Pumpkin Pals

We've had a very busy week and we hadn't carved our pumpkins for Halloween. I went out early to buy pumpkins and found the stores near our house were sold out. So I called around and found a store which had some but didn't expect them to last long. I headed there right away. The pumpkins they had left were huge, so I picked the two smallest ones which were much larger than what we usually get. But I was happy just to have pumpkins to carve.

Marina was also surprised at the size of the pumpkins, but she was excited to carve them. As usual, we had Disney designs for our pumpkins. We chose the Cheshire Cat and Olaf from Frozen. Marina would have rather done Alice in Wonderland or Anna and Elsa, but we didn't have stencils for those.

Marina and I worked together to clean out the pumpkins. She started on Olaf and I worked on the Cheshire Cat. We switched and I ended up carving the eyes and Marina did the mouths. She also did a great job on Olaf's nose. Ultimately we were happy with our pumpkins!

Welcome to the Family!

After losing Melanie, our family cat, last month Marina has been anxious to get a new pet. It took me a bit longer to be ready to move on. Today is National Cat Day, so our local shelter was offering a special on cat adoptions. So we went this afternoon to check it out.

I didn't tell Marina we were going until we were in the car. She was so excited she used the GPS on my phone to locate the shelter. Then she excitedly announced as we got closer.

When we arrived there weren't many kittens available. So we took a look at all the cats they had. As we were walking through, we saw a black kitten with green eyes staring at us. So we made a note to find out more about her. The shelter had named her Dance and she came from the home of a hoarder. She had a respiratory infection and was listed as not social. We decided to meet her.

Dance was brought into the room where we were waiting. She came immediately out and checked us out. She allowed both Marina and I to hold her and she purred in our arms. At one point she even climbed onto my shoulder and cuddled next to my face. We considered seeing additional cats, but we learned another family was interested in meeting Dance, so we quickly decided we couldn't risk losing her and decided to adopt her.

The kitten was surprisingly quiet in the car ride home. We discussed possible names for her. Marina suggested Evanora - one of the witches from Oz the Great and Powerful. Naming a black cat after a witch seemed logical. Later she said she liked Jasmine. We put them together to make Jasmine Evanora. I think that is what we are leaning towards now.

 Once we arrived and let her out and she immediately started to explore everywhere her tiny body would fit. Marina was dying to play with her and despite my cautions she got out the laser pointer and got her to chase it for a while.

Having a kitten around will be quite an adjustment, but we're looking forward to it!

The Book of Life

 Marina has wanted to see the movie The Book of Life since before it opened in theaters. October has been pretty busy for us so we finally were able to see it today, the first day of Marina's fall break.

Our friend Chantel had the day off from work, so we invited her along. We decided to see the movie at a theater where we could eat lunch as we watched. Marina brought her Anna doll along.

When we arrived at the theater we discovered it had undergone a renovation. The seats were much more comfortable and the view of the screen was better too. Marina and I ordered our favorite food and we settled in to watch the movie.

The storyline was based on Mexican mythology, something I don't know much about. Ultimately it was about family, love and good versus evil. The story revolved around the Day of the Dead holiday which is just a few days after Halloween. So we learned something about Mexican history and culture as well. We all enjoyed it.

Frozen Symphony

Marina and I had such a fun time at the Symphony's Halloween Spooktacular concert last year, that we were looking forward to going again this year. We wanted our costumes to coordinate, so I wore my Elsa costume again and Marina dressed as Anna. She wore the beautiful green coronation dress that a friend bought at Disney World for her. I even attempted to recreate the intricate bun Anna had in her hair. Marina hated the process but she was pleased with the result. I finished it off with a white streak, gold sparkles and green ribbons. Marina also brought her baby Anna plush doll as well.

We had a bit of a rush to get from church to the symphony, but we manage with 10 minutes to spare. Our seats were really good this year. We settled in and admired the rest of the costumes we saw.

The concert was very entertaining this year. We were surprised when the conductor came out in a suit - the musicians were all in costume. The first piece was music from the movie Spiderman. When it was nearly over, the conductor opened his shirt to reveal the Spiderman costume underneath. By the end of the music he had completed the transformation. We gave him a loud ovation.

The rest of the music was just as fun. We got to judge the best costumes in the orchestra. We got to participate in the music from Beetlejuice and Ghostbusters. The program ended with the theme from Star Wars, which created excitement with the kids. On the way out, each child was given a bag with candy and other goodies. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

Monster High at Mile High

We weren't able to attend the Broncos Bunch Trick or Treat Party last year, so we were looking forward to going this year. Marina wore her Laguna Blue costume but she didn't want to wear her wig today, so today I sprayed blue in her hair instead. I think she was more comfortable that way.

The party was more crowded than the last time, so we had a lot of waiting in lines. We admired other kids' costumes and got to know other people in line. The route took us through the visitor's locker room, onto the playing field, through the maintenance facilities, the press room and the Broncos' locker room. Along the route, Marina collected candy from the many booths along the way. We also ran into monsters of all kinds. Marina didn't seem to mind at all.

Once we finished the tour through the stadium, we took pictures in front of replica lockers and looked over some of the other activities. We saw Miles, the mascot but we were not able to get a picture with him. Marina was disappointed by that.

Usually Marina enjoys the inflatable play area, but there wasn't much going on there. We looked over some of the monuments outside the stadium. By then Marina was ready to leave.

Monster Night at the Zoo

This year, our schedule is very full with Halloween activities, so we decided to go to the Zoo trick or treat in the evening rather than the weekend. Marina wore her Laguna Blue costume and I dressed as Elsa from Frozen. It was very clear from the start I was dressed in the most popular costume of the year. We saw Elsas all throughout the zoo tonight.

Despite being in the evening, the zoo was almost as crowded as when we attended last year. We had to wait in line to get in and for every activity and trick or treat station. But that didn't dampen our spirits. We enjoyed looking at all the other costumes and Marina collected a pretty big bag of candy.

We were surprised and excited to find Sleeping Beauty and Belle near the carousel. They graciously posed for pictures with both of us. What a fun surprise that was!

Most years we walk the entire route through the zoo. But tonight everything seemed to take longer and we were both tired. So we left before we made it to all the trick or treat stations. But it was still a fun night.

Pumpkin Festival Fun

We had so much fun at last year's Pumpkin Festival that we were excited to go again this year. Marina wanted to wear her Halloween costume. This year she is dressing like Laguna Blue from Monster High. The weather was beautiful today, so that must have contributed to the huge crowds were encountered on our way in.

We took a hay ride from the parking lot to the festival - the perfect way to start the day. Marina wanted to check out the pumpkin patch first. She was amazed at the variety and size of the pumpkins they had.

Next we looked at some of the vendor booths, Marina does love to shop! She picked up a water bottle and a lip balm from some of the tables we stopped at.

Marina was eager to have her face painted. Fortunately the line wasn't too long this year. She had blue flowers painted on her face.

Next we headed to the inflatables for some fun. Marina tried out the slides and obstacle courses before going to her favorite, the giant jumping pillow.

We found a nice grassy spot for lunch where a bluegrass band was playing. When we finished eating we tried out the giant Jenga games set up nearby. Another family joined us and we all enjoyed seeing how tall we could get the tower.

Before heading out, Marina got a balloon animal. She got a piranha which was very well made. We were very tired by that point, so we took another hay ride back to the parking lot and headed home.