Monday, October 31, 2005
Halloween – Part 1
We had a great Halloween weekend. Friday was an evening of family hangout time. My brother, Doug, and his wife sent birthday gifts and Pierce and Anna got to open them after dinner. Both kids got sets of pajamas and toys. Anna received a set of “glass” slippers that Pierce found fascinating. We got some great video of both kids in plastic, high-heel shoes chasing each other around the house (everyday we get more and better blackmail material for Pierce’s high school years).
Saturday was lots of odds and ends. Nora went shopping for birthday party supplies (for Sunday’s scheduled party) while I hung out with Pierce and Anna. I got to spend some quality time with the lawn (edging, weed-eating, mowing) and boy does it look good. I love this time of year; the grass turns emerald green and practically glows. In between tasks Pierce and I shot basketball. Pierce has reawakened to the to the sport and is getting pretty good at shooting hoops. About 2:30 the grandparents showed up to pick up Pierce and Anna. Nora and I had a Halloween party to attend, so Bill and Joanne were extremely generous and took Pierce, Anna, and both cousins (Jackson and Sampson) for the rest of the afternoon and night (they all went to go see the new Wallace and Gromit film).
After having a nice dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant with some of Nora’s friends, we spent several hours getting ready for the party. Nora was a witch this year, complete with green makeup, a plastic nose (with warts), hat, broom, and black dress. She looked quite hideous. I went as a skeleton. Aside from pretty morbid face paint, I wore clothes with holes torn into them. Where skin was visible I applied black makeup and painted on nice white bones. From a few feet away it looked pretty gruesome. We had a great time at the party (thrown by Nora’s brother and sister-in-law) and stayed up much too late. Thank god for daylight’s savings time…
With the kids away for the night, Nora and I had every intention of sleeping in. Unfortunately, Pierce and Anna have trained us to get up early –so our eyes popped open about 8:00 am. We had a nice leisurely breakfast at a local restaurant then parted company for a few hours. Nora picked up the birthday cake and other sundry party items while I embarked on the newest home-improvement project. I hung some new shelves in the garage and created a “trash bag dispenser” next to the door. I’m so proud of myself (thanks to my brother-in-law for the great idea).
Pierce and Anna’s birthday party was at “Dye Your Duds”, a local tie-dye storefront. We had about 10 kids and accompanying parents attending. Each kid got to pick out their own tie-dye pattern, and then the staff would twist and tie the shirt and give it back to the kids to apply color. Suffice to say, we had a lot of kids and parents covered in colored dye. I did a particularly fine job of coating Pierce in a fine red mist. While the staff finished the shirts up we had birthday cake (and singing), passed out gift bags to the party attendees, and opened birthday presents. It was a fantastic party and Nora outdid herself putting it together.
After the party Nora’s parents, Billy and his family, and our friends the Deavers came over for a make-your-own pizza night. Of course it just turned into another party with the Chiefs game on TV (they lost), half the kids playing the arcade machine, and the other half playing with the new birthday toys.
Anna’s favorite gift was from her grandparents. They gave her a set of Disney Princess outfits: Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. Anna spent the evening swapping in and out of the Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty outfits while keeping a tight grip on the Snow White dress. She even had to hold the dress while sitting at the table eating pizza. At one point she had convinced her (much larger) cousin to wear the Snow White outfit. He gave it a willing try, but we stopped him before the seams ripped out of the thing.
Everyone went home about 6:30 pm. I think we were all looking pretty wilted (with the long day and the time change I know I was pooped). After we put Pierce and Anna to bed, Nora spent part of the evening making cookies to take to Pierce’s school on Monday. I quickly ate the extras before falling asleep on the couch (I needed to start charging my batteries for Monday night’s trick-or-treating).
-Eric (Dad)
Saturday was lots of odds and ends. Nora went shopping for birthday party supplies (for Sunday’s scheduled party) while I hung out with Pierce and Anna. I got to spend some quality time with the lawn (edging, weed-eating, mowing) and boy does it look good. I love this time of year; the grass turns emerald green and practically glows. In between tasks Pierce and I shot basketball. Pierce has reawakened to the to the sport and is getting pretty good at shooting hoops. About 2:30 the grandparents showed up to pick up Pierce and Anna. Nora and I had a Halloween party to attend, so Bill and Joanne were extremely generous and took Pierce, Anna, and both cousins (Jackson and Sampson) for the rest of the afternoon and night (they all went to go see the new Wallace and Gromit film).
After having a nice dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant with some of Nora’s friends, we spent several hours getting ready for the party. Nora was a witch this year, complete with green makeup, a plastic nose (with warts), hat, broom, and black dress. She looked quite hideous. I went as a skeleton. Aside from pretty morbid face paint, I wore clothes with holes torn into them. Where skin was visible I applied black makeup and painted on nice white bones. From a few feet away it looked pretty gruesome. We had a great time at the party (thrown by Nora’s brother and sister-in-law) and stayed up much too late. Thank god for daylight’s savings time…
With the kids away for the night, Nora and I had every intention of sleeping in. Unfortunately, Pierce and Anna have trained us to get up early –so our eyes popped open about 8:00 am. We had a nice leisurely breakfast at a local restaurant then parted company for a few hours. Nora picked up the birthday cake and other sundry party items while I embarked on the newest home-improvement project. I hung some new shelves in the garage and created a “trash bag dispenser” next to the door. I’m so proud of myself (thanks to my brother-in-law for the great idea).
Pierce and Anna’s birthday party was at “Dye Your Duds”, a local tie-dye storefront. We had about 10 kids and accompanying parents attending. Each kid got to pick out their own tie-dye pattern, and then the staff would twist and tie the shirt and give it back to the kids to apply color. Suffice to say, we had a lot of kids and parents covered in colored dye. I did a particularly fine job of coating Pierce in a fine red mist. While the staff finished the shirts up we had birthday cake (and singing), passed out gift bags to the party attendees, and opened birthday presents. It was a fantastic party and Nora outdid herself putting it together.
After the party Nora’s parents, Billy and his family, and our friends the Deavers came over for a make-your-own pizza night. Of course it just turned into another party with the Chiefs game on TV (they lost), half the kids playing the arcade machine, and the other half playing with the new birthday toys.
Anna’s favorite gift was from her grandparents. They gave her a set of Disney Princess outfits: Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. Anna spent the evening swapping in and out of the Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty outfits while keeping a tight grip on the Snow White dress. She even had to hold the dress while sitting at the table eating pizza. At one point she had convinced her (much larger) cousin to wear the Snow White outfit. He gave it a willing try, but we stopped him before the seams ripped out of the thing.
Everyone went home about 6:30 pm. I think we were all looking pretty wilted (with the long day and the time change I know I was pooped). After we put Pierce and Anna to bed, Nora spent part of the evening making cookies to take to Pierce’s school on Monday. I quickly ate the extras before falling asleep on the couch (I needed to start charging my batteries for Monday night’s trick-or-treating).
-Eric (Dad)
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