Halloween 2017

Halloween this year was spread out over a few days – starting with Saturday when I had Kelly help me create clouds and lightening bolts out of poster board.  It was for a good purpose:  Sunday evening we had Trunk or Treat at our church (Hempfield Church of Christ).  The weather being what it was, we transferred the creativity from our outdoor vehicle trunks to tables inside the old sanctuary.  There was a room full of tables decorated to represent everything from Noah’s Ark (us!) to a baseball diamond to a slime pit!  Miss Shirley very creatively just sat her HUGE candy bars out on a plain table – and the kids were just as excited as if it were Ceasar’s Palace!  Mary made our ark, Joni created rain out of yarn, and I added my storm.  We all pitched in some animals, and there you go!  Kind of fitting that it was raining.  We were ready!  The kids loved seeing the animals and picking their favorite – which was mostly the plump pink pig with huge round eyes!  Our chefs manned the grill, which sat outside under the deck overhang, and the hot dogs tasted extra good.  We had homemade donuts, chips, and of course way too much candy.  There were games with prizes, and even several opportunities for photo ops.  Of course I picked Linus’s very sincere pumpkin patch. 

On Tuesday, my two office co-workers got into the spirit of things and dressed up for Halloween.  Liz was Minnie Mouse and April was a major-leaguer.  Not sure what I was, actually.  Some said Lily Munster, some said medieval wench, some said it was just my normal dress! 

By the time I got home from work, it was too late to be part of the neighborhood pass-out-candy routine.  I changed clothes and hit the streets, running my two miles around the blocks.  Fire trucks were patrolling, flashing their lights, running sirens, and one actually sounded their horn and startled me so bad I jumped over the curb into the yard!  So many houses had fog machines, strobe lights, inflatables, all sorts of scary scenes.  Lots of people had fire pits in their driveways and sat in lawn chairs wrapped in blankets, handing out treats.  I stopped to talk to several of my ‘neighbors’, and enjoyed the evening WITHOUT treats as much as the kids enjoyed the treats. 

I’m not really a fan of Halloween, but I enjoyed getting dressed up, passing out snacks at our Noah’s Ark, and tramping the neighborhood in the dark on Tuesday night.  I guess maybe I’m just a kid at heart!  And I’m not quite sure how I actually resisted all that candy!  *Disclaimer:  I did have a baby Butterfinger.  Yum!!!