Happy Day After Halloween!!!!

Growing up, my dad didn't do Halloween. Matter of fact, our Halloweens were usually spent in our parent's bedroom watching TV (a real treat when we were little... Mom & Dad's room was no kid land!) with a bag of candy Daddy would pick up from the PX on his way home from work. We didn't pass out candy, but we did have costumes. Back then, schools didn't have the huge problem of kids hiding weapons in their costumes, so we got to wear them to school. Dad didn't want us to be totally left out, which was why, I think, he would get the candy and costumes.

I can only remember 2 years we actually participated during Halloween night and any of those activities. One, Amber and I were dressed in matching ghost costumes and we went to the church's Fall Carnival. It had a haunted maze that we crawled through. At one point, I heard Amber scream and I went into "Protect my baby sister" mode... I whipped off that sheet and started beating the hands and other freaky things that were scaring her. The other, Daddy was away on TDY, so mom let us go with our best friends families while she sat on the porch and passed out packages of baseball trading cards. 

Matt and I both decided before Sissy was born that we would do the trick or treating thing with our kids. I wanted them to experience it all! And he gets as much of a kick out of the costume picking process as the kids do! They start talking about it in September as soon as school starts. This year, Sissy saw the costume she wanted while we were surfing the internet for ideas. Unfortunately, couldn't find her size, so we did a little improvising and made our own. Eli wasn't really into Halloween this year, and so he kept changing his mind until he finally decided on a knight... and then he saw the costume he ended up with. 

So without further babble.... I proudly present my Pink Punk Rock Goth Chick and my Death Knight!

We had a blast wandering through Carnation last night. Two houses, I think Matt and I will never forget. At the first one, the owners had this somewhat scary set-up, not to bad. But they would rev up a chainsaw.... hehehe! Eli caught a glimpse of the saw from the corner of his eye and ran SCREAMING back down the sidewalk past Matt, right into my arms. Like a little girl!!!

The second house? The kids walked up to the door, knocked and waited. Just as they were about to turn and leave, the door started to creep and creak open and that sent both kids screaming. The were yelling that the door was alive! THEY HADN'T EVEN SEEN THE PERSON BEHIND THE DOOR!!!!! Matt swore they jumped off the stairs, caught air, and didn't hit the ground until they reached us! At that house, not only were Matt and I howling with laughter, so was the neighbor, and all the other parents waiting for their kids. It was hilarious! (Yes I can say this... when we got home and were talking about the best parts of our evening, both kids agreed it was just as funny as Mom and Dad thought it was!) 

Everyone's favorite part of Halloween this year? To quote Matt:

"Daddy wasn't being a butt-head and wasn't working, so he came with us!"

Remember last week, and Sissy's book report? Got it done, and I forgot to take pictures of it. So when she got it back with her Friday folder this week... Picture time! And Sissy had to have proof of her grade: 3+ (translated into a B... her teacher doesn't give 4's or A's, so this is the highest grade possible.). I was so proud of her! Especially since the only parts Mommy helped with were the title, making sure everything was "Elizabeth Happy Straight," and the never ending nagging it took to get her to read the book and then write the summery! 

Check it out!

So November is here, and we make it a point in November to celebrate things we are thankful for and our Veterans. So often, with the way commercialism is, Thanksgiving and Veteran's Day get swept aside as nothing more than a reason to have a show stopping sale. The whole month, we remember something different everyday that we are thankful for. 

So on this first day of November, I'm thankful for quiet moments like right now.... Sissy is upstairs playing with her friend Hong Ngoc, Eli is at a birthday party, and Matt is sleeping. So right now, I'm enjoying a few moments of silence, doing whatever I want to without having to explain every two seconds what I'm doing and why. Love my family, love that they pay attention to me, usually don't mind the constant questions.... but sometimes, peace is truly GOLDEN!!!!

What about you? What are you thankful for today?

SMOOCHIES EVERYONE!!!!!