Trick or Treating!

 I've never been a fan of Halloween.

Sure, I went Trick or Treating as a kid.

A few years ago, my brother brought his daughter to Mom's house to Trick or Treat...

Since Mom still lives in the house we grew up in,

My brother and I let Mom take Katlyn from house to house.'

Dan and I ran around and knocked on the door of old timers...

When they answered, we gave them candy!

Now, that was fun!

Suddenly, Halloween was a bah-humbug kind of day...

I was content letting Mark, and then Ron, do the Trick or Treat duties...

Until this little guy came along...

Each year it got better...

And better...

Last year was such fun!

This year it was cold, very windy and rainy.

I opted out...

but not these cuties!

 Apparently Tony and Mindy got into the spirit...

Baby Shark!

 Let's just day I'm glad it's over for another year.

Trick or Treat!

Yesterday was Locklan's first trick-or-treat night out. 

 

 Mom, Ashley, had to work (she's a RN) and Tony was late leaving his office,

so after Andy and I got him in his costume,

 

 

And he got to liking it...

(even though he was the one to choose it)

 

 

(He calls it his horsie)

 

He headed out the front door!

He saw neighborhood kids and shouted at them,

"Hey guys, I have a horsie!" 

Mindy joined them and they headed out into our neighborhood.

 

 

It was soooo cute, his little tail wagging!

 

But I think he enjoyed passing out treats to the other kids...

 

 

 

But it was a long night...pretty soon he was ready to come in

and play with Dad, Uncle Tony and Aunt Min...

 

 

Incidentally, this is the same pumpkin!

 

 

 

 

Family!  Gotta love it!

 

 

Happy Halloween!

We've never been very big on Halloween celebrations and trick-or-treating in our family.  Since we moved up here on the hill, we've had a total of 9 trick-or-treaters in seven years.  Needless to say, after the first year or two of disappointment -not to mention tons of left over candy to eat, we stopped buying candy to pass out.


We should have known better.  The very next year, we had two kids show up and we were not prepared.  Mark, frantically searching for something to pass out, opened his wallet and handed the taller of the two a dollar bill and made him promise to share. 


Realizing that if the word got out, we'd have 458,588 kids beating on our door hoping for a dollar, we decided to go out to dinner instead. 


You would think we'd know what to do the following year, right?


Heck no...at the appointed witching hour, 6PM, two little kids, dressed as super heros, knocked at the door...this time Mark frantically pulled the cork out of the bottom of the family piggy bank and dumped the change on the table and searched out two quarters for the kids.  That year he got smart and ran to the store for a package of Kit Kats, his favorite candy bar.  Since we had no more tricksters, he had to eat them himself!


Last year Mark was away on a business trip so my brother and I took my niece to my mother's house so she could trick-or-treat in our old neighborhood.  Even though my family moved into that house in 1960, that block feels like it is frozen in time.  Many of the neighbors then are still there, or the house has passed on to other family members. 


Daniel and I followed my mom and niece around and when people answered the door, we gave them candy!  No one seemed shocked.  One neighbor, a classmate from high school who now lives in his grandparents' house, thanked us as though we did it on a daily basis...go figure!


Anyway...I have a Growth Group meeting at the church tonight, Tony and Morgan are taking the daughter of a friend out and Andy said he's working on his lawn mower in my garage...if you are going out, stay safe.   If you are staying home, hope you have a bit of candy left over for a late night snack.


Happy Halloween,
Jan

As good as it gets...

This morning, during church, I let the tears flow.  Yes, I am blessed, but yet I am broken hearted.  Missing Mark seems to be a full time job.  My son, Andy, put his arm around me and squeezed.  We are in this together!

Shortly after church, my sister-in-law, Marsha, showed up on my door step bearing not one, but TWO boxes from Panera!  One box contained Bear Claws, the other bagels.  Yum-Oh!

Shortly after Marsha left, My friend, Deb, showed up in the driveway to wisk me away to get some hot soup and a good ol' girl talk.  Yes, my heart and soul felt warm.  Can't beat friends, can you?

Well...this evening, the kids and friends made me dinner.  Delicious, stick-to-your ribs, warm and delicious food. 

What?  I am blessed, you say?  You bet I am.  Although I have lost lots, I have been blessed that much and more...

After dinner, the kids pulled out the pumpkins they bought to carve.  We have never been a Halloween family, but carving pumpkins has been a tradition.  Well, almost a tradition...

Worry about sharp knives?  Not when Super Andy is around.  According to him, real men use power tools...

But then, Tony is very safety conscious...

Soooo, when you put together real men with power tools, pumpkins and protective head gear, what do they make?  Bowling balls, of course!

Only in our house, only my kids, only my life.

Happy Sunday!

God bless you!
Jan

October is always such a colorful month

and usually starts out with the most brilliant blue skies and perfect temperature. I grabbed my camera and hit the roads, photographing things that caught my eye:

I must have spent HOURS and HOURS, driving around, snapping my shutter! Both driving and photographing are therapy for me.

Kailyn, who always plans things ahead of time, bought her cat, Deore, her Halloween costume"

Deore wasn't fond of it, I don't think she wanted to be a lady bug, so she did her best to get out of it:
And when she did, she made sure her mommy wasn't going to try to put it on her again:
The cooler air made the dog feel frisky for a few minutes right before they went into hibernation for the winter. They felt obligated to hunt those renegade leaves and twigs. Linda obeys when you tell her to drop things. Bill seems to have a problem:
In mid-October, I was driving down the road and....OH OH!
Something hit my windshield!

What was it?

Yes, it was Bill! No, he's fine, but ouch! I had to step on the brakes quickly and he came down, between the seats and wacked the windshield. Not so sure the insurance company bought that story, but they did replace it.

The small town where we camp has a scenic train ride on weekends. When we see it pass, we always run out and wave. Usually people have their cameras ready and snap photos. Some time I surprise them and photograph THEM!
We decided to take the last train ride of the regular season.

They do have a winter run in December, but brrrrr! Mark, Andy, Kailyn, Tony and I got to go. Morgan was at work.




The town where the railroad is located has a population of 55 (today, 54 last week!). One of the cutest things was this couple, sitting at the beginning of town.
Also in October Tony was in a golf tournament with his college team. He came in second overall which brought his team in at second place. He was tickled even though the huge trophy stays with the school. How lucky is this kid who's mother had a golf trophy ready and waiting for him when he got home:
Oddly, he wasn't around in 1958, the year on the trophy. In fact, his mom was in grade school! The wonders of ebay!

Also in October, wedding preparations were in full swing! Kailyn's attendants had a shower for her:

She got so many beautiful things, and was beaming when Andy showed up later:

The tulle veil was the wrapping for a gift from Kailyn's aunt. I wish I had gotten a photo of the wrapped gift, it was beautiful and what a great idea!

Andy also had time for a hug for his sister and his cousin, Katlyn, who will be a junior bridesmaid in the wedding.

We also heard that the city had torn down the house Mark and I bought before we were married. They are expanding the base-ball park behind the house. Tony and Michael wanted to see:
You can see the baseball field in the background. It's a beautiful park.
They found some of Tony's pogs, a few legos and one jeep matchbox car. I put them in a jar as our time capsule!

Lastly, I suppose it would be Halloween...and we really don't celebrate it. I love to buy pumpkins to use in decorating, but we don't even get trick or treaters up here on the hill!


Whew...still with me? Come back tomorrow for November, which will be restful, I promise!