David S. Pumpkins For President

Here's the skit from Saturday Night Live featuring Tom Hanks.

He seemingly took America by storm more than a week before Halloween.

Tom Hanks introduced us to "David Pumpkins" in a cleverly-themed Halloween skit. Pumpkins is the star attraction to "100 Floors of Frights" at the fictional "Fright Nights" amusement park. With a pair of B-boy skeletons in tow, David Pumpkins is the featured attraction on 73 of the 100 floors.

Saturday Night Live reports the skit has already become one of the most popular in recent history. In fact, a costume of the character even sold out on both Spirit Halloween and Amazon.

With so much popularity, could "David S. Pumpkins for President" be a potential skit for the pre-election program this weekend?

Happy Halloween!

Olivia (left) and Julia's classmate, Journey, did a nice pumpkin carving.

There was no Halloween parade viewing at Jefferson Elementary for Sean this year. He was on a plane to a cycling event in North Carolina. But there was still a YD marching in the parade. Veronica (pictured at left) was an 80s girl "to the max"with poofy hair, plenty of make-up and a pink dress. It reminded me of 2010 when Emily (pictured at right) gave the Valley Girl look a go.

Click here to see past Halloween parades at Jefferson, as well as video of the time the girls surprised me at my apartment.

Don't Soak In Water

This little creature was made by Lauren (out of sugar).
Tuesday afternoons are a busy place around my apartment. Around 3 p.m., I fire up the glass carriage (actually a mini-van) and head down to St. Mary's of Bellevue to pick up the princesses. Recently, I have not been able to pick up Lauren right after school because she has "Wits Clash" practice. So the routine has been to pick up the other four girls and head over to see Aunt Jean.

The stop to see Aunt Jean is a quick one, as we have to pick up Lauren by 4:15 p.m. Then it's back to my apartment for a snack, the changing of clothes and homework. And it's the latter that really consumes a lot of time and energy. Today it was Veronica whom I spent the most time with, as we made our way through the "Rosary Book" – which shows students how to pray the rosary. Lauren was working on history, Julia was working on a family tree and Emily was doing something that required her to use the computer. Or at least that's what she told me. Olivia only needed her agenda signed (which means her work was completed), so she helped take down the Halloween decorations in the hallway.

Speaking of Halloween, Lauren presented me with the unusual artwork pictured above. It's made entirely out of sugar, but it's not too fragile. When she gave it to me, I told her the first thing I'd do with it was "wash it off" so it was nice and clean. I don't think she picked up on that because any contact with liquid is going to turn that head into a pile of sugary mess.

Halloween On Parade: 2015

Veronica was a cat this year. (She did her own whiskers, too!)

The Halloween costume parade at Jefferson Elementary is a nice tradition. Especially when the weather cooperates. This year, it was pretty nice, with temperatures in the low 50s. It did rain – but only as the parade was making its way back into the building.

You can see past versions of the parade here: 2013, 2012, and 2011. (In 2014, Sean was on a plane to North Carolina.)

I'm not sure which teacher was the princess from "Frozen" but she looked the part.

Here comes Veronica. Simple costume, but looking good.

This is Veronica's "Hey Dad, take my photo!" look.

Look closely and you will see Veronica on the "back side" of the school.

Veronica was awfully proud of this piece of artwork.

I had little cat as a passenger after school.

If you couldn't tell, Veronica was taking these photos of herself.

Um, scary.

Here is Sean's annual photo with Mrs. Free. She was Maleficent.

Only one more photo like this to come next year.

Be sure your volume is turned down before watching this video.

Halloween 2010

When my doorbell rang tonight, it wasn't completely unexpected. I had received a heads up that I was going to get some trick-or-treaters. So I was ready. But I wasn't prepared for the incredible costumes and big smiles on the faces of the five princesses.

This will probably be Emily's final opportunity to actually collect candy on Halloween. She'll probably accompany her sisters on future trick-or-treat runs, but when you're as tall as she is – nearly 5-foot-9-inches – you're easily mistaken for an adult. I'm guessing that happened this year, though I forgot to ask.


Left to right:
Veronica as a lady bug, Olivia as a witch (she left her broom and hat in the car) and Julia as a teacher.

Lauren (left) as a "Pajama Princess." Emily as a Valley Girl.

Halloween Parade 2012

Veronica and the costume that won her an award from her Brownie troop.

So it was another beautiful day for the annual Halloween costume parade at Julia, Olivia and Veronica's school. This always makes it nice for the people dressed up as cheerleaders and Olympic swimmers.

It also made it nice for me to ride my bike up there again. Just like last year, I was scurrying up the street at the last minute, but arrived in plenty of time.

Something new this year was the addition of a mini flag corps and marching band. Pretty sweet, actually. And it was led around the block by the wicked witch. Another nice touch. 

Olivia crawled out of bed and was off to class. Good timing.

I'm not sure what was going on here. But I had (green) hair envy.

Justin Bieber was apparently "hot."

Ms. Free was supposed to be an 80s girl. She bailed on it.

Here comes Veronica again!

Julia had some scary dudes providing escort for her.

And here's everyone but Lauren ready to trick or treat.

Flashback to the Mount

Yep, that's me in white with the cape.
I came across this photo recently and thought it was appropriate to post here on Halloween. It's from the 1984 Mount Michael Halloween party, when I was a senior. My best friend in high school, Matt Eldredge, is playing "Shadow" and I am "Super Spook." Our friend, Becky Dooley, who went to Millard North, is (somewhat uneasily) posing with us.

The nicknames "Spook" and "Shadow" were given to us by Fr. Richard, then the sophomore dean. He thought we hung around together a lot. Admittedly, we did.

Halloween On Parade: 2013

This year's Halloween parade was a bit unlike years past.

For starters, there was only one YD marching. Julia has moved on to junior high (but accompanied me because of her own early dismissal). Olivia was home sick. So Veronica was left to carry the torch. And she did a great job as a solo act. You can see by the smile on her face that she was obviously enjoying herself as a beautiful Barbie princess.

The weather also cooperated. Sunny skies and temperatures in the low 50s made for a great time.

On to the photos...

Olivia's teacher sported a "Despicable Me" Minion costume.

Here comes Veronica...

This little guy looked like he came straight off the pitch. I asked him who won.

That's a "graduated cylinder."

Look! More Minions!

This is an annual tradition. See past versions here and here.

These two onlookers attracted quite a bit of attention.

 I couldn't get over how tall this kid's hat was.

The Cat in the Hat seems startled Veronica has lost her wig.

And with a flip of her wig, she's replaced the Cat in the Hat's hat ... with hair.

There, that's better.

Ready for Halloween

The girls' work to decorate the ledge in the hallway.
We bought two pumpkins (for $10) at Bag 'n Save today to decorate the ledge landing in the hallway of my apartment.

It's always fun to spice up an otherwise drab area that seems tailor-made for some type of display – given that there are spotlights and all.

Lauren, Julia, Olivia and Veronica took turns standing up on the landing to put decorations in place and hang Halloween-themed items on the walls and window. As the finishing touch, we scattered three bags worth of candy around. It's always fun to watch how long it takes for the candy to disappear...

A view from the top of the stairs.

Halloween Parade

Veronica (left), Olivia (center) and Julia on parade.

Some costumes were scarier than others.

The weather was warm enough for costumes like this.

Julia's teacher went all out.

There goes Julia again.

Veronica seemed to be enjoying herself.

Ms. Free was a bride. With no sign of the groom around, I moved in for a picture.