🎃 Scenes from Our Halloween 2019 🎃

Our front door - ready to greet guests and trick-or-treaters! 

We had the nicest Halloween we've had in some years. (Toby noted that the family thinks that 2013 was the best Halloween ever.) But this year certainly made up for last year which was a washout - literally and figuratively - for all intents and purposes and even for some lackluster years before that. I recall that last year the rain finally stopped about half an hour before it was time to go out and our Lucy insisted on going. Anthony went, too, but Augie and I stayed behind and handed out candy. It was the first year he had not gone out. Toby and I just weren't in the spirit of it at all for many reasons. 

This year, everything was perfect. The weather was more than perfect! It was the coolest - indeed, the coldest - on record in some places. Here, it was the coldest for certain since our children have been old enough to trick-or-treat. We were all in the spirit and it felt more holiday-ish than any Halloween had ever felt to us. The house had been decorated for a while for fall and some Halloween and we added more as the week progressed. 

Our prep for the big day started earlier in the week with jack-o-lantern carving.

Lucy and Anthony got a head start on things. Everyone did a number of carvings over the course of two days.

Of course, you must watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown while you carve! 

My contribution was chili to go with the tamales I'd already made. 

Toby helping with the lighting in Lucy's Minecraft inspired carving.

The unicorn balloon is there because Lucy had a birthday last week and we have pink balloons still flying around our otherwise orange and fallish decorations. It's been quite the celebratory week or so! 

I bought the wreath because the leaves reminded me of aspen leaves. 

Toby has some seriously professional carving equipment. 

Toby and I were undecided about dressing up. We ultimately used different things. I took the hat he bought for the Scarecrow outside. 

Toby repurposed a Godzilla costume he'd used in 2016 and made it into the Dinosaur Dracula! mascot guy. He's a YouTuber / blogger. Lucy made his pendant herself. I thought she did great. 

Not only can you see the final product of Toby's imagination, but also his handiwork decorating the year and his and the jack-o-lanterns. 

Anthony was Leonardo, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Anthony is now quite into those thanks to Pixel Dan, who he met again at this year's Retropalooza.

Lucy was an alien and here they all are just prior to leaving for trick-or-treating.

One must kiss their monster goodbye before he takes off.

Here are some shots of the yard once it got darker. Toby and Carl, his cousin who came to visit and celebrate with us, did a marvelous job!

Despite the great weather, we had fewer trick-or-treaters than usual. That seemed to be the case everywhere judging by others' comments on social media and what relatives told us their experiences were. That's a shame. I'm told that since so many churches and malls and what-not do "Trunk or Treat" things, people mostly go there. Our church also had an event, a way to keep people from engaging in the objectionable portions of Halloween. But we did here pretty much exactly what they did there. Candy, "clean" costumes, and then we had tamales and chili with a pumpkin cheesecake (which I did not get a pic of!). 

Toby and I agreed - this year was a return to Halloween for our family. It felt good. Not only that, it was a return to all those things leading up to Halloween and all the things that help us greet fall and really take in all that is part of this magnificent season, the likes of which we've not had in way too long. It was also a sense that a great deal of healing has been accomplished. We've been grateful for that. 

Now onto November and all it brings - including Thanksgiving! 

Thanks for reading!