Charlie's blog: Halloween

This year's Halloween festivities have definitely proven that such holidays are a lot more fun and active when you have kids. We have participated in 3 Halloween events - usually Neal and I just sit at home and watch Halloween (the original with the screaming Jamie Lee Curtis) and eat candy. This year, we went to Zoo Boo at the Memphis Zoo, went to the Halloween themed Rock N Romp and actually participated (a little) on the eve of Halloween. But we still watched the first 45 minutes of Halloween after Charlie went to bed. We were too tired and sleepy to get through the entire movie before going to bed ourselves. How lame.

The Zoo Boo was fun for the brief moment that we were actually there. Charlie had a bit of a trying day - he was committed to staying awake ALL day! We decided we would risk it and go anyway. We hoped that his cute lion costume would keep him snug and he would fall asleep in the stroller. Well, let's just say that things did not go as planned. He screamed all the way to the zoo. "Well," we thought, "he's probably just hungry. We'll feed him when we get there." We fed him once we found my family, and he was somewhat happy for about 30 minutes. After dinner, we decided to walk around and trick-or-treat with my neices, Taylor and Morgan. Charlie screamed. We started our trek across the zoo and he continued to scream. Neal and I decided to separate from our family in hopes that we could keep a continual motion going with the stroller. That didn't work either, so we swiftly made our way directly to the car. Charlie continued to scream the entire drive home. Finally, once home in his pj's and on his favorite spot on the sofa, he slept. I wondered if all that screaming had something to do with trying to scare all the other children in honor of Halloween.

Breakfast at Brother Junipers (I just like this picture of us).

Our next fun outing was the Rock N Romp. Rock N Romp in Memphis is a "family friendly concert series showcasing fantastic local-area musicians and bands. Shows are held during the day in a relaxed, kid-safe environment. The volume might be low, but the music is designed for parents and kids both in mind. Kids enjoy the music, experiment with instruments, dance, or just enjoy the other activities available to them, and parents get the ever-so-rare opportunity to listen to great live music and enjoy a beer with other parents. Romps give parents who miss their social life a chance to get out, enjoy some music that might be new to them, and expose their kids to great bands in a safe, friendly environment. " The weather was gorgeous, the music was entertaining, and the beer tasted great!

Can I just say that our son was a complete angel for the entire 2 1/2 hours that we were there? That's not just the beer talking either! He was in awe of all of the kids running around in their costumes. He seemed to love listening to the live music. I really think he had a great time! He got a quick nap in on my shoulder for part of the event and actually woke up happy - even with all the noise! Charlie also made a new friend, Dominic, the son of Neal's co-worker, Paul. Charlie and Dominic seemed to enjoy spending long moments simply staring at each other. It was great! Sadly, the October 28 Rock N Romp was the last one of the season. But we definitely look forward to attending future romps in the spring!