Halloween is Over

(Thank Goodness!)

Halloween was crazy this year. The weather was unseasonably warm and daylight savings time kept the sun from going down an hour earlier. We had a record number of trick-or-treaters, approx. 350-400 based on the candy we didn't have left over.

I got the inside of the house cleaned and decorated just in time. MaryAnne was a lifesaver and tackled the mountains of junk mail and other "stuff" that had taken over my kitchen counter top. Most of it ended up in a box and was stashed away for me to find in a few months.

I dressed up as a sassy Pirate Lady, and Gene was, as usual, Frankenstein--complete with "mini me" this year. All the kids just love Frankenstein.

Angie and Roy and their little dog, Molly, surprised us with a quick trip from Las Vegas. They had been planning this trip for a few weeks, and we were certainly surprised when they came "trick-or-treating" at our door.

My parents and of most of my family and their kids made it to see our crazy house this year. I fixed a big pot of Taco Soup served with Frito's, grated cheese, and sour cream. We had a veggie tray to snack on as well as Orange Cheetos served in a black cauldron. My sister made a graveyard cracker and veggie dip tray, and my mom brought some bloody fingers--complete with fingernails and bloody stumps--she also made a few toes this year.

I didn't get pictures of everyone and everything. In fact, I didn't take any pictures on Halloween night. I had MaryAnne take a few with my camera, so that is why she in not in any on them. And Zachary is mysteriously absent from all the pictures. What to 17-year-old boys do on Halloween? Maybe I don't want to know. . .

And that, my friends, is the end of Halloween 2008.

The Flying Witch

Yesterday, was a beautiful October Saturday. We spent most of the day outside setting up more Halloween stuff. We even got the flying witch set up. Usually we don't put her up until the day before Halloween because she is a "fair-weather" witch, meaning that if the weather is windy or rainy or, heaven forbid, snowy, she is just no fun to have on top of the roof. But the weatherman says clear skies ahead, so up she went.

When we got her down from the garage rafters, she was Broken! Watch this little slideshow to see how we got her all fixed up and ready to fly this year.

This is the tenth year we have flown the witch. The first year was right after Gene had back surgery. He was bored at home recuperating, so he and a friend dreamed up the crazy flying witch contraption. And yes, he climbed up on the roof that first year, just 2 months after his surgery!

The Halloween Decorating Continues. . .

This is when I start to go crazy! We drag out all the boxes of Halloween crap and dump it out all over the house. Every year, there are always a few more headstones to paint, skeletons to assemble, ghosts to hang, dummies to re-stuff; you know, the usual. It always seems to take forever to get everything all tidy and lookin' good for the big day.

Watch this to see what else we do. . .

Don't y'all wish you lived at my house???

The Halloween Process has Begun. . .

The other night, when I got home from work, Gene had started setting up the Halloween mess. I inwardly groaned, then ran inside to get the camera so I could take pictures to share. I was finally able to get Zachary to show me how to get the pictures "out" of the camera and "into" the computer. Setting up the headstones is just the first step. We will add a little bit each day, until Halloween, then we put it all away.

Setting Up the Headstones

I need to figure out how to speed up my blog--I think all of these slide shows are "blogging" it down.

Halloween at Our House

Everyone who knows us, knows that we go nuts at Halloween. I don't remember why or even when it all started, but our Halloween display has grown in leaps and bounds over the years.

It all started at least 12 - 15 years ago, when we thought it would be fun to make a few dummies out of old clothes and masks. That year, during the month of October, it wasn't unusual for these dummies to appear in different locations throughout my house. Gene would move them around when I was gone, and I was always frightened when I stumbled upon them in the strangest places.

That first year, on Halloween night, Gene made a hangman's noose and hung one of the dummies from our roof. Our Halloween display has evolved into quite an ordeal since then. We have a cemetery with headstones for all our friends and neighbors, coffins, music, ghosts, lights, and even a witch flying around the house on Halloween night.

This year I thought I would try to take pictures and share all the different things we do to spook up our house. So look for more Halloween posts coming soon.

Halloween 2007

These are the only pictures I could find of Halloween 2007. (Some of them are really dark and hard to see) It looks like I just took pics inside.

This year I plan to take pics and document the whole Halloween process at our house. . . Stay tuned for more!