Pre-trick-or-treating

Our neighbour Miss J recently got a job as a STEM teacher at an elementary school and this week she did a whole bunch of spooky science experiments. She texted me yesterday to say that she had some supplies left over and invited the kids to come hang out in her garage to do some of the experiments she did with her kids. Mostly she had some dry ice left over and wanted to do some carbon dioxide bubbles with the kids (since dry ice doesn't keep too well). 

So here are the kids making carbon dioxide bubbles:

So many fingers eager to pop!

It has been chilly, chilly, chilly lately—and wet and drizzly and miserable. But today we have lovely weather, which the kids are excited about since today is "Cheeky Cheating" day (as Phoebe says). Today on our walk Benjamin found one of the last remaining joros of the season (most have died already and the rest will die soon, I'm sure). Here he is playing with it on a stick:

And letting it walk on his hand:

Our fall colours were quite the disappointment this year. I know I was just complaining about how miserably drizzly this week has been, but the truth is that September and October were both very dry months for us. Last year we had over 12 inches of rain in September. This year we had 0.16 inches. 

October was honestly little better (though it looks like last year we got no rain in October and...I don't particularly remember it feeling so dry—perhaps because we had ample (12") rain in September).

Anyway, I feel like the drought has been affecting the vibrancy of the leaves this year because it simply hasn't been very vibrant. But we've got a few good trees around the neighbourhood.

The kids woke up each other early this morning (except for Phoebe who was—guess where!—in my bed) to get started on their school work. They did science. They did math. They did history. They practiced the piano. They did language lessons. I read them a poem by Emily Dickinson One Need Not be a Chamber — to be Haunted which includes these chilling lines about the horrors of being left alone with one's thoughts: "Far safer, through an Abbey—gallop— / The Stones a’chase— / Than moonless—One’s A’self encounter—/  In lonesome place— // Ourself—behind Ourself—Concealed— / Should startle—most—"

And the kids wrote some Halloween poetry. We baked a bajillion cookies for Alexander's baptism tomorrow, went for a walk to move a package for some friends who are out of town, but had a parcel delivered and didn't want it sitting on their front porch on Halloween night, and then got ready to carve our pumpkins. 

Andrew picked up two large pumpkins and several small pumpkins at the store. One of the big pumpkins, unfortunately, met an untimely demise and was rotting from the bottom up by the time we tried to carve it, so Benjamin planned out a murder scene.

Benjamin is our kitty's favourite human. She happily sat beside him, lounging in the sunshine while he carved his pumpkin...but she skedaddled when all the other kids came to carve their pumpkins.

Phoebe was rather tolerant about the slime this year, though she was adamant about washing her hands when she was finished. She struggles with certain consistencies...

Speaking of which, when we were making Spritz cookies this morning, I messed up a form and just...scooped it off the tray and handed it to Alexander. "Oh, yum!" he said, popping the dough into his mouth. 

Phoebe decided she wanted some cookie dough as well, so when I messed up another form, I scooped the dough off the cookie sheet and handed it to Phoebe, who tried it and...then rolled it about...licked it several times...left it on the floor...picked it up again...rolled it about...gave it a nibble...gagged.

"Phoebe," I said, "Are you going to eat that or what?"

"Eat it?" she gulped. "Mom! It's *gag* not even *gag* cooked!"

"Just throw it away, then," I said. 

"Throw it away?!"

"Literally no one wants that bit of dough anymore," I told her. 

So, apparently she can't eat raw cookie dough (which may be for the best since it's not advisable to consume raw cookie dough...but...then why is it so good, am I right?). Pumpkin guts gives her the same gaggy feeling, but she muscled through it.

Miriam is in the middle of a big project, but she came outside for a minute to help with pumpkins.

Here's Benjamin with one of the big pumpkins:

Here's Alexander carving his little guy:

Here's Phoebe and Zoë hard at work:

Here's Phoebe's finished face (delightfully paired with her own...sweet...face):

Here's Benjamin's murder scene:

And here are all the pumpkins together:

I need to go find candles and things! And get kids into costume! And get dinner into their many little bellies before they go hog wild on candy!

At least this year Andrew is home and I don't have class. Last year Rachel and Miriam did Halloween on their own. Phew! It's a lot of work pulling this holiday off!