Happy Halloween!

I love this holiday. I love watching the little kids in their costumes going door to door trying to outdo each other on the amount of candy they receive. I love the little ones that announce who they are the minute you answer the door, "Hi! I'm Snow White!" I can't wait to be a mom just so I can dress my little one up and take him or her out trick or treating.

Some of my fondest memories as a kid are on Halloween. On this crisp, cold, Utah night my grandma would always prepare us grandkids our own little bag of treats especially from her. They were always in these little white paper bags with black ghosts on them. She always had her house decorated and lived to see us kids. My grandpa could always be found sitting in his recliner pretending he wasn't interested, but the joy in seeing us was written all over his face, no matter how engrossed in his westerns he wanted us to think he was. He always came across as such an ornery old man, but he was one of the sweetest people I have ever known and he loved me. His birthday is today. Happy Birthday grandpa, I love and miss you. I wish you were here to celebrate, or to watch a western, whichever you prefer.

As I sit here writing this, I am being flooded with memories. I love when I start typing and the words just start to flow. Forgive me if I ramble, some of things I am writing are things that I never want to forget, like walking through my grandma's neighborhood, visiting all of her friends who knew my mom when she was young. After that, we would go to my great aunt Dorothy's and she would always have homemade suckers for us. My favorites were cinnamon and root beer. Those suckers were delicious! Every year trick or treating was like a family reunion, so full of love and good times. Sometimes small towns can bring you down, but in other ways, they bring things in to your life that those in the city could never imagine. Everything is a big deal in small towns, holidays always have parades, carnivals, etc., and everyone knows everyone. It's intimate and fun.

I remember one year my mom dressed me up as a present. She got a big box, wrapped it, cut holes in it for my arms, painted my face to match the wrapping paper, and put tons of bows in my hair. That costume was so cute, but the bruises I had on the backs of my legs after walking up and down stairs all night will never be forgotten! That box would hit the back of my legs nearly stopping me on the stairs, but I got so many compliments on that costume and my mom was so proud, what was I supposed to do? I wish I could post a picture here. I really need to move with the times and get a scanner. Old school pictures are the best!

Anyway ... I'm going to end this ramble. I hope you all are having a great Halloween. I envy those of you who have little ones. Maybe one day I will have some of my own. Until then, I will spoil yours!

I also want to make a shout out to my great grandma Alloween. That's right, her name is Alloween. I bet you can't guess why. Yup, she was also born today and was a wonderful, wonderful lady. She always told my mom that if she named any of her kids after her, she would come back to haunt us. It's all right grandma, mom has kept her word. We love and miss you. Happy Birthday to you too! xoxoxoxox