halloween 2010

This year the kids were sick before, during and after Halloween. We went out trick or treating despite the illness. In fact, I'm really glad it's all over so that the kids are finally able to stop worrying about whether or not they would be able to go trick or treating even-though-they-were-sick. In my mind, they would have had to have been pretty sick to keep them in from trick or treating. If they opted to stay in, I would absolutely have honored that too. Still, there are only so many of these dress-up-and-go-trick-or-treating nights in your life and this Sunday was one of them. So we went.

In contrast to years past, Samuel didn't have a costume idea that he was looking forward to for long stretches at a time. He liked his costume and had fun with it but he didn't have the same level of enthusiasm about it that he did with, for instance, the Darth Vader costume (either the first or the second time around).

The weather was gorgeous and the trees really did their part. I love Halloween for getting people out in their community and saying hi to their neighbors. I am always so pleasantly surprised at how friendly everyone is and remind myself each year how much I love this part of the season.



The kids decorated the front of our house and Eva explaining her piles of candy to me after she sorted them.

One of the things about them being sick this year is that we have SO much more candy lingering around the house. I can't remember a time when the candy has lasted this long. Both of the kids have eaten a few things but for the most part have steered clear of the candy while they are feeling sick.



Here they are ready to go out- Eva as a cat and Samuel as Mad Eye Moody from Harry Potter.

what's dependent on what?

Stymied. Thwarted. Undone. My blogging came to a crashing halt when my hard drive filled up and I was no longer able to upload new photos and movies from my camera nor change the size of the ones I had recently uploaded. Just upload them from the camera, you say? If my tolerance for frustration were higher, I might go ahead and do that, but it isn't, so I don't.

I kept waiting for the hard drive issue to be fixed. Put the blog on hold. Everything I wanted to blog about had to do with a recent photo- the beauty of fall outside, the kids' Halloween costumes, our new guinea pig Terrence. All wonderful things to write about and I really wanted that writing to be accompanied by photos. Time on blogs waits for no one, however, and as I sit here waiting for my photos to be usable, time ticks away and now it is over a week since Halloween and two since we brought Terrence home from the humane society.

So I will start from there. We brought our new guinea pig Terrence home from the humane society hmmm a week before Halloween. He is black and orange colored, a silky guinea pig, so very very soft and much smaller than Albert. I am still wondering if he is full grown or if he is younger than the humane society thought. Albert and Terrence are doing really well together and are now sharing one cage together. We ordered a bigger, fancier cage for them which should be here next week. Dare I wish that my hard drive will have expanded by then as well so that I can include photos of their new space? I'll wish it but no breath holding. Blogging, as you can plainly see, can go on just as well with or without photos. {Mostly.}

Halloween came and went. This year Samuel was a ninja and Eva was a bunny. They were fabulous costumes, some of our best ever, and the kids had a lot of fun in them, collected a huge amount of candy, and spent the next week or so eating it up. Last night marked the end of Halloween for Samuel, at least, as he ate the last piece of candy that he liked from his bag and gave away what was left of the dregs- those last pieces that linger around but that you have no intention of eating. I have found that I actually like Almond Joy candy bars through this process. You have no idea how many Almond Joys were left over this year!

The kids have been enjoying their clay class and Eva is going to continue ice skating lessons after her current ones end in a few weeks. We went and saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which was put on by the Oregon Children's Theatre and we all really enjoyed that. It was a play, not a musical, and very similar to the book. Next weekend we are going to see another telling of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this time a musical, put on by one of the local homeschool resource centers. A friend of ours is going to be an Oompa Loompa and we are very much looking forward to seeing it.

OK. Just a business as usual post but my mind feels lighter and my heart freer. I am looking forward to posting some photos of the past couple of weeks when the time is right.

sibling love

I had a picture of the kids sitting together in the new chair but Samuel really didn't like the picture (because he was scowling) and I took it down. Anyway, we have a new chair and everyone loves it and last night they were sitting in it together. Jack had the couch to himself...



I found this pile of weapons near the chair. Was there a plan to oust Eva from the chair?

And then I found these photos of candy from Halloween. So many ways to organize candy...



Eva put her candy into a pattern and Samuel organized his by type. Every time we look at these photos he mentions that Eva got more candy and it is hard to deny it. But how could that be? They went to the same houses, I saw them put candy into their bags. It's true that Samuel eats his candy more quickly. I pointed out today that he put his in piles and the 3-dimensions of the piles didn't show up in the photo. See the kit kat pile and the m&m pile?

happy halloween

Samuel is Indiana Jones and Eva decided at the last minute to be a witch (rather than a fairy princess)! Much candy was collected by all.

preparations

I took a closer look at the pumpkin this year...



and so did Agnes. Now we know what all of those black cats are really doing out on Halloween. They are eating the pumpkins!



Samuel's pumpkin! Eva opted not to carve or decorate one this year and left her pumpkin to bask in wholeness.



And finally, Samuel's Darth pumpkin. A tradition is born.

Boo!

Samuel as Darth Vader and Eva as a princess.



Samuel dressed up his pumpkin as Darth Vader also. The candle lights shone through the helmet. Very striking!



Eva's princess pumpkin and my spider pumpkin



Candy! Eva's bag became too heavy for her and I ended up carrying it for her half way through. She stopped trick-or-treating eventually and said she had enough candy and had me carry her the rest of the way. Samuel opted to try for a little more candy...And the funny part is that somewhere along the way someone gave Samuel a bag of Doritos and this bag, out of everything, became the coveted prize of the evening! Who knew?