Somewhere along the way, we buried our Halloween spirit in the snow. Since moving to Alaska, we did not even trick-or-treat the last two years, first because it was very blustery and cold and our church was hosting a "Halloween alternative," and last year, because I was uberpregnant and Alex was working. Trick or treating in the freezing cold while gestating a 20 pound beast was not my idea of fun. (Frankly, just the gestation alone was ridiculously challenging, but you couldn't even tempt me with candy. I felt determined to wallow in it.)
This year, Wolfgang really wanted to go out. He had been talking about it for at least a week. Because of his age, trick-or-treating was not on his radar in the past, but now he is Old Enough To Know. And the twins wanted to go too, so off we went, into the "18 degrees and feels like 9" according to weather.com.
We all had so much fun! Some of our neighborhood friends were out and about as well, and Zoya acted very brave with the customary dog in each and every door that opened for the kids. We walked past one house and found a sign posted which announced, "We don't celebrate Halloween here. God bless you." (Wouldn't a dark porch have conveyed the same sentiments?) Glad I'm already a Christian or I would have been kind of turned off. :)
Mostly, the displays were very kid friendly, with only one loud, creepy display which definitely spooked Zoya. I took her face in my hands while we walked away and said right into it, "Zoya, that is just pretend. They bought those things from a store. Right?" She thought about it for a moment, realized I was right, and shrugged it right off. All was well.
At this point, though, I started panicking. So. Very. Cold. The kids held up just fine (even Zoya with her two layers of tights under her ballet tutu and leotard). But we still had several blocks to go and I could barely wiggle my toes or fingers. My face and ears ached with pain. I picked up all fifty pounds of aforementioned daughter to speed us up a bit and willed myself home, Wolfgang tromping alongside while humming a Halloween tune. Here are some pictures.
Oops.
Anakin Skywalker (Wolfie looks rather like Noah!), ballerina (Zoya was planning on being a witch princess but changed her mind at the last minute), and Psalm the clone trooper
Through the forest park to the suspected hot Halloween spot
Me and my girlsThe night ended with a lovely call from Noah, his dad, and my parents who were all having dinner together. We were still on the candy part, with food on the stove. Hope you all had fun tonight.
This was such a great little story. The kids in their costumes are so darn cute, I can hardly stand it. Especially Bethany.
ReplyDeleteHalloween is my favorite holiday, and we had so much fun sitting outside and greeting all the tiny trick-or-treaters as they came by. Even Kyra loved it, and we were spared her usual evening crying episode.
The family across the street goes all out for every holiday, and we waited eagerly as kids approached her door. I don't know what she was doing over there, but the whole bunch of them would scream, then let out a sigh of relief, and we would hear her laugh boisterously.
I think we should have Halloween two or three times a year.
The second picture that shows the kids walking to the forest makes it look like you live in the middle of freaking nowhere and looks like something that someone who doesn't live in Alaska would look at and say, "Wow, in Alaska, they have to walk through the snow covered forest to go trick-or-treating."
ReplyDeleteI'm just sayin.
When I was your age, Dustin, I had to walk thirty miles through the snow just to get to school.
ReplyDeletesmile
Yes, thank you for making sure I stay true to the reality that I live in downtown Eagle River and that park is where Dustin plays frisbee golf. Which, by the way, a lot of people probably have never heard of. :)