A Slender Halloween

Ledger's favorite holiday has always been Halloween. He loves to go out trick-r-treating, but has been a bit annoyed with some of his costumes in the past. He loves the costumes that are blow-up suits, but the last couple have either had too short of legs, which means he has to shuffle and take baby steps all night, or the fan stops working and the whole thing just flops over and looks sad. This year he picked the character he wanted to be nice and early so we could find just the right costume. He wanted to dress up as Slender Man. We looked around for a while to find a good one, and eventually we settled on one that was actually pretty creepy! When we first got it and he tried it on, Diana was not ok with it! She was supper freaked out by how tall it was! Ledger, of course, used this to his advantage and would try to creep his mother out all night while wearing it!

On Halloween evening we got him dressed up in the really unsettling costume and started our quest for free candy! Diana stayed back at the house passing out candy and fawning over the cute costumes that the little ones wore. Granted, she knows almost all the kids who stopped by thanks to her teaching job! All the kids would yell 'Miss Diana!' and run over to see her and get some candy. 

Ledger and I? We had plans to get some candy and creep out some kids! What makes the costume so strange is that there is a fake head that Ledger strapped to the top of his head, and then these shoulder pads that ride up to the top of his head. The shirt and tie that fall down over Ledger's face is see through from the inside, so all together it looks perfect- you can't see Ledge at all! With Ledge being five foot ten inches tall, and then another 8 inches above that with the fake head, this Slender Man costume was a towering six and a half feet tall!

As we walked down the sidewalk he would get a lot of strange looks, partly because of just how odd and tall he looked, but also because he was totally playing the part- he didn't talk and would intentionally walk too close to other people around. He would stop in the middle of the sidewalk and point at kids across the street until they noticed him. Usually they would get a little chill, give a spooked out face, and keep walking away faster. Ledge was absolutely loving it! It through off a bunch of kids, and because he was so tall in it, a bunch of the parents would cringe as well! All of this was delighting Ledger to no end!

Finally it was getting dark and the chinstrap and shoulder pads were getting rather uncomfortable, so we made our way back home. It looked like Diana's candy supply didn't last too long- she was snuggled up inside by the time we got back. All in all, another successful Halloween celebrated!

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Flick or Treat

After our epic trick or treating with the boy, we made our way back home and ordered some pizza from the local place. The boys were in no hurry to leave, so we filled our plates and went downstairs into my movie lair! I got to show it off to Adam. He actually lives in LA where the movies are made, so he appreciated my shrine to all things film. After telling him all about it when we came to visit him last year, he was very pleased to see it for himself in all its glory! (Aaron wasn't all that impressed, he's seen it many times before).

With it being Halloween, we had to pick a horror movie, of course. Everyone was down for some cheesy horror fun, so we watched Critters. The movie was surprisingly better than expected, throwing in random sci-fi elements, which of course I loved. After some good food and good laughs, it was time for them to pack it up and call it a night. We had a blast- we'll definitely have to do it again sometime soon!

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Trick or Treat Gang

It's Halloween! About a month ago my friend Adam said he was going to be in town for Halloween and asked if he could hang out with us for it. Of course! I talked to Aaron and invited him to join us as well, you know, make a whole party out of it.

That afternoon the boys came over, the boy got his alien costume on, the wife all set up to hand out candy, and the four of us went to mosey around the neighborhood and enjoy the holiday. I know I often talk about how much I love my small town, but this particular day was one of the best! The cool weather, the spooky time spirit, and the local kids wandering around getting candy all mixed together to create a perfect small-town evening! It genuinely felt like a scene out of a movie: the beautiful town, the kids in cute costumes, and a joyful fall scene. It hardly felt real- and what a perfect evening to share with my favorite people in the world!

Ledge stopped by each house, getting more and more candy, as he laughed and mingled with all the neighborhood kids along the way. The three of us following at a distance, laughing and commenting on the different costumes and decorations. I really was able to show off how great our little life is here.

The whole thing just really made me feel like I'm a middle-aged dad doing stereotypical dad stuff. I mean that in a good way! I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love this town!

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The Annual Boo Fest

One of Ledger's favorite traditions for Halloween is rewatching an old classic: Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest!

When he was little this was his very favorite movie. He would often watch it twice in one day, just start it up again immediately after he finished it. As the town gets ready for the fall fest, the man in the yellow hat tells the story of a spooky scarecrow from the town's past called 'No Noggin'. Absolutely harmless but also adorable!

We all gathered in the living room for the special screening, popcorn and drinks ready to go. We accidentally forgot to watch it last year, so Ledge was champing at the bit to see it this year! The whole thing is actually quite delightful and cute- it's even got a few banger songs that were stuck in our heads for the next several days...

