Halloween!

Here is the Halloween crew 2009! Minus Philip, he took this picture. Ah, the begining of the evening, everyone is full of anticipation.
Right before dusk is the best moment of Halloween; everyone is ready and you have the whole evening to look forward to. Who knows what will come next!? The night is young & full of possibilities.
Here I am behind Dapper Dan. Isn't he just the cutest in his little pinstripe vest?

Ellie & Cassie sit in the back of the truck in full costume, ready to descend upon the neighborhood. Ellie is in the afore blogged about witch's dress, and Cassie is fixed up as a corpse bride! They both got the full makeup treatment and were so enchanting.

Another picture of the little blood sucker!Ellie & I carved Pumpkins on the front porch. She strikes a pose in front of her handiwork here before getting into costume. Halloween was in the air!

Then it's costume time! Danny had 3 options; Vampire, Robot or Spider Man ("Pie Pie Man" as he calls him). Vampire it is! It took some serious coaxing from me, Bran and Jim all 3, but finally he agrees to the best choice, Vampire! I love this black & white effect Brandi used on this picture. Reminds me of a Universal Studios Monster classic pic!

Doesn't he look so dapper? Dapper Dan the little Vampire man.

Here are his parents, a Devil and witch. They look "scare-scare" as Danny would say!

We crept through the neighborhood as a Halloween caravan; me at the helm of my Green Truck with grownups and kids in tow and following on foot. Some of the neighbors had their garages open and all decked out for the season. There was a light mist and a full moon, it was muggy. You never know in North Carolina what kind of weather to expect at Halloween time. We got lucky.

Cassie & I make our way through the various goblins... There were a few precious hours of Trick-Or-Treating and we made the most of it.

There's aways that moment where any even hits its peak, even Halloween.

Some people like to go out and hit the town to celebrate the best holiday of the year. I like to stay true to the real spirit of Halloween; running around the neighborhood dressed in something traditional yelling "tick or treat!" at every door as loud as you can! Candy is the reason for the season. Kids running around unsupervised in the dark, what could be better?

Today, November first, the first day after Halloween is always a little hard for me. When I was a little kid my Dad asked me one November first why I was so sad; "Because" I said "now Halloween is the farthest away it will ever be!" A whole year until the next one! Sad. And sure, Christmas comes up next, but let's face it...Christmas can't hold a candle to All Hallow's Eve! No contest.

I just have to rearrange my thinking; we are going into long dark nights of winter, which I have always loved too. This year was the first time I can remember ever being sad to see summer go. I so enjoyed being out in the sun, swimming in the Big Pond at the farm, long hot sweaty walks with my dog. But winter has its own type of enchantment.

I love cold days when you stay out so long your toes go numb and you can go inside and build a fire. I love to see the bare black trees against the electric blue early evening sky. I love remembering how it feels to ride your horse in the freezing elements, nose running and the only part of your body that stays warm are the parts touching the warm cozy horse...

All good things to look forward to. And then spring will be here sooner than I can imagine!

Slow down Life! What's the rush time? Where does it all go?

I wish I could stop time. That's what I love about night time; it's like my very own little suspended dimension where all the rest of the world is sleeping and I alone can enjoy frozen time, for a moment. I can live in that moment, I can just be, without that sense of urgency, that feeling that you have to hurry, that every moment is dragging you further and further along the imaginary time line to...an end.

I will try to enjoy the present moment instead of pining away for yesterday. After all It's always Halloween at my house!