There is nothing quite as magical as Walt Disney World. It has the ability to not only transport your child into a world of possibilities and realities but it also transports us, the parents, to our childhood. No matter how foggy the memory, we remember. And experiencing Disney World anew through our children’s eyes allows us to truly live the magic. Because when you’re a child its not “magic”, its reality.
During library at school Penny selected the book “Dazzling Disguises and Clever Costumes”. As soon as she got home she found the costume she wanted to make and got to work. She didn’t ask for fabric or materials, instructions or help. Keeping her work secret she only asked me to draw the outline for the flames. She worked all the way up to dinner and returned promptly after dinner. When it was time for bed she emerged from her workroom with completed costume assembled. 
Using only paper she replicated the fiendish devil costume. She transformed her blue and white headband into devil horns, colored an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper red to create a shirt emblazoned with flames and crinkled paper to create the tail.
They might be dead but they are a whole lot of fun to throw, collect and jump into.
“If God had wanted man to play soccer, he wouldn’t have given us arms.”
– Mike Ditka
6 days away, we celebrate Halloween with our pre-school friends at LANK.
Years ago when I lived in New York City I bought a book called “America’s Idea of a Good Time”. The writer and photographer, Kate Schermerhorn, traveled the country to capture America’s idea of fun in her own pursuit to define happiness. A large portion of her photos were of parades. Fast forward ten years and I find myself in New York City, stumbling upon a parade. While this parade included glittery costumes, twirling batons, and a mean drum line generating a mean drum beat I wouldn’t say there was happiness. Why? Not a smile was to be found on any paraders face. Instead each young face showed focus, boredom, determination, nervousness, shyness or perhaps they were just “too cool” to smile. They loved this moment, it was plain to see in their apathetic expressions, parading down 8th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues and capturing the attention of a modest crowd of family, friends, passersby and enthusiastic children. Unwittingly adults were swaying hips, kids were dancing and clapping, parents were snapping photos and strangers shared smiles. When the parade wrapped, the paraders quickly broke formation and you could see and hear the giddiness and celebration that parades inspire. As quickly as the crowd formed the crowd dispersed like nothing had happened, just the lingering beat working its way through our feet.
Our annual girls trip to New York City is about so much more than the trite description implies. It is about reunion, it is about discovery, and it is all about friendship.
It is about tradition
Every year we pick our pumpkins at Great Country Farms in Bluemont, VA. The wagon ride to the pick-your-own field along with the stunning view makes this a favorite spot.
The table is set, costumes are on
Family arrives, the party has begun!
“…climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy.”
– Shel Silverstein
Our Everyday 