Halloween! Brrr. . .

We’ve had some early cold snaps this year that brought winter way too early. Open our back door and you’ll find snow in shadowy patches on the grass. All our orange and yellow zinnias withered overnight. They were bright and brilliant before the sun went down, then the cold moved in and turned them brown and lifeless by morning.

Halloween Week held temps in the low thirties. Sooooo COLD! Luckily things warmed a tiny bit by evening on Halloween day and the kids were able to knock doors in the forties.

This silly crew. Always hard to get a serious picture. But blessed be Betsy’s bridge and its lovely carpet of leaves.

Here’s the quick rundown.

Eliza was Rosie the Riveter. I think she got her inspiration from a recent weekend trip we took to Washington DC. (Hoping to post pics from that trip soon.)

She hung out long enough to help me serve dinner to Ali and Sami’s friends, then she went off to a party.

Ali and Sami initially planned on being an angel and a devil. (I’ll let you guess who naturally fell into each role.) But later they changed to something warm and cozy: fuzzy zippered animals. Ali as a narwhal.

Sami as Bambi.

Calvin & Hobbes has been a family favorite for a number of years now. Our books are so ragged though, I’m thinking of getting the kids the hardbound collection for Christmas.

Oh! And here’s a proud Mom moment: Spencer broke the family record for eating all of his candy in less than 24 hours. It was amazing. And disgusting. And surprising. Not even a twinge of stomach nausea. What?

Initially Gordon was going to go as Hobbes, but we couldn’t convince him and he opted for Neymar, the Brasilian soccer star.

Gordy’s version of the “smoulder.”

Tonight I found about twenty kit-kat wrappers on the side of Gordon’s bed. Pretty sure he found the ones I set aside for myself. Those two are candy hounds. I swear they can sniff out any treat! Even the ones I’ve hidden so well I can’t remember where I put them!

So I instituted a new rule: For every wrapper I find on the floor, they have to do five push-ups. I know. . . It’s the best I could come up with tonight.

I don’t think I have many more years of all five dressed up in costumes ready to head out for the evening.

A couple weeks ago Kara sent me this meme. I laughed. And then I just felt sad.

Sad that all of these moments are pretty much . . . over. It was so intense. So exhausting. So all-consuming. And now I rarely get anyone to sit on the couch with me and read. No one holds my hand. Except when they’re getting flu shots (like they did yesterday.) And hugging is something I have to do deliberately.

I think we’re officially in the pre-teen/teen world with this little clan. And it’s exciting. It’s big. As well as a little intimidating. But I can’t wait for the memories we will make together in this new season.

Over fall break we took the kids up to Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley. Fun for the kids to connect a bit with their Norwegian roots. Such a beautiful place. We had sunshine Saturday morning but by afternoon, snow was coming down hard. Swimming and hot-tubbing in the middle of the snow storm were the weekend’s highlights.

Snow, snow, snow!

And the two of us? We celebrated one more year of life together driving this crazy train.

Hope everyone had a happy October, a Halloween to remember, and a chance to finagle a few of your favorite candies from your kids’ trick or treat bags. ☺️🍭🍬🍫

Here we go! The Holidays are here!