Happy Halloween! I am so glad this year seems to be a return to normal after most of the modified holidays last year due to COVID. Parties were back on! I got to volunteer in Jonas's classroom! And there was no anxiety associated with trick-or-treating. The virus is still out there, but with increased vaccinations, COVID numbers are decreasing. The FDA also recently approved a vaccine for younger kids too! I'm grateful for modern medicine and the advances in science that have allowed this to happen. In any case, our Halloween festivities stretched out over a week. This is still not my favorite holiday. Honestly, I sometimes view it as the obstacle to get over before I can officially start my Christmas craze, but it's growing on me. We began on Sunday, October 24th, with our annual family Halloween dinner and pumpkin carving. Last year, costumes were included and this year they did not disappoint. I have a feeling this party will grow as the years progress and the grandkids get older. I'm already thinking that I'll include some carnival type games next year and a little scavenger hunt since Carter will be old enough to participate more (and I know Jonas will love it). We started the evening with our traditional Jack-o-Lantern pizza feast It's super simple but it does the trick. Next, we decided to get a picture of everyone in their costumes. This is where the evening took a hilarious turn. None of the older boys had a particular costume so they just raided the costume cabinet and came up with whatever they could. I'm not sure any of them were dressed as anything in particular, but their outfits sure garnered some laughs. I am not one to dress up, but I saw an idea that was simple enough for me - a shooting star. I taped a picture of a star to my chest then grabbed a nerf gun. It was as easy as that! The boys' costumes lasted as long as it took to take a picture then we were on to the next thing - carving pumpkins! I always enjoy the finished product but I'm not too fond of the gutting process. Thankfully, Jeff helped Jonas gut his and I had the dubious honor of carving what he wanted - a spider. I think it actually turned out pretty good; however, Carter was by far the cutest pumpkin! He is getting too big too fast. There was one point this evening when I pretended to chase him down the hallway while he scooted quickly away from me. He was laughing the whole time. We just love that little guy! I am incredibly grateful for those moments when we're all able to gather together and have some fun. Family means everything to Jeff and I.
Later that week (Wednesday, October 27), I had an opportunity to go to a witch party at my friend, Cathi's house. Cathi LOVES Halloween...and all things witches. She gets really animated about playing the part too. She has hosted this party for several years and this is the first year I actually dressed the part. I am still convinced the dressing up is not my thing but it was fun for the night. Cathi provided a festive dinner and several witchy games. It was a fun night with friends.
On Friday (October 29), Jonas had his first real Halloween school party. Last year costumes weren't allowed and parties were minimal. This year, he got to participate in their annual costume parade (where all the kids get to walk around the school with parents and friends as spectators) and actually had a classroom party with Bingo, a mask craft, and sugar cookie decorating. I was even able to help out with the classroom party.
On Saturday (October 30th), Jonas and I decided to make it to one more fall festival. Jeff had been in California since Thursday to attend a cousin's funeral with Grumpy and Danny was at a lacrosse practice, so it was just Jonas and I. We opted to go to Wilkerson Farm. Jonas loves this festival because of all the rides. He even convinced me to go on a couple with him, but I had to draw a line at the swings. I just didn't want to be sick for the rest of the day. However, that was his favorite ride! We did all the rides and got lost in the corn maze before calling it quits. I can't believe October is already over?! Didn't we just start all these fall festivals?
That evening, we had another fall/Halloween themed dinner with a pumpkin bread bowl, soup, and flying cauldron butter beer (definitely skipping that one next year! way too sweet!) before heading out to the trunk-or-treat. Again, Danny didn't join us because he went to a haunted house with his friends so Jonas and I headed off to the trunk-or-treat where Dad was eventually able to meet up with us. This was the first year that I didn't have to walk around with Jonas. In fact, he found his friends and just took off. I was a little sad and a little excited. I guess that's the bittersweet part of parenting. After the trunk-or-treat, we headed to Gma Penny's neighborhood where we met up with Dallin and Michaela to do some traditional trick-or-treating before calling it a day. Jonas got quite the haul! Thankfully, the Switch Witch visits our house and Jonas donates the majority of his candy to her to give to other children, and she, in return, gives him a small gift. This year, he received a dragon coloring book and some metallic colored pencils.
Sunday was finally Halloween...and by then I was done with Halloween! Haha! Halloween is not my favorite holiday, even though I love all the fall fun that comes around this time of the year. I have just never loved the spooky, creepy aspect of Halloween...and I'm not too fond of extreme amounts of sugar. Still, I love to celebrate all holidays and try to make it fun. Yet, after two previous days of Halloween and a family party prior to that, I was ready to move on. So...I made Jonas his traditional Halloween pancakes then we shifted from Halloween to the Day of the Dead. The funny thing is that sounds even more morbid than Halloween, but it is actually a very joyous holiday. It's a day to remember those who have passed on. It is thought that these deceased loved ones get to return this day and celebrate with you in spirit. The tradition is that you make an "offering" to your loved ones with their pictures, some of their favorite foods, items that were theirs, etc. Usually, there will be yellow marigolds to attract souls to the altars and papel picado for bright, welcoming colors. Jonas helped me print off some pictures of our deceased relatives. It gave me an opportunity to introduce him to these amazing men and women who I've come to know over the years as I've researched their lives and found their graves. We made sure we had the marigolds, papel picado, and some pan dulce as well. Who knows? This might become a tradition and our "ofrenda" will get bigger next year. Once it was completed, we made some sugar cookies and watched Coco then had a little Mexican feast for dinner that night.
Another Halloween in the books! As much as I am happy to move on to the holidays to come, I just hope they don't fly by too fast. I love this time of the year!
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