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Another year, another fun Halloween. As always, he went on a field trip with his class to a Pumpkin Patch. This year, however, they went to a real farm, Bates Nut Farm, a little drive from San Diego. The kids had fun in the hay maze, they took hay rides, played and had a picnic. They, of course, also got to pick their own large pumpkin. Keegan had fun, but he missed the rides from the parking lot patch we usually go to. City kids!

hay rides

picking the perfect pumpkin

picnic

group photo

MBMA had more activities planned. First up, they held a Halloween contest (or two). All kids submitted a drawing, and the winner got to be printed on the special Halloween canvas bag. Keegan did not win, but here is his entry: a haunted barn, with jack-o-lantern pumpkins all around and a ghost coming out of the chimney

Of course, the most awaited event — for the kids at least — was the MBMA Halloween Carnival: a grueling (for the parents), 5+ hours event including a parade and a huge carnival, full of games and rides.

waiting for the parade

guess who’s who?

masks off

As always, the parade was adorable. It is always fun to see all the little kids walking around in their costumes. Despite the “no scary costumes” warning, there were plenty of gory masks, and not just in the big kids side. Keegan decided to be a Darth Vader…what else? It was a really warm day, but fortunately, plenty tents were provided to keep the kids in the shade, during the concert and parade.

getting ready for the parade

walking in the Room 12 parade

Right after all classes paraded in their cute outfits, it is off to the Carnival! For the bargain price of $25, the kids could access everything. Well, it is supposed to be a fundraiser for the school, even if I am not sure exactly where the money goes.

Keegan spent most of the time with his classmate Christopher. First up, the haunted house, courtesy of the big kids (6th grade), who set it up and maintained it. He was a little nervous at first, but loved it, and went back again and again.

The kids jumped from one attraction to the next: games, bouncies, challenges…

The petting zoo was a big hit again this year. Keegan got to pet and hold chicks, duckies, rabbit and even a piglet.

We couldn’t skip the treat, and during such a warm day, nothing is better than a cold, shaved iced, especially if it rainbow colored.

I got sucked in into volunteering at one of the booths for a whole hour, and Christopher’s dad took the boys around some more. They patiently waited in line for a pony ride. Well, it looks like it was worth it.

We finally made it home in the late afternoon, exhausted, just before Sue came by for dinner (see previous post).

This year, even Platt College, where I work, got in the spirit (no pun intended). How cool is this skeleton, sitting on the second story balcony?

The activities were not over yet…I did promised Keegan some rides, so, in the nick of time, October 29th, we headed up on the cheesy, parking lot pumpkin patch. Keegan behaved very well, even if the friend that was supposed to come with cancelled at the last minute. Maybe he was still excited about my presentation about Italy I gave to his class that afternoon. All the kids, actually, seemed pretty interested, and they all loved the story about The Giant of Barletta.

The Pumpkin Station seemed a lot less exciting (at least to me). Maybe one more year, and he will be too big for it…but he had a blast. The huge slide did not seemed quite as big anymore…

…and the train looked seriously puny.

Still, he wanted to try all the rides, including the goat petting enclosure, and had fun doing so. So why not?

I just wish they had something for the parents as well…as I was waiting for him to be done with his slides, my eye fell on a sign…please tell me they were being sarcastic.

Fun For Everyone????

We were getting close…the house was all decorated, and we had watched the obligatory The Nightmare before Christmas movie. We even had a Jack Skeleton Poster hanging in the hall.

The night before Halloween, we finally carved our pumpkin: we have learned our lesson the hard way. In San Diego, pumpkins do not last, once carved, more than a day or two. In fact, ours rotted promptly, two days after Halloween. This year Keegan chose a Vampire Pumpkin design, which fortunately, was pretty easy to carve.

Finally, Halloween Day arrived. Keegan donned his spookiest t-shirt and headed to school for a day full of fun. They played games and of course, carved their own pumpkin too.

It was difficult to wait, but it was finally time to go out and get some candy. As always, we went around with our neighbors, but first, we posed for pictures.

Matt stayed home to give candy to the trick or treaters…which were quite fewer than last year.

As every year, Keegan got lots and lots of candy…but we didn’t mind. We will do candy buy back on Monday.

And sure enough, on Monday afternoon, we dropped off our loot at the dentist’s office. Biggest payback yet: $9! We contributed our candy as well, but Keegan’s own candy left-over was more than 4lb! We donated $2 to charity, and Keegan had a few dollars to add to his piggie bank.

With Halloween behind us, we are now starting our crazy race to the end of the year…Thanksgiving, birthday, Christmas and all related activities make days goes by so fast. I can’t say I am really looking forward to the associated stress, but Keegan’s excitement and joy, somewhat make up for it, at least a bit. Ready? Set! Go!!!!

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