Happy Halloween!

 Halloween 2019:  The year of the dinosaur and angel...

Also a bit of a milestone year as this is Jack's first "Store bought" costume since he was a newborn.  End of an era?  Or perhaps just a detour... he may be back on board with home-crafted costumes next  year.  He simply had his heart set on being an inflatable T Rex this year and we decided that was one battle we did not need to fight.  Especially because we didn't even have to actually buy the costume (thanks for the loan, Melinda!).  And, it turns out, having an inflatable dinosaur around is great entertainment.

Jack-as-T-Rex was the hit of Coventreat.  Comments and laughs left and right, and multiple requests to pose for pictures.  He had to duck to get through doorways, which was the funniest thing going.  He gave high fives to little kids, and only scared a couple of babies.

Felt a little bad for my sweet angel.  It's hard to complete with a 7 foot dinosaur, though she also got some costume accolades, one picture pose, and plenty of candy...

Then with no further ado it was off to Boulevard for the annual Spooktacular.  Sadly, after an hour of LOVING the attention on Conventry, our dino did not have a great time at the party.  He was bombarded by a group of little kids who thought that an inflatable costume needed to be hit and tackled and poor Jackie was completely overwhelmed and frustrated and ended up walking himself home.  My sweet, sensitive great big boy...

So, angel-girl had her chance to shine, handily winning the 4th grade division of the 2nd annual costume contest.  Otherwise known as mass chaos in a dark gym.   The kids LOVE the spooktacular,  which is a good thing because phew!  We were exhausted by the end of it...

Our weekend included a spontaneous and really fun chili-and-game night, the creation of a backyard forge, and some pumpkin carving, as well as a successful and crowd-pleasing visit to church by our favorite T Rex...

 And a trip downtown to see "Music Man," too!

The day of Halloween promised to be cold and rainy with a chance of snow, so we were pleasantly surprised by low-50's with a light mist.  It ended up being a perfect night for trick or treating, with plenty of wind to whip around the leaves and make it nice and spooky. The ill-fated dino made it about 4 houses down Somerton before realizing that an inflatable costume does NOT make for efficient begging.  So home he waddled for a quick costume change.  Reborn as a Jedi, he and Max were off and were the last to return at just about 8:00.  Ivy and I had a nice time just the two of us, freezing our fingers and exhausting ourselves in the hunt for candy (Ivy) and great decorations/ chatting with neighbors (mom).  We'd considered heading over to "Scare-borough" this year but I'm glad we stayed close to home because this is one of the nights where I just love our neighborhood so much...

Canyon of Wonders

When the Morehouse crew has a free weekend in October, and the leaves are just-about-peak, you can be sure we're going to go looking for adventure and beautiful views.

Found them both at Letchworth State Park.

This park, and all of its waterfalls, have been on our list for years now.  It is, after all, ALMOST right on our way to and from Farley's.  But it was always just far enough OUT of the way that we never took the time. 

Turns out, it more than deserved its very own trip.

The "Grand Canyon of the East" was magnificent. We started at the top of the  park and we were awed at our very first stop.

And it only got better from there.

At this overlook we took a detour and hiked all the way down to the river...

And then did it again at the next overlook.

I think we could have done the same for all 12 overlooks we stopped at from there on out... but we didn't because we'd set a goal to do the WHOLE PARK on this trip and gosh darn it there were more amazing views to see!

And terrific playgrounds to climb on...

And more amazing views...

I was more than a little jealous of this group of people, doing in up right with their casual circle of chairs and general air of ease.  It made me deeply nostalgic for the nowhere-else-to-be relaxation of a camping vacation.  Next time-- we rent a cabin in the park and make our own chair circle...

 Of course, no spontaneous Morehouse-day-of-adventure would be complete without a moment of two of low-blood-sugar induced exhaustion and despair.  Luckily ours hit just before we made it to Lower Lake Lodge, where there was a restaurant!  yay!  And also ALLLL of the other people in the park waiting in line for food at that restaurant!  Oh.....

But we made it through, and then made it to the waterfalls.

Niagara-like mist and glowing leaves and dapply clouds and oh my...

This place!

Magic everywhere you turn.

And that was before the balloons appeared.

Next time, a cabin AND a balloon ride! And a visit to the museum and the nature store and the amazing, time-out-of-time Inn with it's view of the middle falls and it's dreamy porch. And time to wander trails and really soak up the magic.  

16,000 steps later, two tired babies at the upper falls, ready to drive home into the night...

A good use of a free weekend, indeed.