Happy Halloween

I am shocked to note that it has been almost a full year since I last updated this blog- I suspect that means we've been very busy living life in Australia, and not spending as much time reflecting on it!

This year, I was feeling nostalgic, so rather than carve a watermelon, as we have done for the past 3 years, I purchased an orange pumpkin (a "pumpkin" to Australians is what we Americans call a "squash") and Rick and the kids carved a proper jack-o-lantern. Lachlan has very proudly taken it to preschool this morning and it was given a place of honor on a display table with other Halloween-themed items. The children were fascinated to touch it!

We have once again stuck to our tradition of just taking the kids to trick or treat at the houses of our two neighbours, but we did get our first lot of trick or treaters this year. Trick or treating is certainly starting to take hold here, much to the delight of the young and seeming consternation of many of the adults who are not so keen on the rather ghoulish nature of the whole thing.

I must admit that I do understand some of their misgivings. When you grow up with memories of dressing like Raggedy Andy, a scarecrow and a "tacky tourist", and attending school costume parades and Sunday School Halloween parties, Halloween is about the innocent fun of dressing up and getting special treats. But when your introduction to the holiday is as an adult being bombarded by the demonic and ghoulish by the retail and media industries, why would you want to allow that to darken your culture and stain your children's upbringing?

Sticking to our family's tradition of keeping the costumes light and fun, we are happy to present...

Bam-Bam, Wilma and Pebbles

Cheers,

Anne