Happy Halloween!

  Something a little more fun...

Pumpkin carving with my Pumpkin!

  Sunday, Eric and I carved pumpkins. He claims to have not done this for 20+ years; but he certainly did a nice job, so I don't know. Maybe he HAS been practicing on the side?
  Here I am carving. Sam (the dog) was helping, well, maybe "supervising". He didn't really understand what we were doing. Clearly, he was thrilled.

   Hannah, carving. At least I knew Eric was taking this picture.

  Eric did the more traditional jack-o-lantern style.  Oooh, scary! Nicely done.

  This year is special. It was our first of many holidays "together"... and we will be married in 3 weeks! So, I opted for something a little different. Eric was watching me, concerned that the big part would just punch through, but I had a plan.... It's a heart. It says "H + E 11 12 11" - our wedding date. Plus a smiley face.

   Oooh, scary. That's more my "Pirate face," but it works with these, as well. Aaaarrrrrr, Matey!

  Hmmm. Where are the pictures of Eric? I was busy carving... and he was busy taking pictures. Ha.

  We carved pumpkins. I roasted the pumpkin seeds. I also used part of the pumpkin guts for Eric's birthday dinner later that night... any ideas what was on the menu?

What will YOU be for Halloween?

   Though I am usually some variation of a Pirate (Arrr, Matey!) , I decided to take a break from the roll as “Hellfire Hannah” this year… because this is a special year, indeed.  Earlier, I had asked Eric about his plans for Halloween. I wondered if he would want to do something “as a couple”. Well, he will actually be going into the field for one week, starting October 31^st. He did have plans to attend a costumed birthday party this past weekend, but at the time of our discussion, he did not yet know that I would in fact be here on the island with him. So, in the interest of keeping the surprise a secret, I told him we would have to have “our first Halloween together” next year… knowing full well that it would be THIS year. Tee he he.

  So I got here last Tuesday, took a few days to rest and adjust to the time difference… then asked again about ideas for our costumes.  Eric was thinking he would just be a “cereal killer” or something (mini boxes of ceral, with plastic knives all around them) or something – he doesn’t particularly like to get all dressed up for Halloween. We needed a good idea, something fun and not too expensive… and I wanted something we would do “together”.  Suggestions online were like Popeye and Olive Oil (I can do her voice, but am not quite thin enough to pull that off; though my Eric does have some massive arm muscles!) or even Fred and Wilma Flinstone – this also was not quite a fit for us. I thought about a tree or a giant for Eric, but didn’t like anything for me there.

    Knowing that Eric doesn’t like to dress up much, I thought about using things we already have… like Hawaiian clothing. We could be “tourists”, just put on a big camera and a funny hat… and then, like magic, it just kind of all came together. The more I thought about it, a big grin spread across my face . It was simple and genius, all at once. Fun and not too expensive… now, to just sell Eric on the idea…

    As I told Eric, he seemed hesitant because of the way I set it all up in the discussion. This way, it would seem much worse at the beginning, and he might be willing to do it… and he totally was willing. He went for it!  Saturday, while out and about… we got some poster board and quickly put together the main accessory. While we were out,  Eric also decided that I “needed” a flower for my hair, just to be more convincing. We considered using a real one… but I’m not fond of having to make sure all the little ants are off of something before I put it in my hair, so we went with a fake one. Eric was concerned that I wouldn’t have another key part to the outfit, but I did! Right in my suitcase, straight from Korea. Ha. I also still had the lei from when Theresa picked me up at the airport. (Thank you.)… so it was all coming together nicely.

   Here we are, first arriving to the party… can you figure out what we are?

Want some help?

  Hint #1: No, we are not dominos. It might have been more helpful if we each had all six sides on us, like if we cut out boxes to put our arms through… but you can get the idea with just two sides on each of us, right?

  Hint #2: You do not need to add the numbers. Which numbers are not as significant… just know that there are six sides, numbers 1-6. I took the 3 and 4, which are opposite… and Eric took the 1 and 6, which are always opposite. (and Eric is #1 in my heart!)

  Hint #3: Once you figure out that these are dice; think about it. There are two of us. What do you call that? (not a set, not a couple, but a ________ )

  Hint #4:  Okay, so now you know that part, but don’t forget – we are also decked out in Hawaiian gear. Eric has on a luau shirt with shorts and sandals. I have on a Hawaiian-print (yes, really from Korea) dress with a lei, sandals, and a flower behind my ear… so, this is not just Hawaiian-style, but also called _______.

             So you put it all together… a pair of dice, plus something from the tropics…

                   Say it together, in order, … tropical pair-a-dice,

                     Now faster… and we are a Tropical Paradise!

   Part of the fun was watching people try to figure out our costumes, but most people seemed to like it. One bright girl, dressed as a Unicorn, quickly picked up on the “paradise” part.  Many people thought we were dominos, and, as I looked back at the pictures, I can see why. Ha. Oops. We just didn’t want to do the full boxes around us for the dice. After we got ready to go, I went back and slipped a tank under this dress – it was just a bit too low for public. Turns out, even in a sun dress with a tank, we were still two of the most-clothed people at the party. I like to be covered for Halloween, and other days mostly. Ha.

   Even Eric had fun with this one. It was a creative way to remember our “first” of many Halloweens together. It was also easily removed for travel in the car and whatnot.

   Halloween has never been that big in my household. I do love the candy part, but we just always made it more fun and harvest-y with pumpkins and games together, not so much ghouls and blood and guts and such. I love that Eric and I are starting out the holidays in a fun, intriguing way... and I love that we are together in October this year.

   How will you celebrate Halloween this year? Be sure to celebrate with good friends and family; it's always sweeter that way!

  Oh, and actual Halloween is less than a week away... what are you going to be this year?