we’ve never really been into halloween. leif and i were just talking about how our costumes growing up were typically found items, creatively put together to resemble soccer players, princesses, medical professionals, and a wide variety of historical figures. the costumes weren’t all that big of a deal – but going out for a crisp fall evening walk (or run) around the neighborhood with a few friends and a pillow case is still a fond memory, nonetheless. i remember squirming at the dinner table, wishing the sun to drop faster and the darkness to come. i remember peering out the front windows to see if there were any lit jack-o-lanterns across the street. and i vividly remember the smell of halloween night in castro valley – it was the same smell in seattle seven years ago, and it’s the same smell tonight in danville. anders and i talked about the smell on our crisp evening walk through the neighborhood.
“do you smell that, anders?”
“yes – it smells like hotdogs!”
“no, not hotdogs. that’s the smell of halloween!”
“there’s a smell of halloween?”
“yes! it’s the candles burning in the jack-o-lanterns, mixing with the cool night air. isn’t it great?!”
“the candles are burning the jack-o-lanterns? it does smell great.” (thoughtful pause … walking hand-in-hand …) “mom, thanks for taking us trick-or-treating.”
leif and i stood at the end of the driveways and watched anders lead thoren up to the doors of our neighbors homes. at every door anders would say “trick or treat!” and thoren would try and introduce them both to the delighted neighbors: “me! me! anda!”
we realized the boys have become good friends. it’s amazing to watch! thoren is enamored with anders, and anders takes such pride in showing thoren the ropes. they are a great team – and our hearts were so full tonight to watch them having so much fun together. we broke all the “rules” – we stayed up “late”, walked up and down the street at night without jackets, wore the same dirty clothes for 48 hours, and ate candy right before bed. we dumped the candy out on the floor and sorted the good (?) from the bad. and then we sat up in the front room reading bedtime stories and waiting for more trick-or-treaters to welcome.
anders fell asleep on my lap, watching the front window for kids in costumes – with a smile on his face. thoren sang the abc’s to himself until he nodded off into dreamland – also with a smile on his face.
halloween may mean something scary or spooky to other people, but to us, it’s just a fun day to dress up in silly costumes and play – and because that’s what my boys love to do, i’ve decided i may just like this day after all.
we started the day off with a little party with a kangaroo, some kitty cats, a bride, some tourists, a monkey, pebbles, a farmer, a cowboy, a few sweet bugs, a fairy, four disney princesses, a pair of firefighters, four pirates (including me), some slick 50’s kids, and elmo. 25 kids and 25 adults, being silly, getting crafty, playing games, & eating ice cream.
even papa got into the pirate spirit!
thoren playing “injured”
or, so it seems. that’s right – november is knocking on the door and it’s still 80. i think i may have burned just a tad on my face from sitting out in the backyard for craft time this afternoon. we’ve got fans on and doors open – eating popsicles and running around barefoot. anders wanted to have a water balloon fight today and thoren constantly asks for ice. yet, i’m testing out thanksgiving recipes for dinner and i’ve warmed up the beds in the house with their winter sheets & spreads. i guess it’s wishful thinking?
we thought you’d like these, auntie ingy! non-scary spiders – we have a room full of them!
the boys got new viking gear – it’s anders’ favorite new costume. if he’s just standing there in the costume, then he looks cute – but it’s the noises and actions that accompany the costume that make me a little crazy… grunting and falling and yelling and swinging swords and daggers (and now he says he wants an AXE?! no way. i draw the line). why can’t the favorite costumes be something non-violent? luckily, not-yet-two-year-old-thoren is still smitten with all things soccer-related and allows me to capture some sweet smiles and happy dribbling – the only thing he’s yelling is “goooooal!” – and that’s just fine with me. he may try to act tough when anders is beating up on him, but he’s really a softy and i hope he stays that way!
saturday morning we met up with some other moms & kids at the san ramon farmer’s market – all the dads were off at the men’s retreat, so we were filling the weekend with group activities to keep the little ones distracted and entertained! we started the morning with crepes and a brass band (maybe a little early in the morning for that – it was loud enough to send baby Ava away in tears). thoren was mesmerized by ruby sunshine’s dancing (as you see from his expression in the first photo).
the 4-H petting zoo allowed the kids inside the tiny little pens to hold the chickens, feed them, and collect their freshly laid eggs. while thoren, india & selah were happy viewing from a safe distance, maddy, ruby, anders & julian couldn’t get enough of the feathered friends.
i know we have photos in our family albums of me and garrett feeding our little red hens – this was just too precious to me, as ruby and anders really are like brother & sister. … but ruby has more guts than i did, as is evidenced by her confidence in picking up the ROOSTER! i’m sure he outweighed her.
you would never know it from the photo below, but this ferris wheel ride produced the most pitiful screams from thoren – the entire ride – but the moment the cage door was opened he was all smiles. we’re on to you, thor – we know a fake cry/scream/hyperventilation when we hear one – did you not realize we’ve already experienced all this with your big brother?
anders & the girls – i think thoren was a bit jealous…
for those of you who are curious to see what laurie has been up to this month, i’ve posted some of the photos she and my uncle mike have taken on my other blog:
http://carynbostrom.wordpress.com
you can also check my mom’s blog:
http://laurienowak.wordpress.com
or my uncle’s:
