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Notes about Halloween

Ive been so busy these last couple of months that Ive fallen behind on my messages to you. Hopefully this one will help to catch you up on whats going on. Your brother and sister are both dressing up as Harry Potter characters for Halloween this year. (Who is Harry Potter? Dont worry, it wont be long before you know everything there is to know about Harry Potter) Kayla is dressed up as a Slytherin student, and Josh is dressed up as someone from Gryffindor. With the weather turning so cold this week, its a good thing that they had a chance to wear their costume at least once over the weekend. Kayla wore her costume to a Middle School dance on Friday (Halloween themed), and they were both able to wear their costumes on Saturday when we stopped by Walmart and the skating rink in Mount Pleasant.

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There were some departments at Walmart which had decorated their area, so the smaller kids had some fun walking around and trick or treating. They had also converted a part of the store up front into a makeshift movie theater, where they were showing Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on a huge TV screen. It worked out to meet your mom at Walmart after she finished her shift. We also met up with Kaylas friend, Kiki, and her aunt and uncle. We invited both Kiki and Tyler to come with us to the ice arena, and actually their aunt and uncle ended up going to. The Halloween thing at Walmart was relatively new for us, but weve been going to the Boo Bash at the ice arena for three or four years. Your sister likes to go there to skate, and I usually take your brother, Josh, around the second level where businesses set up tables and pass out candy. So, I dont know if I mentioned this but as a part of the Boo Bash the kids are allowed to wear their costumes while they are skating on the ice. Tyler probably had the most memorable costume--he was dressed up as a Whoopee Cushion (something else I might explain to you a few years from now, although I have a feeling that Josh will beat me to it). I lost count of the number of people who laughed at his custome and asked him to make that sound. And, he didnt mind playing along. So, Tyler, Kiki, and your sister ended up skating out on the ice, while Josh and I hung out for a little bit upstairs. Your mom had gone with us to Boo Bash, so we sat and watch the skaters. Then, Josh, Tyler, and I headed back home. Your mom returned home with the girls around an hour later. On our way home, we picked up a hot-n-ready pizza and breadsticks. Yes, Im happy to report that our technology has reached a state of sophistication which allows us to produce a piping hot pizza in less then ten minutes. Or, maybe its just that the heating lamps are more efficient. Im not quite sure. After we made it back home, the three of us watched The Avengers while we ate our pizza. The super hero movie is also one of those things that we will need to introduce you to almost as soon as you have enough of an attention span for an entire movie. Actually, I think that Man of Steel might actually be released to theaters in time for your birth, but most likely well be taking you to see the sequel, or using the classic movies to introduce you to Superman.

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The only thing that we did which was Halloween oriented on Sunday was carve pumpkins. Sunday morning, the kids and I went to church, then stopped at Walmart where your brother got a haircut. (Are you getting the feeling that we spend a lot of time in Walmart? Wait until youre born and your mom is bringing you in to show to her co-workers!) We spent most of the rest of the afternoon carving pumpkins. Tonight the three of us went to Joshs Cub Scout Halloween Party. Weve gone for the last three years, I believe, and the tradition has been that the boys dress up in costumes, and then go around to different stations in the lunch room and try gross foods. Last year, someone made baby poo, which the boys were encouraged to try (dont get too excited about next year, because it wasnt real) and our neighbors usually bake chocolate-chirp cookies (with real crickets that they killed, and then..well, Ill tell you the rest when youre older). This year, there was alien-poo, and some other gross sounding things that the boys were challenged with. I was pretty proud of your brother, because when it was his turn to eat the alien poo he actually dug right in and tried to finish eating it before the other boys did, but lost the race. He also did a good job reading his lines during the presentation at the beginning of the meeting. We are heading in to a part of the year which is usually very busy and very exciting for us. I think that your anticipated arrival has turned everything up several notches. As it stands, we only have three solid months before your due date, and your mom has already suggested that you might decide to come even earlier. Your mom has begun converting our closet into a baby nook. This involves moving our clothes and other things out of the closet and into different parts of the house, and then your mom will be adding wallpaper to liven up the space a little bit. Its not much, but the house doesnt have a lot of space for a fifth person, even though you will be small at first. Eventually you would share your brothers room, although that would only be a short term solution. We will probably want to move to a different house eventually. So, tomorrow is going to be a pretty busy day. Your brother will march in the Halloween parade which is put on by the school. Because of the intensely cold weather, there is a strong possibility that the parade will be held inside the school, but it is a lot of fun to watch the kids when they parade down Wright Ave and through town. Your sister will also be dressing up for a Halloween assembly in the afternoon. Then, after school we will be taking them out trick or treating. It looks like we will be visiting the dorms for trick-or-treating. This isnt something that weve tried before, it will be a new experience--even for me! I dont even think that I participating in Halloween when I was a college student at CMU, but then again it has been a long time. During trick or treating, kids stop at each house around the neighborhood, knock on the door, and then say Trick or treat. Literally, that means that they are asking for a treat or they will pull a trick as revenge, but in modern day terms it just means, please give me some candy. Usually, when weve gone around Shepherd, the residents will be waiting on their front porch so it doesnt take very much effort to ask for candy. Another tradition related to Halloween is the haunted house. Your sister went through a haunted house put on by the Shepherd High School Art Club last Friday. People basically walked through the art room and were scared out of their shirts. I walked the Haunted Trail behind Salt River Park. On Halloween night, kids have the chance to walk through the Haunted Train car, and I red that there is going to be a haunted bus.

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We always remember that you are on the way, no matter what the conversation is. Today I told Kayla that she will have lots of opportunities to go trick or treating during the next ten years (give or take a few) considering that she will have another brother to watch over. Not that she will have to do it alone; I wouldnt want to miss a single one of your Halloweens.

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