Pre-Halloween

- Jack's class's Halloween parade was today. I brought Kate, in her dragon costume. We stood along the sidewalk and watched his class, all the classes, walk out. Jack was in his orange astronaut uniform. Next to him was a boy named Isaac, in a white astronaut uniform. They both smiled and waved. Jack saw us, big grin, pointed. It was very Right Stuff.

- Afterward we came home, and they played a little, at one point going upstairs, then Kate came down in her Olivia costume/outfit. "I Olivia!" she said happily.

- We carved, well I carved, two pumpkins. One Thursday night, happy and goofy, same one I always do. One this afternoon, scary. I lit them both up for the kids to see. Jack looked sad. What's up, I asked. "I wanted you to make a 'Jets' pumpkin," he said. He showed me the picture he had drawn of the model for the scary pumpkin. It had the word "Jets" on it. I carved the word "Jets" into the back of it. Jack was happy.

- Jack got a "make your own ghost" card from Grandma. He diligently sat down, before he had breakfast, to make a very detailed and happy ghost with the stickers on the blank white page.

- We sat as a family on the couch and watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." When Snoopy is imagining his fight with the Red Baron, and the colors change and go wild, Kate reported, "He's purple." Pause. "Now he's blue." "Now it's all blue." "Now he's red."

- They got musical Halloween cards from Nana and Baba. They played them over and over and over, dancing around in their costumes.

getting pumpkins

Last Friday Kate and I picked Jack up at school. It was overcast and seemed like it might rain, so I gave them a choice. Do you want to go home, or do you want to go and get pumpkins? "Get pumpkins!" they shouted. So we did.

As we drove into Sam Bridge Greenery (or whatever it's called, Davy Crockett Motor Lodge or something), they saw the pumpkin patch. "Yay! Pumpkin!" We parked, grabbed a wagon, grabbed a big golfing umbrella from the back of the car. Passed a mom and child near the parking lot at a little stand of pumpkins. She said to us, Are you going all the way down to the big patch? She looked at the sky doubtfully. I said, Sure! And indeed, we were.

On the way there were scary decorations hanging from trees. Bats, skeletons, ghosts. The kids pointed and properly appreciated them, it was nice. If it had been dark and scary, they'd have been freaking out, but instead it was just an overcast Friday afternoon. With occasional raindrops.

At the patch, they jumped out of the wagon. First they ran around the pumpkins. Then a hay maze. Like your Minotaurus game, I should have said to Jack, but I forgot. Then over to this huge bear made out of hay bales, and a huge spider or something made out of hay bales. I wanted them to pose for pictures, but Kate was wary. She agreed ultimately, but didn't stand as close to the thing as Jack did. In fairness, it was very big and imposing. But it had a goofy smile.

We picked our pumpkins. And then picked some more. And then found better ones. And then they went back to the hay bales. And then they got their little pumpkins. And then it rained, and we loaded the pumpkins in one wagon, but they of course both wanted to ride too. I said it couldn't be done, and Jack pulled Kate in one wagon for about two minutes.

Then I with no small exertion pulled both wagons back to the parking lot.

We paid for our pumpkins. Near the registers, they had a smoke machine. One of the staffers turned it on to startle us. Then showed Jack and Kate how to turn it on. Then they filled the store with fake smoke. I said to them, well, I could have told you this would happen.

A guy gave Jack and Kate each a hardened ear of red, Halloween-y corn. They thought it was pretty great.

We piled into the car. I don't remember what we talked about, but everyone was happy.

At home, I read Jack a story. Jack said, "Can Corn read with us, too?" I said, corn? He held up his ear of corn which he had named "Corn."

Good time.

Jack the artist, Kate the singer

- Jack decorated my keyboard by taping smiling paper Halloween spiders, purple and black, in a row across the top of it. He wrote "HAPPY HALLOWEEN" on a piece of Scotch tape and stuck across the desk.

- Kate this morning was singing to her stuffed Backyardigans toys. She lines them up in her bed, heads on her pillow, and sings to them individually. "Uniqua, Uniqua....Pablo, Pablo..." She does it in a sweet, soft, high, sing-songy voice.

- Jack drew a picture of a Haunted House, with all kinds of ghosts, bats, cats, skeletons, etc. There were a lot of bats and goblins. Some came from the Ed Emberly book, some from his mind. He made a card that said "Happy Halloween," "Merry Christmas" and other holiday salutations. Oh yes, Robin, his birthday cards for the twins also say "Happy Halloween." I'll mail them soonish.

- I got Kate up this morning. Kate, do you want breakfast now, or do you want to watch football highlights? "Foohball highlighs!" So we did.

- I took Jack to the doctor yesterday; turns out he had strep throat. While we sat in the doctor's office, he grabbed some crayons and drew pictures on the paper roll on the examination table, and then on her clipboard when she came in. Cats, dogs, and bats. Halloween pictures.

- When I put Kate to bed, she likes "Swing on a Star" the best. She likes to start singing it, then asks me too when she can't remember any more words. "Would you like to swing on a stahr....cahry moombeans home in ...jahr.....and be better off than you are....or would you rather be fish. Fish is a aminal" (that's how she says it, it's awesome) "that lives on a farm. ...likes to read book...has lots of charm...Your turn, Daddy!"

Kids

Jack and I went out to buy Halloween decorations today. We got decorations for the windows, the doors, the porch, and of course Jack's room. We found these things that fit in windows, big full poster-size images. First we saw pumpkins....then black cats... (got those for Katie)....and then -- and Jack actually chortled with glee -- scary ghosts.

He had to have them. I said, are you sure? He was sure. Not the pumpkins or the cats? No. No! The ghosts. The ghosts are perfect. He was certain.

We bought the ghosts, and we came home. Jack and I put the ghost poster thing up on his closet door. We both reveled in it and pretended to be scared.

After we put the kids to bed tonight and we're sitting on the couch, Jack came downstairs.

"I'm scared of the ghost on my door," he said flatly.

I went back upstairs with him, opened his door so he couldn't see it, and that was OK.