The Harvest Happenin'

On the way to the church, our very tired (due to her refusing to take a nap) Éva fell fast asleep in her car seat. Paul and I chuckled quietly and made some cracks to each other about how just the mere anticipation of a party was enough to tucker our girl out. Needless to say, it was a quiet ride to Kailua.

The plan was to meet up with my friend Annette and her son, Éva's friend, Christopher as well as a mutual friend, Mindy. Well, we arrived about 3o mintutes later than planned and were able to catch them as they returned to the parking lot from a quick trip on the trolley. Christopher and Éva greeted one another with a hug, as is their custom, grabbed hands and turned around to face the festivities in front of them. They obviously had no idea where to start.

Well, it's a good thing that Annette is a planner and a leader. She took Christopher's hand, who was still holding Éva's hand, and lead the way. Paul took his role as photographer for the evening and Mindy and I followed closely behind.

We did everything. From tossing little duckies into Mason jars (hoping NOT to win because the prize was a live gold fish...no thank you) to the turkey bowl where the kids got to roll a 2 lb frozen turkey towards a group of bowling pins. One of my favorite events of the evening was one where the kids had to scoop up some water with a ladle from a bucket, walk it over to a bottle and pour the water into the bottle. It was a race between two competing children and the first one to fill up their bottle was the winner. Well, Christopher took to his game very well. You could just see the determination on his face as he stuck his little tongue out the side of his mouth in pure concentration. Éva, on the other hand, didn't quite get the concept and proceeded to pour the water she had scooped up with the ladle all over her costume. Not a game winning strategy, but a great opportunity for cute pictures.

And of course, there was bobbing for apples. Only, for the toddlers (and any other person who may not get the drill of holding your breath under water and trying to bite an apple at the same time) the bobbing consisted of stabbing at the apples with a fork. Interesting to say the least, but Éva seemed to enjoy it.




We made the rounds, going to all the age appropriate booths for our 2 and 3 year olds and then it was time for Trunk or Treat. It's just as it sounds. It's trick or treating only the kids go to the trunks of people's cars instead of doorsteps. Well, it began to rain only minutes into it and so Izzy and I found shelter under the pavilion while Paul and Éva finished hitting up the backs of people's cars for candy. When they finally came to find me, it was obvious that our girls were tired and it was time to go. We loaded up and headed home.

Of course, Éva was pretty amped up on candy (she never gets it so imagine the sugar shock) so it was still a good hour after arriving home that she actually went to bed. Which turned out to be fine because Aunt Jacquie came over to hang out and watch a movie.

All in all, a successful Halloween I'd say. Full of candy, costumes and friends. Just the way it should be!