After a really fun night, the DVD goes back on the shelf. We will make sure we don't miss it next year!

Moonlight Jack Returns!

Guess who's back! It's time for some Halloween decorating because Moonlight Jack has paid us a visit! As everyone knows, you are not allowed to start decorating for Halloween until Moonlight Jack shows up. And look- this time he brought his son- Moonlight Junior! Oh, we are very blessed this year to have them both stop by. Who knows what sort of fun and frivolity is ahead for our spooky season!

(In case you somehow forgot the legend of Moonlight Jack, here is a retelling of that old famous tale!)

Spooky Haunted House

Ledger has always loved Halloween. It's his favorite holiday, second only to getting all them gifts on Christmas! He's always loved the cute version of the holiday, pumpkins and cute ghosties and the like. Well, he's getting big enough to take it to the next level, I think. We've talked a bit over the past week or two about if he would be interested in going to a haunted house or something. He was pretty pumped about the idea, so I found one that may be a bit scary, but not too scary.

It would be to scary, of course, for Diana, so Ledge and I made plans to go to it just the two of us. It was a bit of a drive, going all the way up to Grand Rapids for this fright fest. I haven't really ever done the 'haunted house' thing before, so this was going to be a first-time experience for both of us!

We got tickets at the door and headed in. There were a couple waiting rooms that were decorated like a crypt, setting the right mood. We must have picked a pretty good night, because it wasn't too busy. Sure, there were a couple hundred people there, but we got to zip right through the first waiting area, so I'm sure it's a lot busier as it gets closer to Halloween. Ledger was getting a kick out of it, pointing out some of the details of the creepy decor. Eventually we made it to the front of the line. I double checked with him to make sure he was really up for it- don't want him getting too spooked, after all.

The whole thing was really cool! It was set up as six different themed areas, we made our way through the 'abandoned farmhouse' and then there was another small waiting area. After about five minutes we entered into a 'spooky psych ward'. Eventually we made our way through each of the six areas, one of them even had special glasses to make the black light effects even cooler! There were a bunch of scary parts and really well-designed traps and pathways. My only problem was that we were put with a group that must have been pretty scared, because they forced us to race through the different areas so we didn't get a chance to take it all in.  The coolest area was the black light dayglow 'Alice in twisted Wonderland' theme- it was really rad!

Finally we emerged from the haunted house and into the gift shop. The whole way home Ledge and I laughed and recounted the good scares and awesome costumes we saw. We will definitely be doing the haunted house thing again next year!

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Halloween Bean

The day is finally upon us! Ledge has had his costume for a couple weeks now, trying it on and wandering around the house a few times since then. But now it finally time to wear it outside and show it off!

He's never been obsessed with getting candy, he is more interested in wearing his costume and showing it off. Well, we thought of a great way for him to do just that! Diana and I had stocked up on candy to give out, so we set up a couple chairs at the end of the driveway (so kids wouldn't have to walk all the way up to the door and have our dog bark at them). Ledger then spend the first hour of the night dancing in the street to welcome the trick-r-treaters over! He was having a blast and so many people were loving it- joining in and laughing at the dancing orange character!

Finally, all of our candy was gone, so we went in for a couple minutes to warm up and change out the batteries in his costume. We bundled back up and headed out around the block to do some good ol fashion door to door trick-r-treating! As expected, it was a bit hard for Ledge to get around because the legs on his costume were so short, he had to slowly shuffle down the street...

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Carve 'Em Up

Well, we've got the pumpkins, now it's time to carve them up! When we got back from Gene's we unloaded the car and soon got to work making our jack-o-lanterns. Usually, the cutting and cleaning out of the pumpkin falls on me. Ledge doesn't like getting all icky from the pumpkin guts, but this time he was a little more willing to give it a go. He's getting big enough to carve them himself, so he took the knife and dug right in! Granted, after the first one he had enough, so I was in charge of cleaning out the second one.  After they were emptied, Ledger grabbed a marker and got to work making a couple of great faces. He's always been quite skilled in making expressive faces, so that part is right up his alley!

He drew them on and carved the faces out. I did a little clean up on some of the lines so the light would shine through just right, and then we put the light in them and brought them out to the front porch to admire our work. They look great!

Now we are all set for Halloween!
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Pumpkin Time!

With our Halloween decor up and the season changing, it's time for one of our favorite annual traditions: going to Gene the Pumpkin Man to get our pumpkins! Each year we make the trek over to Gene to get a couple pumpkins to carve and put out on the front porch. Many years ago, a friend I worked with suggested that place when we first moved to Allegan. He said that he and his family have been going there for decades. The first year we went we thought it was so cool, and now we've been going for years as well!

