A Halloween Worth Waiting For!

Trick-or-treat night was scheduled for Halloween night, October 31st, as it should be. That is...until a dicey forecast caused most communities in our area to reschedule it. Ours was postponed until Sunday, 3 nights later. It turned out to be a good move; the rain, high winds, and tornado warning that woke us up at 1AM Friday morning were scary enough! Luckily, Todd was able to preserve his pumpkin "masterpieces" by covering them in saran wrap. Plus, on Saturday afternoon, Emma and I made her costume character's sidekick, Mouse, out of stitched felt, which we didn't have time to do before. Even better, we were able to invite several family members to spend some time with us Sunday afternoon. Emma and I met Mom, Dad and Jason at the arboretum near our house to enjoy the fall color and sunny weather. By the time we went back to the house, Grandma Coe and Aunt Linda had arrived, and we ordered KFC for dinner. Since the time change had just taken effect, the hours for trick-or-treat were changed slightly, too. Even so, more than half of it was in the dark (which we the traditionalists like), and it was a calm, clear night! Emma wowed everybody with her "Crumbs" Lalaloopsy Doll costume, complete with the wig, makeup, and mouse we had made. Todd had a new one-eyed monster costume that he wore to pass out treats and sneak up on us whenever he could. Afterwards, we watched the traditional "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," followed by the new "Toy Story of Terror" TV special we'd DVR-ed a couple of weeks ago. Who says you can't enjoy Halloween on November 3rd for a change?!

A Winner of a Weekend (and season's end)!

The last weekend in October was also the last weekend of the season for Kings Island. On Saturday the 26th, the gray sky and chilly winds did little to keep the crowds away. Luckily, we were prepared with fall jackets, hats and gloves. We spent most of the day in areas we knew would not be as busy, like the lesser-known roller coasters and the dinosaur exhibit. Emma once again enjoyed trick-or-treat with the dinosaurs, and she even got to dig in the fossil sand box, which was closed during our last visit because it was too wet. The highlight of our day actually had little to do with the park though...while we were at dinner, Emma lost her front tooth! We left for our hotel shortly after dark, just as the crowds were picking up for the last night of Halloween Haunt. Emma was more interested in getting some pool time at the hotel than in being spooked by scary people, and so were we!**Sunday's weather was-thankfully-sunny and about 15 degrees warmer. We enjoyed many of the rides in the kids' area one last time for the season. However, the highlight of our day and maybe even the best event of the season was in the Hall-o-Palooza Kids' Halloween Area. For the past 3 years, Emma has entered the costume contest every fall visit to the park. All interested kids are given a chance to walk up on stage, have their costume announced, and hug Snoopy. However, only 3 kids are chosen as the winners for best costume. While Emma has always enjoyed taking part in the event, her store-bought costumes have never really stood a chance of winning. When Emma wore her Lalaloopsy costume for the contest earlier in October this year, she quietly said afterwards, "I can't believe I didn't win!" Then, Todd suggested that this time she wear the Popcorn costume she and I had made together for her Girl Scout meeting a few weeks ago (see earlier post). Not only was it homemade, it was unique. After several attempts, we knew this was the perfect formula for a winning costume. Even so, when about 50 kids showed up-possibly the largest group we've seen-we tried not to get Emma's hopes up. But, as luck would have it, the majority of the kids were wearing store-bought super hero and princess costumes. When the winners were announced, we could hardly believe it...Emma's Popcorn outfit, which was made of cardboard and quilt batting and cost next to nothing, had taken second place!!! As she stood on stage with the other two winners (a pretty impressive peacock and extremely unique poison ivy), she was grinning proudly from ear-to-ear, complete with the gap where her front tooth had been just the day before!

Halloween Party!

On Saturday Oct. 19th, Emma's friend Jessica hosted a Halloween party. It started at her house, with costumes (Emma wore her Lalaloopsy Doll costume), pizza, pin-the-face on the pumpkin, pumpkin decorating, and a spoon race. Then the girls received party pails with glow stick wands, which they used to follow Jessica's mom down the driveway to her grandparents' garden center next door. There they found a bouncy house and a pumpkin pinata to enjoy. The party ended with a Halloween Egg hunt in a darkened greenhouse (with a little help from the flash on parents' phones and cameras)!

Circleville Pumpkin Show 2013!

On October 18th, Mom, Dad, Jason, Emma and I met at our house and rode down to Circleville for the 107th annual Circleville Pumpkin Show. We met Aunt Linda at her house and headed into town in mid-afternoon. While we just missed the pet parade (one of many parades during the show), we were able to see some of the floats at the end of the route. We also walked around the pumpkin tower and displays of enormous and unusual gourds. Of course we couldn't miss seeing the giant 6-foot-wide pumpkin pie in the window of Lindsey's Bakery, one of the things I remember from going to the show when I was growing up! We passed up the fair food and found dinner in a barbecue diner, and we were not disappointed! Dessert at the diner was a melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin cupcake which had won for its recipe on the show "Cupcake Wars". Lastly, just after dark, Emma and I enjoyed a ride on the ferris wheel, where we were able to view almost the entire show and its dazzling lights.**Grandma Coe did not come with us this year, but we did meet her back in her apartment a few miles away from the festivities. We shared pictures of the Pumpkin Show with her and she fed us pumpkin pie! It was a fun, beautiful day.