Wickedly Cute

I've always loved Halloween, as a child and as an adult. Always. I love the colors, the decorations, the costumes, the candy, the fun. This year it's more than that. As we see the delight through the eyes of our child, it's joy! Here's wishing you a joyful Halloween!

After School Special

After school we played outside enjoying the beautiful day. Set up the cones for a little soccer on the driveway, and Maryn's getting better about turning to avoid kicking the ball in the street. That's a significant improvement, and if we keep up the running and kicking she might be up to speed to give soccer a try next year. After soccer we raked the leaves in the parkway, and then Maryn ran into the garage to her school "pockpock." She pulled out a handful of beautiful yellow and orange leaves carefully selected during recess. She showed me where she wanted to plant them, and that's just what we did. The dirt was moist enough that all it took was a poke with a piece of mulch to get the stem into the ground. We can cross fall leaf planting off the list of things to get done before winter, and we didn't even have to get our fingers dirty.

We Were Booed!

Around 5 p.m. the doorbell rang. When we went to the door, no one was there, but a bag of Halloween goodies was on the porch waiting to come inside. We had been booed by a mysterious neighbor, and the treats were well chosen for a new trick-or-treater. Past experience had taught me to get the BOO! sign on the door quickly to avoid getting booed twice in a matter of minutes. The signs are appearing around the neighborhood now as are the pumpkins and other decorations. We're ready for Halloween.

Punkin Pickin'

The only thing on the schedule for today was to get some pumpkins and get some photographs of our pumpkin, and we did both. It was a perfect day for it, and we passed quite a few places that offered just the right setting. The one we chose drew us in with two farm wagons full of beautiful pumpkins from teeny tiny to ginormous. They must have tended to them night and day to make sure they were absolutely perfect because they were, and there wasn't a speck of dirt on any of them. It was a tough choice, but we were able to weed out the hundred pounders and go with a few we knew we could carry. Maryn was beaming when we put them in the car, and when we got home she couldn't wait to get them out and placed on the porch just the way she wanted them. We're so happy she's enabling us to appreciate all the wonder and beauty of autumn right along with her.

Sister Surprise

The day started with my morning dog walk, and when I opened the front door to depart there was a package sitting on the threshhold from Maryn's adoring sisters, Robyn and Allyson. I set the package on the dining room table and shortly after Toby and I returned from the walk, Maryn woke up, and it didn't take her long to spy that package trimmed with Halloween paper. Inside were special Halloween treats: a t-shirt, pencils, ornament craft, dangly spider, Jack-O'-Lantern parachuter, and photos of her adorable nieces and nephews. We immediately got to work coloring the ornaments, adding the glitter and attaching the glow-in-the-dark eyes, which were a hit when we tested them in my closet. The t-shirt was just what she needed for a beautiful day perfect for fall photographs. Thank you for giving us a great start to the weekend.

Not Till I've Had My Coffee!

Good Loween Is Coming Soon

Our decorations are up, and we are looking forward to an extra special Loween this year. You see, in Chinese the word hao (how) means good, so we're guessing that Halloween sounds to Maryn as if we are saying hao Loween. She's not one to judge a holiday until after she experiences it, so, at this point, it's still just called Loween at our house. By the time she gets home with a pillow case stuffed with candy, we're sure she will declare it to be a hao Loween.