This year it was unseasonably warm for the middle of October, but at least it wasn't raining! We arrived and went to the fence to say hi to the cows, which seemed to take a special interest in Ledger this year, even getting close enough to let him pet them! Next, we grabbed a wagon and began the search for two perfect pumpkins. We wandered around and it didn't take long for Ledge to find a couple good looking gourds that he wanted to carve. Gene the Pumpkin Man is still kickin, so Ledger went over and chatted with him for a few minutes. His hearing isn't what it used to be, so it ended up being Ledger repeating himself over and over again, louder each time! Having made the full circuit around the place, we bought our pumpkins, thanked Gene, and headed home, pleased to have visited once again.

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Halloween Decor

Finally! Moonlight Jack finally showed up so we can decorate for Halloween! (Read about the legend of Moonlight Jack here) We went downstairs and pulled out the big box of Halloween decorations and brought it up. We dug through it and found spots for all the different holiday stuff we have accumulated over the years. It's even got some of Ledger's old Halloween costumes in it, which of course means that he's got to try them on again! Pictured is the ghostie he wore two years in a row. He loved it so much he wanted to wear it again the second year- except this time with the witch's hat.

Now that we've got the place covered in pumpkins and other Halloween decor, we are ready for the spooky season!

Halloween Prep

An important event every year: picking out the perfect costume for Halloween. Some years we think about it early enough that we are able to get a really cool costume, and other years we forget until late October and all the good stuff is already sold out. This year we were on top of it and Ledger decided that he wanted to get the costume of a character from the game Fall Guy. Granted, he's never played the game before in his life, but the costume was just so darn cute that he picked it anyway!

As soon as it arrived he wanted to try it on. He got in the thing, turned on the portable fan, and the cuteness inflated, much to our delight! Diana and I kept laughing at how funny and cute it looked. Ledger, of course, played it up, getting us to laugh more and more. He spent the next hour or so wandering around the house in the costume playing and dancing around.

It's going to be a great Halloween this year, I can already tell!

Trick Or Treatle

The big day is finally here, and boy is he excited! Ledger has been eagerly anticipating the chance to wear his awesome turtle costume out in public ever since he got it, and now its time. Finally, it's Halloween night! Diana stayed home this time and handed out candy while Ledger and I took to the streets. We headed out around the neighborhood with the plan to hit up as many houses as we possibly could. Unfortunately the turtle costume had other ideas... The turtle blow up costume looks really amazing, but it leaves a lot to be desired as far as mobility... We started walking and immediately we realized that Ledger couldn't actually walk in the costume. He could slowly waddle, but he couldn't walk! The legs were too short for him, so he had to take baby steps the whole night! He was fine with it, but I'll admit that it tried my patience a few times. Going from house to house took forever! He had a positive attitude, so we made due. We walked around the block, stopping at each house with it's lights on. Everyone we walked passed smiled and let Ledge know how much they loved his costume. 

We got to go to a haunted house, wandered the downtown streets, and filled his bag with tons of candy! It was a little cold and a little wet, but we had a fantastic time.

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Turtle On Parade

Halloween just so happened to fall on Monday this year, much to my delight, because that meant that I got to go to the school Halloween parade! Every year Ledger's elementary school invites the kids to bring in their Halloween costumes (in a bag, not worn). Then, in the afternoon they invite all the parents to come watch as they all parade through the halls and show off their cool costumes! Ledger was pumped, of course, because we had planned a head and he got a really awesome inflatable turtle costume! He was so proud! We got there and helped him get into it when disaster struck- the batteries died! Oh no! The whole thing deflated, along with his excitement. Fortunately, we had enough time and we live close enough that I was able to quickly drive home and fill my pockets with batteries and get back in time to change them out. I grabbed a bunch extra, and it's a good thing because another student in his class had the same problem!

With the costume fully blown up, he was able to strut around the school proud of his fantastically cute turtle costume! The whole thing was so incredibly cute and funny as the whole school, Kindergarten through 5th grade, showed off the creativity and joy of their fun costumes! I will miss this when he goes to middle school, that's for sure.

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A-Maze-ing Corn!

There's this place that we drive by on our way to visit Diana's parents that always catches our eye called Harvest Moon Acres. In the fall they have all kinds of fun stuff including a corn maze! Neither Diana, Ledger, or I, have ever been to a corn maze, so we figured it was time to check it out. Diana invited a whole crew to come and check it out with us: Lissa, Miranda, and Barbara!

Having no idea what to expect, I was pretty impressed with the whole place! It's a lot more than just a corn maze, we got there and wandered around. Once we went in we saw that they have a whole field of fun stuff to do: they had burlap sack slides, water games, a petting zoo, a zipline, a shooting gallery, and a bunch more.

