Happy Halloween

So tonight for Halloween we started out doing the traditional trick-or-treating. James stayed home to man the door while Ethan and I went out. We started at Ethan's teacher's house (impressive that she encourages the kids to come to her house :) He had a blast. Then we trapsed around our street, where Ethan decided that he wanted to go with the "herd" (his word!). He got an impressive take and was back home enjoying his spoils when the night took an unexpected turn. As the kids continued to come by for candy, Ethan got increasingly more into it. At first he was excited to open the door (in fact he was the only one who was supposed to open the door). Then he decided to sit on the porch (not terribly unusual - other folks in the neighborhood do it). When we started running low on candy he went and took some (lots actually) out of his own pile to give away. Finally, just sitting on the porch waiting wasn't cutting it, so he actually took the bowl of candy to the edge of the driveway on the curb and with his whistle and his blinking pumpkin (that he got somewhere along the way) he was whistling and flagging kids down to give them candy. At one point he actually was running after some kids to make sure that they got some. He even tried to give candy to a chagrinned dad (who politely turned him down). He gave away most of the candy and had a blast. I think that the giving part was actually more fun for him than the trick-or-treating. Eventually we had to drag him inside (which was a little easier because James' friend from work had stopped by with his wife and daughter). Obviously we had a fun, if unusual, Halloween. Oh yeah - he was Darth Vader :)

Painting Pumpkins

On Saturday our neighborhood had a Pumpkin Patch with a pumpkin painting event. Ethan and I participated together. We didn't win any prizes, but we enjoyed the artistic process. Here is our pumpkin (mostly done by the boy himself). It is a cool cat for Halloween. As you can see, he is quite into the "scary" spirit of the thing (well, that is as long as he's the one doing the scaring :) )

A little aid at the AIDS walk

Before

After

On Sunday, Ethan and I participated in the Austin AIDS Walk. Originally it was just going to be me, but Ethan suckered me into letting him walk too. Well, walk may be a too strong a word - I did a lot of carrying on this one, but we did make it to the end. It was going a bit poorly until Ethan found this really cool rock (which he brought home and painted). The rock even enjoyed some water (it got a bath) at one of the water stations. He did ask me why we were walking for AIDS, so I got to tell him about a disease that makes people of all ages sick and that some die. He was very happy to help raise money for finding a cure. We were proud to walk with my friend Velma who was walking in honor of her Uncle Bruce who died from HIV 10 years ago and his partner Rodger who is still fighting the disease. We weren't the absolute last walkers, but let's just say we could see the rearguard police car :) It's not so important how you finish...just that you finish. And of course, it's just nice to know that you can finish. He says he may sit the next walk out, but I'm sure he'll have other plans when the subject comes up :)

Fire Station Field Trip

Ethan took his first field trip today (and I had my first field trip as a mom). We walked to the Sam Bass Fire Station. The kids had a great time listening to the fire fighters and seeing all the cool gear. Ethan was really excited about getting to explore the backseat of the cab of the firetruck. Most kids walked through pretty quickly, but Ethan (who has long wanted to be a fireman) made sure to sit in all the seats and look at the the nifty stuff. The kids enjoyed a special treat when they were invited into the upstairs part of the fire station (which I have been told hasn't happened before). We got to see the kitchen/living room area as well as the classroom, where firefighters prepare themsleves to better keep the community safe. One of my favorite parts was when one of the firemen showed the kids the bookshelf with manuals on it. In one voice the class let out an "ooooh" over the books that eclpipsed their excitement over anything else (including the jaws of life, the axes, the fireman in full gear, and the firetruck itself). I guess you never know just what will capture the imagination of kindergarteners :) I have decided that the men of the Sam Bass Fire Department are among the bravest I've ever met - they openned the floor allowing questions and comments from 30 some odd five year olds and lived to tell about it!

Flaming Tigers Win :)

Ethan and his kickball cohorts won their first game today. Usually the game ends up tied because the teams switch after scoring 3 runs a piece and the game just goes on until the time is up. Today, Ethan's team actually got 3 outs before the other team scored their 3 runs in one inning, so they won! (Very exciting) The best part is watching Ethan and his teammates wrestling for the ball - maybe he's more ready for football than I imagined! James stepped in a pitched (read rolled the ball) for the team to kick. He did well in his first kickball game :) I helped the team line up to kick and Gran E helped keep score. All in all, it was an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday morning!