Just Us: Halloween

Maybe it's just me, but I think Halloween holds a special and ageless place in our hearts. Seeing trendy costumes in stores, buying candy to give out--but not just any candy--our favorite candy...and holding back a few pieces just for us, carving pumpkins and noticing the chill in the air takes us back to our own Halloween childhood memories.

We got a chance to share Halloween with Coleton and Anthony this year and we had a blast. Their school had a "walk around" where each class visited the other classes to show off their costumes and get candy (the "candy" was healthy stuff...there wasn't a bit of chocolate for miles of the school!) In the afternoon, they had a group party. It was fun. Anthony was a little Mickey Mouse and for school, Coleton was a race car driver. His "going out" costume was a big Mickey Mouse. They were so cute.

Tony and I were the official "candy-hander-outers" until Tony, Marie and the kids came back. After that, Coleton and I handed out more candy. At one point, after some older kids stopped by dressed as ghosts and scary things, Coleton said to me, "Momo, I'm scare of the monsters." Ah, a true "grandparent moment." I explained that they were just dressed up like he was. I asked him if he was really Mickey Mouse and he said, "no, it was just his costume." "That's right," I said, "and those scary kids aren't monsters, they are just kids wearing costumes."

I know he understood what I said, because the next "trick-or-treater" was a boy, about 8 years old, who came up dressed in a shark costume. His face was sticking out of the jaws of the shark. "Trick-or-treat," he said. To which Coleton replied, "You're not a shark, you're a boy in a shark." Yep, he got it.

While we were visiting, we took a train downtown to a place called ImaginOn, which is a terrific place for kids of all ages. It's three stories of fun. Ground level is for babies and toddlers. They have story time, books, toys, things to climb on and music. The second floor is for older kids and offers books, games and learning activities. The top floor has interactive computer games, maps and science activities. This place was a library on steroids!

All too soon it was time to come back and resume our routines. But, we brought Tyson with us for a few weeks while Tony, Marie and the kids are in Kansas City to see her brother's family. He's been pretty low key, but if you are in the market to invest, go with allergy stocks. I'm sneezing and stuffy, but not as bad as I have been other times he has been here. Thank God for antihistamines.

And so, experience our Halloween....get your kid back on!

Mr. Race Car checks with his crew chief (the earphone had car noises...very cool)

The Swegle Boys

Anthony, riding high in the "non-walking" buggy

Anthony says, "Hmmm, I'm glad I don't have blue hair."

This is Coleton telling a little boy in his class that he can't say "cheese" because it's HIS Papa who is taking the picture. Note to Coleton....everyone was saying cheese anytime they saw a camera...anybody's camera!