The Colors of Fall

Happy Halloween!

The great thing about an American holiday in a foreign country is that you can celebrate Halloween whenever you like. We did most of our celebrating last night.

Our pumpkin, however, didn't make it to the party. He decided to turn BAD! I guess that's what happens to cannibalistic pumpkins. They grow a thick, furry coat of mold and start to smell a little "ripe". Due to his poor behavior, he was banished to the trash.

His chocolate counterpart, however, was on his best behavior and got to have all kinds of fun. He was invited to a Halloween party in the Netherlands with the teenager! Jess went to a neighboring country for a Halloween party (how crazy does that sound??), and then a sleep-over at a friends house. As a "thank you" gift to the friends parents for putting up with sugar induced teenagers for the night, we sent along this chocolate pumpkin from Leonidas. It's actually hollow, so we had it filled with an assortment of chocolates (pralines) as well. Now the parents are buzzing on a sugar high along with the kids. That's what Halloween is all about!While Jess was off partying in the Netherlands Friday night, we headed off to Russ' work. Everyone decorated the main buildings, and the kids got to trick or treating through all of the offices. After collecting lots of candy, they headed to the Club and had a big party with fun and games. It was a huge success! The big hit of the night was the Haunted House, put on by all of the cops. They had grown men screaming like little girls! (I'm not naming any names, but you know who you are!)This fellow on our hall was a big hit, as well. He was sitting in the dark, and the kids thought the bowl of candy was sitting on a black chair. When they reached for it, he moved and they screamed!

The kids had a blast, and we gave away a ton of candy. We have a lot left, too. We're going to be eating snickers and twizzlers for months to come. There are going to be a lot of busy Belgian dentists near the base! Happy Halloween!

Fall Fun!

We had a Fall Festival at Brandon's school this weekend, and he and I won the pumpkin carving contest! Woohoo! This is our winning entry. Apparently the judges shared our strange sense of humor. The prize was a gift certificate for the BX. There is still some negotiating to take care of on that issue. I thought Brandon could pick out a nice fall shirt, but he has something else in mind...a game. Go figure. (He does look a little creepy all lit up, doesn't he?) He gets to go to work with Russ on Friday. We are decorating the offices so the kids can go trick or treating there. Here is some gee wiz info on Belgium. Did you know that they didn't celebrate Halloween here at all until around 5 or 6 years ago? We Americans brought the craze over here, and now local stores sell Halloween decorations. You'll even see some houses and businesses all duded up for the Holiday. Some Belgians aren't too into it, though. They think it's a little too scary. They have Halloween parties and haunted corn fields here, but they don't trick or treat. Darn those healthy people!

Yesterday was fun-filled as well! Jess is off of school this week for Fall Break, so we went to the market at Peer for a morning of shopping! We went a little crazy at one booth selling beautiful scarves. (Scarves are VERY big here!) They were 3 for 10 Euro! Of course, that meant we had to get a few. We ended up with 6. I think that shows a great deal of restraint for the two of us. It could have been a lot worse! We had to stop off at Leonidas for some chocolate to restore our energy for more shopping. After picking up some dried pineapple and mango, speculoos cookies, a new purse, and some fresh vanilla waffles (shopping is hard work, so we had to refuel!!), we headed home. Jess got to relax for the rest of the afternoon, but I was off again. I had a class on how to make a Fall floral arrangement in a pumpkin. I've never done this sort of thing before, so I was a little hesitant about it, but it was a blast! I think it turned out pretty good, too. It was lots of fun getting together with the girls, sharing laughs, and making a big mess. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it all. I think it's time for more chocolate.