Happy Social-Distanced Halloween!

Since the pandemic essentially canceled parties and trick-or-treating this year, I thought we were going to have a pretty dull Halloween.  Then, as I kept hearing Todd eagerly count down the days until October 31st, and his oldest sister drearily telling him that nothing interesting would happen that day, I decided I needed to find some ways to make Halloween fun.  I logged onto a local mom Facebook group to get some ideas, then I made a plan.

First, the two younger kids and I participated in our ward scavenger hunt this morning.  We took photos of spooky stuff around our house and our town, then snapped our last picture here at the finish line, six minutes before the game ended.

Then we went home and did Saturday chores, because even a proper princess must do her part around the house.

Anna, Todd, and I bought pumpkins at our local farm stand, then I helped the kids carve them.  Anna's is a cheerful princess (of course), and Todd's has numbers for facial features (of course).

Since no trick-or-treaters would be traipsing up our long driveway to see our jack-o'-lanterns, we took them to the town common, where they could grin at passing drivers with dozens of their friends.

Next, our whole family drove around town to see the Halloween decorations people had put up.  I knew that some of the houses would have treats out on tables, so I told the kids to bring treat buckets.  The two older kids had passed on the earlier activities I planned, and they weren't very excited to go look at decorations either, but they warmed up to the outing once they saw the candy.

I was amazed at how many people had set out treats.  By the time we got home, the kids' treat buckets were full. 

We saw a street with over a dozen treat tables on our way home, and Joy asked me to take her there so she could collect more sugary loot.  I told her if she was going to walk along a street picking up candy, she needed to put some sort of costume on.  She bundled up in her snow gear, put on her monarch butterfly wings from last Halloween, then gamely posed for one token picture before we headed out into the night.  It was literally freezing outside, and when we arrived at the treat street nearly all of the tables had already been put away, but we found one house that had a dozen treat bags left, and they encouraged Joy to take them all.  She brought them home and split them with her siblings.  I've long been a fan of the creative, generous spirit Halloween inspires, and I loved seeing Joy embrace that generosity tonight.

Happy Halloween!

 

Snowy Halloween Eve

It's the day before Halloween!

This morning, we watched the gripping conclusion of the Harry Potter film series . . . 

. . . while the snowfall outside . . .

. . . turned our yard into a winter wonderland.  Technically, we're not even halfway through fall yet . . .

. . . but Anna and Todd bundled up and went outside to make snow angels . . .

. . . then the girls stomped designs into the snow in our front yard.  Anna drew a girl making a peace sign, and Joy wrote out the quadratic formula.

Then I looked out our back window and admired the snowy sunset.  You know what, New England?  You sure are beautiful in fall.  Even when you've got your winter coat on.

Time for Some Changes

 Some random pics from today:

Our first snowstorm of the season is due to roll in tonight, so we all headed out back this morning and put the trampoline away for the winter.  A load of heavy snow would stretch out the bouncing net, so it's going to hibernate in our shed until next spring.

The day after the snowstorm is Halloween.  Do you think Joy should wear this disguise?  She makes a rather convincing end table, but I foresee a few logistical problems with trying to trick-or-treat in that getup.  The squishmallows are a little nervous about it too.

Last but not least, I got my hair cut today for the first time this year.  Back in March, when something called a coronavirus was starting to appear in the news, I thought, "Hmm . . . maybe I should get my hair trimmed while I still can."  Then everything shut down, and haircuts weren't even an option for a while.  By the time salons finally reopened, my short hairstyle had grown out, and I was kind of enjoying trying something new.  Lately, though, I noticed that my hair was looking rather long and unruly.  I found out that a hair stylist friend was coming to our town to cut someone else's hair this evening, so Phillip and I booked a house call too.  I'm so glad it worked out--we had both been looking pretty shaggy.

Berry Patch Additions

 I've added a few more things to our little berry patch . . .

. . . like a wood chip path that is a different color than the chips on the plants . . .

. . . and ten little alpine strawberry plants.  Their leaves and fruit are tiny, but they are very hardy, and they thrive in shade.  They're so cute, and I hope they will provide some tasty little berries next summer.

Meanwhile, this Blueray blueberry bush turned a stunning red early this month.

And Pink Icing?  She turned pinker. :)

Building Stuff

Our town recently started construction on our new library . . . 

. . . right next to the tennis courts where we are taking lessons.  Unfortunately, that means on windy days we get a lot of dust blowing across the court.  Still, it's pretty cool to watch the enormous crane lifting big metal beams as if they were matchsticks.

Back at home, the kids have been building a few little things of their own.  Our perler beads tend to lie dormant in the craft box for months on end, then once every year or so, the kids remember them and make a bunch of fun things with them.  I like the way their colorful creations brighten up our kitchen.

Church and Cookies

 This morning . . .

. . . I got out my fancy hairpin . . .

. . . and put on my fancy shoes, because today was the first day in many months that our whole family went to church together! 

