.  Since ours were healthy babies, they looked so cute dressed up as pumpkins and Tigger.  Pete and I didn't think twice about spending money for costumes (now we're more inclined to help the kids create something, since the costumes seem to get pricier with age).  I miss those days.  But now that Jonathan, my nephew, has come along, I get to take a trip down memory lane as I watch Jonathan experience his first holiday season.  As you can see from the picture, my sister-in-law Chelsea is playing along with Jonathan during his first Halloween season.  Enjoy the early years- time really does fly when you're having fun; or is it because you just get so busy you feel like you are going through life at a fast forward speed?  What do you think?

Halloween fun and a cute story

As you can see Andrew, a.k.a. Harry Potter, is pointing to his pumpkin, who accidentally had too much candy.

Harry Potter, Miz Bumble Bee and G.I. Joe Ninja are ready for the big night. The kids had a lot of fun going trick-or-treating in their Nini and Papa's neighborhood (which is much more inviting than ours). They even got to go through a haunted house, which was a homemade treat right down the street. I had to stay at the house and help pass out candy since my Achilles tendinitis is still not healed. That was fun, too.

My dad shared a funny story that happened about ten years ago on Halloween. A group of kids came trick-or-treating and one boy was suspiciously bent down when Dad answered the door. After he closed the door, my dad turned around to find a little kitten in their living room.

So the next time the doorbell rang, he chose a cute little girl and said, "Have I got a special treat for you."

The princess excitedly answered, "Really?"

My father handed over the kitten. "Here you go," he said.

The child was so excited. I bet that was a Halloween she will never forget...and neither will her parents!

Halloween Fun

Every year we go to the Pumpkin patch put on by a local church as a fundraiser. The pumpkins might cost a little bit more than at the grocery store, but there is a huge selection and the money goes to a good cause. This year we found lots of cool spots to take pictures. These photos were taken a few weeks ago. Now it is too cold to wear shorts (such is the life in southeast Texas- next week we will probably be in shorts again).

This year there was a bounce house/moonwalk at the pumpkin patch. The kids had fun jumping in that. Below you can see Mr. K is having to correct Nicholas, who was bouncing a little too excitedly and knocking some of the wee ones down.Nicholas proudly shows his pumpkin off. Our youngest is all boy, that's for sure!

The kids are posing in their costumes. Andrew is Harry Potter. He also has a tie and glasses, but did not feel like messing with them for a picture. Katie, as you can tell, is a bumblebee. Nicholas is a GI Joe ninja here, but our neighbor also got him a "vampire pirate" costume. We will have to decide which one Nick will dress up in tomorrow. I will let you know. Have a safe and happy Halloween!