Suesses oder Saeures!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

We had a delightful fall and a very Happy first Halloween here in Germany. It started with a trip for Claudia's class out to a working farm/pumpkin patch. I was able to accompany her as a Chaperone. It was a fun but exhausting day for the kids. The main reason for attending this particular one was because every year the farm puts together a big theme and builds it all out of pumpkins. This year it was Noah's Ark. It was amazing not only that they were able to construct all these animals out of pumpkins and gords, but the variation in color of the pumpkins! I thought they had been painted until I saw the crates full of them.

The Ark itself was breathtaking! It really allowed one to imagine the real one that Noah built and gave the children something to not only see but touch and therefore identify better with the Bible Story. Many questions came out of this trip...I love the mind of a child! :) The kids had the opportunity to see and pet several different animals, play on a playground, bounce on the giant bubble, etc...I could go on, but I won't. It was so much fun I wanted to make sure to take Paige there as well--so last Tuesday we loaded up with one of my girlfriends and her two girls and headed back to the farm. The kids were on fall break so were were able to take our time, but with the time change it got dark fast! So our evening ended a little earlier than we anticipated, but was still able to see what we had intended and enjoyed sharing the time with friends.

Then it was time to get ready for Halloween. Paige's school hosted a "Spooky Disco" the Wednesday before the break. She dressed as a witch for the dance, but then opted to change her mind for Trick or Treat. The teachers did a fabulous job with the kids for the disco--they had a BALL!!

For the actual Trick or Treat night, Claudia decided she wanted to wear Paige's witch costume, Paige went with the Black Cat idea, and Brooke lucked into Grammy sending her an adorable witch costume as well. Perfect for her, since she is going through the stage where she wants to be just like Paige or Claudia. Cute yes, but sometimes causes her mommy the trouble of having to be creative on a daily basis. We wouldn't want to upset her or "break her spirit" as Grammy would put it! :)

On Halloween night, we were pleasantly surprised at the number of Trick or Treaters out in our neighborhood! It was adorable when they would come to the door and say "Susses odor Saures" literally sweets or sours--but of course we would be saying "Trick or Treat". So after doing a little trick or treating around here, we met up with 2 other families from Craig's office in the "American neighborhood" and went up and down that street seeing lots of familiar people, collecting candy and sharing some with them. It was lots of fun, because this is where EVERYBODY brings their kids that are American--but trust me--lots of German kids come there too, in hopes to collect a large amount of American candy.

After a fun, chilly night out with friends, we made our way back to the house, put on pajamas and cuddled up on the couch. We were able to watch a couple of Halloween cartoons and then off to bed they went. No amount of sugar was going to bother them that night. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to answer the doorbell and to have all my nieces and nephews standing there!

I've attached a smilebox for you to view easily here. Enjoy!