Prep For Going Out Of Town

Ben stayed home and took care of our dog when we made our quick trip up to Coeur d'Alene last weekend.  In prep for that, he and I set up his medication to make it easier for him.  It worked great and he managed everything well while we were gone. Life is hard for him, but he tries hard to manage all that he must to function.

 

Election Day 2024

 I meant to go outside and get a picture with both of our flags flying on Election Day.  I took this shot out of Gary's office window and you can barely see the one posted on the parkway strip.  It was good to see other flags flying on this important day.  Despite individual differences in political issues, the goal is for the whole of our nation to be protected and for all men, women, and children to have opportunities for dignity, education, and to grow up in a safe community.  May we each do our part to make that a reality in our own small ways.  And be sure you vote!!

Hall Halloween Traditions

As I thought about coming home to Utah, I spent some time wondering what things I wanted to do or be involved in, what traditions were important, and what things I wanted to change.  A move is a time to rethink things and decide what to leave behind and what to continue.

The Hall Halloween tradition of chili and scones was one of those things.  This has been going on for over 50 years--give or take some years.  Gary's grandparents would come to the Halls' home and the cousins who lived near by would come over for chili and scones to show off their Halloween costumes to Grandma Brown.  It started before we were married but not sure exactly when.  As the next generation began having kids, our children came to show their costumes and have chili and scones as well (when we lived nearby that is.) and especially in the 26 years we have been back to Utah.  After many years at Gary's parents house, it moved to Valerie and Allan's, and then when it became too much for Valerie, it moved to our house (along with her treasured chili recipe.)  I think we have done it here since 2011 or 2012.  Of course, we haven't done it since 2019--due to Covid and then our missions.

Since one half of our grandkids live out of state and because our house was basically empty, I thought we would skip it for sure this year and maybe stop it all together.  Of course, we could still go trick-n-treating with Jessica's kids, but maybe not make it a big deal with the gathering at our house for the chili and scones. Then when Jessica said they want to come to Syracuse for trick-n-treating, I started thinking we should have something to eat afterwards--so I texted Jessica and asked her if her kids would like scones.  She responded that she didn't know about her kids, but she LOVED scones. Then I knew we had to have scones--and later, added canned chili that Jessica and Elessia brought.

It is a funny thing about traditions--as we sat in the kitchen with chili and scones even with our small group--it seemed right somehow.  Jessica and Elessia had a friend there with her son, so we talked about this tradition and she loved it--to have something that your kids could remember from childhood and to build memories around.  I could see how meaningful it seemed to Jessica as well to share a piece of this with her kids even without the other cousins there.

The best moment was later when everyone was gone except for us (Gary, Ben, Jena, and I.)  Ben came up to me and said, "Thanks, Mom. I liked it." as he also felt the connections to Halloweens past by simply eating chili and scones together on this holiday.

So, chili and scones on Halloween will remain on the calendar for as long as I can make chili and scones--and next year, we will make a big pot of Aunt Valerie's chili.  It is the right thing to do!

Next up--do we do our "Halls Adult Almost Annual Christmas Party"?  Except for the last four years and one or two years when we had sicknesses, we started this tradition in 1991.  Do we resume it or not?  I do have the famous lizard!

Happy Halloween-Hall Style

I had assumed that Jessica and Elessia would want to take the kids trick-n-treating in their new neighborhood, but they wanted to come back to our neighborhood.  The streets in their neighborhood are not well lit at all.

So we got five of our sweet grandkids all dressed up at our house----

Liam

Alex

Zander a bit blurry but the only picture of just him

Carter-- The Monkey Pirate

Ezri--Mary's little lamb

The group plus a friend, Jude---

Sites as we went around the neighborhood---

Spooky eyes plus lots of other Halloween stuff in this yard

Some people go all out to celebrate....

Back at the house we found out that an empty room is a lot of fun for kids.  They were doing somersaults, flips, and rolling around.  Jena joined in the fun.

Checking on Zander....

We had canned chili and scones--as per tradition plus fruit.  Liam loves scones!

We facetimed with Tosha's family, but Scott's family was out too late to take a phone call.  They all had fun Halloweens as well.

James and Scarlett

Niki, Ava, and Cooper

We probably only had 10-15 groups of trick-n-treaters---a big drop from our early years in the neighborhood.  Some young families are starting to move in, so perhaps it will increase in the upcoming years.

It is a weird holiday, but it is part of the stuff childhood in America includes....memories!