Well, then. Happy All Saints' Day.
Apparently, I've been living in the season of life where I only compose blog posts in my head. Many, many blog posts. But if in this brief moment I can't catch you up with all the things rattling around in my brain, I can at least post some pictures from the last few days.
All Hallow's Eve Eve (Not Redundant)
Our church hosted a fall festival and chili supper on Saturday night, and I rested up all day for the big event. My head had been feeling like it was squeezed between a vice grip and I'd been hacking and dripping and congesting for a few days, but a good long nap and some OTC meds helped me recover enough to tag along, enjoy the fun, and take some pictures. Though we'd planned for Ethan to wear Jacob's giraffe outfit, no amount of cajoling could convince him to wear a costume.
Sad Jacob/Elmo before the church festival. He won't show his face. Or maybe he just likes looking at flowers and pumpkins.
We actually had a blast and I am so glad we all got to attend as a family. Seeing our extended church family was a treat as well, as the place was so packed they had to add extra tables. There were bouncy houses, cotton candy, bubbles, pumpkins to paint and cookies to decorate. What more could any kid want? Oh, yes. Elmo.
Daddy and Ethan hanging out (with "Melmo" in tow.)
Little Elmo, or "Melmo" as Ethan named him, traveled everywhere that Ethan went. Elmo is a new-found love. Besides books (right now the perennial request is "Cookie Book" aka If you Give a Mouse a Cookie) or cars, he'd never specifically requested a toy before. Once Jacob got the costume, however, Elmo is a must-have, even at naptime. At least an Elmo doll is easily replaceable if damaged. (Shhh. Don't tell Ethan!)
Melmo enjoyed the swing.
"Oh, no! Don't drop me! Ahhhh!"
Melmo jumped in the bouncy house.
Big Elmo liked the bouncy house, too! This is the first year Jacob has actually worn a costume for more than 30 seconds, so we were elated. He did change his mind last week and instead of a homemade giraffe he wanted to be the fuzzy friendly red monster from Sesame Street. What can I say? He wants to be popular, apparently.
Jacob's cookie decorating skillz.
Jacob and his friend N--er, Spiderman. Can't reveal his secret identity!
Halloween Parade
On Sunday evening, we participated in our neighborhood's annual Halloween parade. In this tradition, everyone meets at a particular intersection and walks down to the swim/tennis center for a hotdog dinner before trick-or-treating. They even had a sweet lead car. Since this is the first October we've been in our house, we weren't sure what to expect.
We actually walked all the way from our side of the neighborhood, arriving promptly at 5:15 per the e-mail. There were a few families milling about. (Note to self: next year, DRIVE to the start of the parade. Less toll on the parents.) Well, by the official start time of 5:30 there were hundreds of kids and parents filling up the streets! They stop traffic in that part of the neighborhood just for this event! According to some old-timers, this was the largest group they've had in a long time. Jacob seemed a bit overwhelmed by the size of the crowd but enjoyed himself nonetheless.
I was glad to see some familiar faces that we've gotten to know through our playgroup and summer Bible study. Jacob kept running up to kids saying "I know him! Hey, that's not a pirate!" or "Oh, she's a princess!" One little kid we'd never met just wanted to meet "Elmo!" Plus, a family from our church lives on the main drag and we got to go trick-or-treating at their house on the way back. We even got called out by name as we walked by. Seriously, it felt like I was in small-town America again.
Here's E at the start of the parade. Again, you notice that he has no costume. We tried, really, we did. Also, we attempted to substitute Cookie Monster for a (temporarily) missing Elmo, but to no avail. As you can see, he was delegated to the next seat over.
Here's a photo Jacob took from his seat in the stroller. This doesn't even give you a hint at the masses of people since by this time the crowds had thinned out and we were at the back. I thought about taking pictures earlier, but wasn't sure how I would feel about strangers posting pictures of my kids. But here I am putting them up for all the world to see anyway, so I suppose it wouldn't have mattered.
So. tired. Must. finish. hotdog. (He did!)
More swings. We really like swings.
We arrived home just before dark. Daddy finished carving the pumpkin while I took Jacob trick-or-treating next door and across the street. We were the first visitors at all three houses! I guess all the action is at the other end of the neighborhood. More candy for us!
Our snaggly-toothed jack o' lantern.
J and Gaines on the porch with our handily carved pumpkin. Way to go, Daddy!
Me and the boys.
Hope you had a happy Halloween!
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