halloween

Okay, first off, I just have to say that I wish I could take credit for this fabulous work of pumpkin art. But alas, the credit for the barfing pumpkin goes to Nanci Bell (wife of Winnipeg singer-songwriter Steve Bell). I came across it while reading a really great article by Steve on Keeping Christ in Halloween. While it's true our pumpkin may have been less entertaining, it was no less special as it was the first pumpkin that Maia had a hand in carving. (Keep breathing, dear grandparents -- we used the 'safe carving knives' they make for kids these days.)

Didn't he turn out to be a cutie?

What I really love most about Halloween is the chance to connect with neighbours that we have so little (or no) connection with the rest of the year. And I especially love going to the homes of the elderly who seem most highly entertained by the little ones they likely wish they had reasons to see more of. While I'm not a fan of the focus on candy or the darker costumes that some opt for, I do really love the additional reason to engage with our neighbours.

Yolanda came up for the weekend on her last voyage with her little car before retiring it for the winter, so that made the weekend extra special. As our car was in the shop over the weekend (that silly Subaru), she took me up on the offer to be a co-zookeeper with me and drive the girls up to Goderich for a fun kids' concert with fabulous Canadian entertainers Splash n Boots. Maia had just borrowed their movie from the Toy Bus the day before and so was a little stunned to get to see them in person. (I mean, watching-for-three-quarters-of-the-hour-long-concert-before-finally-getting-up-to-dance stunned!) By the end, she was keen to meet them and get their autograph. And they went out of their way to engage her -- really fantastic. Here's 'Splash' approaching Maia after the concert to chat with her. Notice how Ellie is taking it all in too? Very cute.

So on Saturday evening, Tim held down the fort (with treats at both doors and candles in every window) while my co-zookeeper and I took out the giraffe and the penguin.

The little waddling penguin wasn't so thrilled about posing for a picture on Saturday, so yesterday when she seemed to be asking to wear her costume again, I got a second chance...

On facebook this week, I posted that I was a little sad to be putting away the penguin costume as I knew it wouldn't fit Eliana next year. (I've been feeling that way about all her too-small clothes of late... she's growing and changing so fast!) My friend Kerry made me laugh out loud with her response:

"Maybe you could make another penguin???"