Halloween, Part II

A few years ago, Kelsey asked how Halloween started and wanted to know it's meaning. I went through the whole thing with her but she still seemed to have questions. So, I told her the purpose of Halloween for us was to get dressed up and go visit some people we don't often get to see. We don't trick or treat door to door or throughout our town. We go to a handful of our immediate neighbors and then we hop in the car. We go visit good friends of our family - a farming family in the country, our Pastor and his family, our afterschool sitter, some big Unity fans. Then, we head to the neighboring town to see some very good friends of ours. Check out what kind of treats they had for the girls:

We visited 5 or 6 houses in Tolono to see friends of the family. One of the families then invited everyone to stay after for a bonfire.

That lovely piece of wood is from our wood hunting excursion a few weeks ago. Oops, it's really a fence post with wire still on it! We made it work :) It was nice to have some grown-up time and let the kids play with their friends. It was a busy day and we were all exhausted. This is one way to end a party!

Halloween, Part I

I was lucky enough again this year to spend the afternoon with the girls at their school for their Halloween parade and classroom parties. I started out in Kelsey's room, working with her 4th grade class. We pretended that we were mad scientists and we made slime. The verdict? Mixed? Some of the batches turned out really well. Others looked like nasty milk. Oh well, we had fun and learned some things about science. When Kelsey's class went to Art, I went to Kaitlyn's class to help get kids dressed in their costumes. Kaitlyn was a Unity Rockets' cheerleader. Thanks for Aunt Jenn for the costume as a gift a few holidays ago and to Mimi for the poms (authentic poms from the dance squad!)

After Kaitlyn was dresses, I hauled it down to Kelsey's room to help her get dresses. She was a "Goth Teenage Queen". She had that idea months ago. I told her that I wasn't sure how appropriate that would be. Well, she drew me a picture of what she wanted and thanks to the Internet, I was able to find something that we both liked. When all the kids were dressed, there was a parade around the playground.

When the parade concluded, both girls had parties in their classrooms. I floated between the two parties - I called Bingo in Kaitlyn's class and picked up trash in Kelsey's class. All is all, it was a great afternoon. Apparently my Daphne costume of last year set the bar pretty high. Many people were disappointed in my take on Sarah Palin.

Quote of the evening

Kelsey said last night, "Mom, you have no idea how hard 4th grade is! The schoolwork is getting harder and the friend-thing -- whew!" Oh baby, if only you knew.

Ah, to be a kid again ...

If you ask me (maybe even if you ask them) my kids had a great weekend! It all started with a half day of school on Thursday. That was so mom could meet with their teachers for conferences. And those conferences, and their accompanying report cards, were fantastic! I was super proud of both of them and they were proud of themselves. Friday, there was no school but I still had to work. That was kind of a bummer but they were able to rest up at the sitter's for our Friday night plans. Kelsey and I went to see REO Speedwagon at Assembly Hall on campus. I really wanted to take Kelsey to her first concert and when I won tickets on the radio, I knew she was the one who had to go with me. We had pretty good seats and REO played a great set. Kels really like the opening band too. Poor Kaitlyn - she didn't get to go. And she was glad she didn't get to go! :) Instead, she got to hang out with her aunt and uncle. They took her out for ice cream and then to our favorite local bookstore. She got to choose a book to take home too. And it was hardcover! We didn't get home until 11:15 that night. The next day, Saturday, Kelsey had her soccer tournament. It was run differently from last year and they only had to play three games. They won those three games and won the tournament! She got a very cool medal for it too. Kaitlyn got to leave in the middle of the tourney to go to a birthday party. Kels had a well-timed break so we could spend 25 minutes at the party - enough time to scarf down some really good food. When we got home from soccer, there was a message on the machine for Kaitlyn. One of her very good friend's was hosting a High School Musical 3 party and sleepover. She was so excited she could hardly contain herself! I think her sister was glad she was gone as well. Sunday was "boring" only consisting of Church and a playdate with the neighbor. What a great weekend for all of us!

Kelsey's First Concert

An interesting greeting

I ran errands today during lunch. I walked up to the counter at one place, and the guy behind the counter said, "Tell me the best thing that happened to you today." OK, so maybe it was weird that was the first thing he said, but it was also thought-provoking. How many times have we all been part of the "How are you?" "I'm fine." conversation? I think maybe I will try that sometime. Probably not to a random stranger but definitely in lieu of the other idle chit-chat.

My answer? We don't have soccer tonight - we have a bye!

More about Costumes

While I like Halloween and dressing up, I like themed parties even more. I am a big fan of getting dressed up in a particular style or decade. Last night, we went to a beach-themed wedding reception. It was a celebration of their elopement the month before. We were all encouraged to wear beach attire. I wore an extremely floral dress and had a great time. I think my all-time favorite themed party was at our friends' Josh and Brooke's 6 years ago. They had an 80s Halloween party. Not only did people dress up in costumes from the 80s, but the food and drink was from the 80s too. Boone's Farm, gummy bears, Easy Cheese, etc. There were also some of the most clever, thoughtful costumes I have ever seen! Cops from CHiPS, characters from The Facts of Life (skates included!) smurfs, the Karate Kid ... Thinking more about this, I probably like themed parties because of the thought and effort they take. I enjoy planning and searching for the perfect costume and accessories. I probably enjoy even more when other people put forth the time and effort.

As for the party last night, I had a great time. I am sore all over from dancing, my dress has random drink stains on it - again from the dance floor, one of my feet was bloody, and on the other foot, the polish came completely off one of my toes. That is the sign of a good time!