Halloween in New England

Hello!

If you consider the location of our group of states, we are pretty far north in the United States.  Question of the Day: which states are included in New England?  (Go ahead, list all six from memory! And DON'T google it... I won't give you the answer until the end.)

DECENT WEATHER.  It is possible to get ANY type of weather here, on Halloween night.  Snow, sleet, wind, heavy rains, c-o-l-d temperatures. Last year it was Hurricane Sandy, and some towns officially postponed their trick-or-treating.  But this year...we lucked out!  Yep, it was relatively mild (temperatures in the 50's?) and only a little sprinkling of rain.

MINIONS. Kara and a few friends decided on being 'minions,' from the movie Despicable Me.  They found a Do-It-Yourself video on Youtube, to learn how to make these costumes.  They were really cute.  And Kara went down to the last detail, including gloves, goggles, and borrowing just the right boots.

I'm including pictures, of Kara and the whole group.

These girls wanted to be minions, and another part of the "group" wanted to be superheroes, and others were Patriot cheerleaders.

There were about 15 who went out together that night.  Yes, they are in the 8th grade.  I have decided that "Halloween" is not about the candy.  It's about having a reason to plan and create costumes, get together and socialize.  Any excuse for a party, right! :)

FANCY FINGERNAILS. Oh, and I can't forget Kara's nails.  Remember how I said you can learn how to do anything on Youtube?  Well, these "Minion Fingernails" were also taught in a video.  Very cute and funny!

(Yes, one might wonder: should someone, in fact, spend an hour doing their nails?  Well, I personally shouldn't. But I just can't bring myself to discourage her.  In a few short years Frank and I will be staring at each other on Halloween night saying, "Sure wish the kids were here, scrambling around for costume accessories and entertaining us!")

So we let our middle-schoolers and yes, even our high-schoolers dress up and trick-or-treat.  And if older kids come to our door, we also give them candy!

REFEREE. Teresa also went out with a friend--she was a referee (??!? yes, well, she actually IS a referee, so she already had the "costume.")  I didn't get a photo of them but she was wearing what you think a referee should be wearing.

RED SOX AT HOME.  I can't finish the post without a plug for the Red Sox winning the World Series! It was a big deal. The game ended at 11:30 p.m.  People stayed on the Fenway field until 3:00 a.m.  They had a parade Saturday.  It was a good boost for Boston.  Not that they haven't won the World Series something like 3 times in the last decade, but they did it at home this year.  With the Boston Marathon bombings last April, groups and individuals all over Boston have been doing lots of special things to show unity and support to the people who live here.

Here are the headlines after the win:

"Boston Strong" is a common slogan since the bombings last April.

So there you have it!  I better sign off.  Have a great week, and Happy November!

Love, Kari

P.S. QUIZ ANSWER: The 6 states of New England are: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island.  How'd you do?