Happy Halloween!

One difference between myself (age 43) and my kids is that at the end of a really jam packed day, Nadia and/or Ian will say something like "thanks, mom, this was a really fun day." It's really good that they give me that encouragement because many times after a day like that I am thinking "that was too much for one day." The past two days were jam packed for the kids and I, but aside from church tomorrow and gymnastics on Monday we should be at home sweet home the next two days. In fact today was so busy I forgot to go for my run during Oliver's nap. Oops! I will have to go tomorrow afternoon instead. At least we walked for 90 minutes this evening while trick or treating.

Yesterday our day started with a program about vultures at a state park. The naturalist read two books to the kids, showed pictures, and discussed many interesting facts about different kinds of old world and new world vultures. Then the kids went outside and pretended to be vultures and also played a game of identifying scents (Ian's was vinegar) that she had placed in different locations (since vultures use their sense of smell to locate dead animals). Then they went back inside to do a craft and eat a snack (she made a red Rice Krispie treat dessert that looked like a rabbit which was supposed to resemble roadkill). In the early evening I took the kids to a Halloween party at the library and then after that we went to our church's trunk or treat. We had skipped it last year because I had heard that the line was really long (about 2,000 people attended it last year), but this year I thought we should give it a whirl one time. It was no exaggeration that the line is really long. We were in line for 90 minutes before we got to the part that involved getting candy. It took about 30 minutes to go through the path collecting candy outside and inside the church. There was a large maze of cardboard boxes (tunnels) in the youth group room, but it was already 9:00 at that point (an hour past the boy's bedtime) so we skipped that part and came home. The kids weren't in bed until 9:30, and I went right to bed as soon as we got them in bed and put on an extra blanket to try to warm myself up. It was COLD while we were standing outside for almost two hours. Oliver was warm in his lion costume. Nadia was cold in her peacock costume, but she didn't complain. Ian was cold in his pirate costume, and he wanted to throw in the towel after we had waited for 80 minutes. I was happy to turn around and leave when we first got there, but I wasn't going to give up when we were in sight of the start of the line.

This morning the boys and I were out the door at 8:15 for Ian's last soccer game of the season. Thankfully this season most of their games were at home, and this was the first game that either of them had that was located more than 15 minutes from our house. Only seven of the ten kids on the team showed up so Ian played all four quarters. Actually when the game started there were only five kids there which meant a child from the other team was playing on our side at first. Paul took Nadia to her home game, which was also at 9:00. The team surprised Paul (assistant coach) and the head coach each with a card and a gift card to a restaurant which was very nice and unexpected. Paul coached Ian's team in the spring, and was Nadia's assistant coach this fall. The plan had been for him to be Ian's assistant coach next spring, but we might move before or during that season, and even if we don't, his schedule probably won't make it possible for him to coach a team so he's not going to sign up this time. We will keep the kids signed up, as we might still be living here through the end of the spring season. Considering how cold it was this morning, I am very glad that today was the last game of the season.

After we ate lunch we headed to Bucknell to see Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia's production of "Goodnight Moon" and "Runaway Bunny." All three kids enjoyed it. I am trying to take advantage of things like this while we can because if it wasn't for the faculty/staff discount on the tickets, we wouldn't have gone. After Oliver woke up from his nap, we headed to the trunk or treat at the church we attended from 2008-2014. It was really well done, and it didn't involve any long lines. If we are still living here next fall, I will vote for skipping the one we went to last night and doing the one we did today again. In addition to candy and games, they gave everyone a hotdog and glass of cider or cup of coffee. Ian said his highlight was seeing "Miss Kathy" (a former babysitter who spent the last 18 months as a missionary in Guatemala). After the trunk or treat we made a brief stop at home to dress more warmly. I wish I had been wearing my ski jacket last night. What a difference that made! We went trick or treating for about 90 minutes, and the kids came home with a lot of candy. That one house was still giving out FULL size candy bars just like last year. Wow. Oliver was very talkative at each stop. He kept telling people about different things he had seen along the way. He is an extrovert just like his big sister. When we got home, we let the kids stay up a little bit later than usual (although not as late as they stayed up last night!) since the clocks go back an hour tonight. Paul hopes it means the kids will sleep in later tomorrow morning. He has far more optimism than I do! I expect the boys to be up by 6:00 (new time) since they are usually up by 7:00. The whole "extra hour" thing doesn't really happen for parents of young kids in my experience, but I'd love to be wrong! This evening Nadia was a peacock, Oliver was a lion, and Ian was Sully. He picked Sully because he thought it was the warmest costume he had. I had already taken pictures of them in their costumes, so I didn't take any yesterday or today.  I might be the first mom of young children to write a Halloween blog post and not include any pictures. Oops!

My kids like to wear costumes all year round, but we can now say our Halloween celebrations for 2015 are officially done. All three kids had a good time, and we will be enjoying the candy for many days to come. Ian is very excited that tomorrow is November 1 because it means we are that much closer to his birthday in December.