Sunday, November 17, 2013
Galveston
The kids love going to the beach and frequently ask when we can go. Last weekend we had a free Saturday and a forecast in the high 60s, so we decided to drive to Galveston and play. We waded in the water, got some lunch, walked around the historic district, got ice cream and candy, and went back to the beach again. When it was finally time to go, BG kept running back in the ocean. It was pretty much the perfect day.
Friday, November 08, 2013
Halloween-ish
I've discovered that the older our kids get, the more drawn out Halloween is. Or at least, Halloween-ish things.
Early in the month of October, Kiddo's school had a "story book character parade" where all of the kids were supposed to wear a costume showing a character from their favorite book. Essentially, it's the elementary school's way of giving people a costume parade without actually talking about or condoning Halloween (this is Texas, afterall). However, it seemed like most kids did the same thing that we ended up doing: figure out what the child wants to be for Halloween and then find a book that fits with the costume. At least, that strategy is the only way I can make sense of why so many kids would be dressed up as Darth Vaders and super heroes, without a single Peter Pan or Jean Val Jean. Kiddo wanted to be a firefighter for Halloween, so he brought this book we already owned and called it good.
Just to reiterate, this school activity in no way had anything to do with the holiday of Halloween. The fact that it took place within the same month is obviously either an oversight or a coincidence.
Next up in our month of festivities, we went to our nearby pumpkin patch to pick out some beauties. The kids had a great time finding the perfect ones.
In addition to the parade and the pumpkins, there were of course parties. All told, the kids put on their costumes four different times for various activities. Kiddo was always a firefighter and BG was always some kind of princess/fairy/ballerina, based on what accessories she was willing to wear.
However, on Halloween night, BG was feeling cranky after her nap and didn't want to wear any of it. We finally ended up with her wearing Kiddo's old hat, with the result being a last-minute BG cowgirl. Good thing we already had the boots.
As for Halloween itself, it had rained steadily for the two days prior, so I had warned Kiddo that we may have to go trick-or-treating at the mall if the rain didn't let up. When I've told people about mall trick-or-treating, most people don't seem to know what I'm talking about, so let me explain: Many malls offer a Halloween trick-or-treating experience, where stores give away candy or toys to children in costume. Since we've always lived in urban areas up until now, and since Brandon is inevitably working and I'm flying solo, the kids and I have traditionally gone trick-or-treating at the mall. I don't think of it as unusual since I distinctly remember doing it myself, having grown up in a not-so-great neighborhood, and it is all Kiddo has known, as well.
It was clear skies by the time Kiddo got home from school, so I was all geared up to take the kids around trick-or-treating; however, Kiddo said he'd rather just skip the local neighborhood business and go to the mall. It seemed a lot easier to me than going door-to-door by myself with the kids, so to the mall we went. We trick-or-treated until Kiddo said he was done, got some dinner, came home and got the kids ready for bed. They were awake long enough to see the first few trick-or-treaters come to our door but were asleep by 7:30. (It was a school night, afterall.) I spent the rest of the evening curled up on the couch with a root beer and a book, interrupted by the occasional trick-or-treaters, until about 8:30 when even they must have gone to bed.
Early in the month of October, Kiddo's school had a "story book character parade" where all of the kids were supposed to wear a costume showing a character from their favorite book. Essentially, it's the elementary school's way of giving people a costume parade without actually talking about or condoning Halloween (this is Texas, afterall). However, it seemed like most kids did the same thing that we ended up doing: figure out what the child wants to be for Halloween and then find a book that fits with the costume. At least, that strategy is the only way I can make sense of why so many kids would be dressed up as Darth Vaders and super heroes, without a single Peter Pan or Jean Val Jean. Kiddo wanted to be a firefighter for Halloween, so he brought this book we already owned and called it good.
Just to reiterate, this school activity in no way had anything to do with the holiday of Halloween. The fact that it took place within the same month is obviously either an oversight or a coincidence.
Next up in our month of festivities, we went to our nearby pumpkin patch to pick out some beauties. The kids had a great time finding the perfect ones.
Some friends invited us over to paint pumpkins with them, which I think should become a new tradition for us. I'd much rather clean paint than pumpkin guts.
(The kids next to the pumpkins they painted, with some help from us.)
In addition to the parade and the pumpkins, there were of course parties. All told, the kids put on their costumes four different times for various activities. Kiddo was always a firefighter and BG was always some kind of princess/fairy/ballerina, based on what accessories she was willing to wear.
However, on Halloween night, BG was feeling cranky after her nap and didn't want to wear any of it. We finally ended up with her wearing Kiddo's old hat, with the result being a last-minute BG cowgirl. Good thing we already had the boots.
As for Halloween itself, it had rained steadily for the two days prior, so I had warned Kiddo that we may have to go trick-or-treating at the mall if the rain didn't let up. When I've told people about mall trick-or-treating, most people don't seem to know what I'm talking about, so let me explain: Many malls offer a Halloween trick-or-treating experience, where stores give away candy or toys to children in costume. Since we've always lived in urban areas up until now, and since Brandon is inevitably working and I'm flying solo, the kids and I have traditionally gone trick-or-treating at the mall. I don't think of it as unusual since I distinctly remember doing it myself, having grown up in a not-so-great neighborhood, and it is all Kiddo has known, as well.
It was clear skies by the time Kiddo got home from school, so I was all geared up to take the kids around trick-or-treating; however, Kiddo said he'd rather just skip the local neighborhood business and go to the mall. It seemed a lot easier to me than going door-to-door by myself with the kids, so to the mall we went. We trick-or-treated until Kiddo said he was done, got some dinner, came home and got the kids ready for bed. They were awake long enough to see the first few trick-or-treaters come to our door but were asleep by 7:30. (It was a school night, afterall.) I spent the rest of the evening curled up on the couch with a root beer and a book, interrupted by the occasional trick-or-treaters, until about 8:30 when even they must have gone to bed.
Where was Brandon, you may ask? For the fourth year in a row, Brandon was working on Halloween night, but this time he was an ocean away schmoozing Russians.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)