When Mike first moved to the U.S. in 1990, he was a Halloween scrooge. They didn’t celebrate Halloween in the UK when he was growing up–now they celebrate it somewhat halfheartedly.

Now he has become crazy for Halloween like many Americans…to the point that if the kids get tired of trick or treating before he does, he urges them to keep going!

On Saturday we took the younger kids to the Farmer’s Market (Chris was with a friend) so Nicholas could participate in the noon-time costume parade. Kieran declared that he was too “embarrassed” to be in the parade, even though he wore a mask to church the very next day. Can’t figure him out! Nicholas enjoyed parading in his firefighter outfit, and Kieran got a goody bag, too, even though he didn’t dress up.

Kieran got to carve a pumpkin,
and both boys made masks at the market

My little firefighter!

Kieran has decorated our front porch with pumpkins, spiders, and bats, and has made 12 separate drawings for our front window (facing outward, so they can be seen from outside). I’ve never seen a child go this crazy for Halloween! He even spent his allowance money on a little kit to make spiderwebs from cotton.

The pine needles that haven’t been swept up
add to the atmosphere, dontcha think?