Halloween is Crazy

Things have been quite busy lately, and so we haven't had much time for posting. We're sorry if you've missed us. In the last couple of weeks Jess and the kids made their way back to the Midwest to visit some family and friends in Chicago and Michigan. They also really enjoyed experiencing some good ol' northern fall - with changing leaves and crisp weather. They enjoyed themselves, but I'll let Jess give the details when she wants to. (I painted the remaining rooms in the house while they were gone. It's a relief to have that done!)

Before too much time passed, I wanted to write a little bit about Halloween on the island. It's nuts. Where I grew up, we would have a couple of hours of trick-or-treating, and that was about it. We enjoyed it, but it was not an event. On the island, people go all out. We took the kids to a nearby neighborhood where some of our church friends live. They were having a cabana party, as were many others in the neighborhood. We were treated to dinner, dessert, candy, and more. When trick-or-treating got going in earnest, there were hundreds of kids and parents roaming the streets of this neighborhood. We weren't the only interlopers. People were parked all over the place, many of them driving to the island from Brunswick to catch the party. Many of the adults were wearing professional costumes. (I know I felt underdressed and rather uncreative for not wearing one.) Many of the houses were decorated with spider webs, pirate themes, and disco balls. One house even had an inflatable haunted castle! (See the photo above.) I had heard about how crazy Halloween was here, but never did I imagine this. We even ran into several groups that dressed up corporately as characters from nursery rhymes, like Little Red Riding Hood. It was a lot of fun, I must admit.

Annika had a really good time. I thought she looked really cute in her mermaid costume. She really is measured in how she approaches events like this. Even though we walked through a good bit of the neighborhood, she would only stop at the best decorated houses. She came home with a few dozen pieces of candy, which makes me really happy. We can let her have it without quite so much oversight. (My parents are probably smiling when they read about my having to oversee candy intake. Whoops.)

That's all for now. Hope y'all are well.