Halloween 2014

Beckie came to Columbia on Wednesday before Halloween.  So exciting!  I prepared the room she would be staying in by trimming the crazy spider plant that was threatening to take over.  I have
never seen a spider plant send out tendrils like this, have you?
 

 

It was so fun to have her here.  She took this photo of me and the dogs. 

The dogs all loved having her here.

 

 Thursday morning, Sarah, Beckie and I enjoyed a walk in autumn loveliness on the nature trail behind our neighborhood.   

 

 

We ate BBQ from Lonnie Rays one night and Beckie cooked amazing roast chicken another night. 

Beckie wanted me to help her perfect her cake decorating skills so we created a “sincere” gluten-full and a gluten-free cake/pumpkin patch for Linus to await the Great Pumpkin.

 

We drove back to St. Louis Friday afternoon to be a part of the Southerland’s Halloween fun.  

 Quinn is a train engineer and Lucy, the owl, is blowing on a wooden train whistle.  She called Quinn "train boy"

 

 Noah is "Ender" from his favorite game, Minecraft.

 And look who drove over from Indiana!  

Steve and I returned to Columbia that night but Beckie and Julina stayed over so they could watch Noah’s soccer game Saturday morning.

Saturday afternoon, the Columbia Civic Orchestra stretched Halloween to another day with their Post-Halloween Concert.  I was a cello, using a costume I made YEARS ago, and my cello was a person.  Can you see the tuning-peg hat I am wearing?  And notice that my cello has yellow braids.

 

 By then,  Julina, Beckie, and the Southerlands had arrived at the house and Steven, Julina, Beckie, Noah, and Melanie all attended the performance.  We played some great music - Danse Macabre, Night on Bald Mountain, the March to the Scaffold and Witches Sabbath from Berloiz Symphony Fantastique, an overture from a 19th century vampire opera, and the funeral march from Beethoven's 7th symphony.  Five days later and I still can't get those tunes out of my head!

It was also a Stake Conference weekend so Steve couldn’t attend the concert due to meetings.  After the Sunday session, we all gathered at the house for a meal and as much visiting as we could get in before Southerlands took Beckie back to St. Louis so she could catch her Monday morning flight back to Hawaii.  Boy, it was so great to have her here.  And to have Julina come, too.  We sorely missed Elise and Kirsti  :(

 

 

 

 

 Tamara didn't want to be in the group photo but I captured her with Emily.

This is a cute photo of Noah helping Melanie pick up after a game of dominoes 

 

 Lucy explored our back yard in her elephant pajamas and pink cape.

 

What a great weekend! And, whew, I think I have caught up on blogging now….at least until this Sunday.