After the shutdown in March, there were no in-person church meetings at all for several months.  Then, when in-person meetings started again, the attendance limit was just 25, and we didn't feel right taking up a quarter of those slots when other people wanted or needed to be in the chapel more than we did.  So, aside from the time Phillip and I attended with Anna back in September, we've stuck to watching church via Zoom.

Since the attendance limit for in-person church was recently raised from 25 to 50, we decided it would be good for our family to start attending a couple times each month.  It was a bit of an adjustment for some of our kids to sit quietly through a whole sacrament meeting again, but on the whole it was a sweet, uplifting experience for our family.  Funny how things feel more like a treat when you don't get to do them very often.

Speaking of treats, when I came home from visiting a friend this afternoon, I discovered that the kids had baked pillowy sugar cookies while I was gone.  The house smelled delicious!

They had even frosted and decorated many of the cookies, including a few squishmallows.  Of course.

The Semi-Virtual Recital

This afternoon . . .

. . . we all gathered in the living room . . .

. . . for a semi-virtual piano recital ("semi-virtual" because we heard Daniel and Anna's pieces in person, and everyone else's songs via Zoom).

Anna performed one of J.S. Bach's songs entitled "Minuet in G Major" . . .

. . . and Daniel played Beethoven's "Ecossaise" (you know, the one from Book 3).

One of the other students played a Book 4 song the kids and I weren't familiar with, but she had a bad connection so we couldn't really hear it.  After the Zoom session ended, Daddy brought the sheet music up on the iPad and played it so we could hear what "By the Limpid Stream" sounds like.

It was fun to have Daddy give an unofficial encore to the recital. :)

Daniel Drops the Mic

Our piano teacher is planning a virtual piano recital for her students, and today she asked Daniel what piece he wanted to play for it.  He said he wanted to play "Ecossaise."  That's the name of a fairly easy piece in Suzuki Book 2, and since Daniel is nearly done with that book, the teacher assumed he could easily perform that song.  She told him to play it for her . . .

. . . then Daniel turned to the piano and busted out a different Ecossaise from Book 3, which we recently bought and which his teacher hasn't even begun instructing him on yet.  The song sounded polished and vibrant--he even nailed the dynamics.

When he finished the song and smugly turned back to the laptop to hear his teacher's response, there were a few moments of silence, then she simply said, "I can't believe you learned that on your own."

Fro Yo and a Photo Shoot

Last month, the kids and I each set a couple of goals we wanted to work on--things like praying more sincerely, learning to ride a bicycle, writing in a gratitude journal, and starting dinner on time.  We agreed that everyone who diligently worked on their goals could join a celebratory trip to Menchie's in October.

Today was the big day, and while the kids enjoyed the fro yo, I think their favorite part of the outing . . .

. . . was clambering around on the plaza steps afterward . . .

. . . and striking poses for the camera.

Wasn't that fun? 

Poker Faces

 Some parenting decisions are very straightforward, but others just aren't.  Like when our kids recently asked to learn how to play poker.  The Lord has warned against gambling, and Daddy and I agree with Him, but the kids pointed out that if you take money out of the equation, poker is no different than checkers, chess, or most other games.  You have limited resources, and you try to use them wisely.  Sometimes you win, and sometimes you don't.  If there are more than two players, the odds are that you are going to lose, and you need to just do your best and enjoy the game.

They made a pretty valid argument . . .

. . . so when Daniel asked to use his own money to buy some poker chips this weekend, we allowed him to do it, on the condition that they not be referred to as money.  The boys agreed to call them "points."  Joy calls them "pies."

Did we make the right choice?  It's hard to say, but it feels like the best course right now, so we're going with it.  For now.  We'll see how we feel about it in the weeks and months to come.

In the meantime, watch out for Daniel.

He's on a roll today.

Mary and Murphy

This afternoon, the kids asked me to drive them to Five Below, so they could buy two additions to our growing Squishmallow herd.

Todd chose a rainbow-colored kangaroo, which he named Mary . . .

. . . and Joy chose a neon pink version of Globey, which she named Murphy.

On the way home, she taught Murphy proper pandemic etiquette.

We also had a birthday party to attend this afternoon, so the kids wrote birthday cards for our friend . . .

. . . then we headed to a park for her bunny-themed party.

Joy made sure Murphy was appropriately attired for the festivities.

 

Don't Forget to Hide the Pumpkins!

It's that time of year again!

The Hendrickson kids have each picked out a small pumpkin (or gourd, in Joy's case), and every night in October . . .

. . . I hide them somewhere on the main floor after the kids go to bed.

Um, I think that spot's a bit too obvious.

Much better!

Just like last year, I forgot to hide the pumpkins one night, and I woke up to a pointed artistic reproof for having shirked my duty.  I've left the notes in place as a whimsical reminder to keep up my end . . . 

. . . of our fun little October tradition. :)