We started the corn maze, but some of the ladies called it quits pretty quickly, so Ledger, Barbara, and I journeyed on just the three of us. We walked the whole path (about a half hour), and found all the hidden treasures.

What a fun time- we will definitely be back next year!

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Carve O Lantern

After a nice afternoon over at Gene's, we spent the evening carving out the two perfectly plump pumpkins we picked! Each year Ledger has tried to pass off the gross work of emptying out the pumpkin guts, and this year was no different... He cut off the tops and then passed them over to me to clean out. That kid does not want to get dirty! This year we didn't bother to do anything with the seeds. We tried that a couple years ago and then didn't actually like them. 

After cleaning them out, Ledger grabbed a white board marker (that way he could erase it if he doesn't like his design) and drew on the funny faces. I helped a bit with the detail work, but most of the face carving was him this year! 

When they were done, we dug through the junk drawers and amazingly found the old battery powered candles left over from the four pack last year. We set them out on the front porch and admired them- now our Halloween decorating is complete!
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The Pumpkin Man

It can't be Halloween season without our annual visit to see Gene the Pumpkin Man! We hopped in the car and made our way down to his orange colored farm to pick out a few pumpkins to finish our decorating for the season.

We were a little late this year, so the pickings were a bit slim. That didn't slow us down, Ledger found a couple good looking pumpkins anyway. Diana picked out a few choice little gourds to decorate in the house. After wandering around for a little while and talking with Gene for a bit, we were fully stocked and satisfied. We headed home, ready to do some carving!

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Turtle Turtle

Last year we kind of dragged our feet too long before Ledger picked a Halloween costume and found that most of the good ones were already sold out. We didn't want to make the same mistake this year! As soon as October 1 hit, he and I were scrolling through all the different costumes. He came across a blow up turtle costume that he absolutely loved. It wasn't too expensive, so I bought it right away. It's only the first week of October, but it arrived and he tried it on. It looks absolutely hilarious! As you can see, he totally loved it. We were all in hysterics as he waddled around the house wearing it! Unfortunately he still has to wait a few weeks before he gets to waddle through the neighborhood showing it off- he can't wait!

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Halloween Movie Time

 With our silly and imaginative solution to Halloween at home, we decided it was the perfect time to watch the perfect Halloween movie: Nightmare Before Christmas! We watched it for the first time a couple years ago and Ledge absolutely loved it. We had played the soundtrack for him back when he was 4 or 5 and it terrified him half to death! We avoided it for a few years because of that, making sure he was old enough to handle the creepiness. Well, now he adores the movie, just like the rest of us, so it was exactly the right movie to finish off our stay-at-home Halloween! It may not have been what Ledger hoped it would be, but we made the most of it and created some wonderful memories along the way!

Trick or Treat At Home

 Devastating news: Ledger has COVID. Fortunately his case is about as mild as can be: he had a tummy ache and felt a little dizzy so he went to sleep early. When he woke up he was feeling just fine and never complained about feeling yuck again. What makes this so devastating though, is that he was diagnosed on October 28- that means Halloween is canceled for him! NOOOO! His favorite day of the year! The thing he's been anticipating with bated breath for the last three months! He was absolutely crushed. Many tears were shed, understandably. The thought of not being able to go trick or treating was more than our boy could bear.

Fortunately, Diana came up with an alternative: what if Ledger got to trick or treat right here at home? We have a hallway in our house from the living room down to all three bedrooms. Ledger could knock on one of the bedroom doors and she or I would open the door to give him candy. Ledger was interested but not convinced. 

We gave it a try anyway. Ledger knocked on his bedroom door, 'trick or treat!', Diana opened the door and Ledger saw that she was wearing a costume as well! That's what sold the whole thing- Diana and I wore different costumes when he would come to our doors! Now Ledge was all in, and laughing the whole time! He went to the next door and I opened up with a silly costume and gave him some candy. Having a minute or two, Diana had changed her outfit when he returned to her door for candy! It took a bit of imagination, but he was so happy that he didn't miss out on Halloween all together. It's silly times like these that he will remember fondly for the rest of his life!

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Secret Costume

 After much deliberation, he finally picked his costume. Ledger has been waffling back and fourth about his Halloween costume for the better part of two months. In years past he had his costume choice figured out in November, but this year he couldn't make up his mind. We spent a lot of time searching through costume websites trying to pick just the right one. He finally decided that he wanted to be a spy. We found a costume pack with a trench coat, hat, sunglasses, and fake moustache- perfect! When it arrived he tried it on and was very pleased. Finally he's ready for his favorite day of the year!