The Jameses have been busy these past few weeks – but hey, we never pass up the possibility to do something fun. And we’ve had a lot of fun these past few weeks for sure!
It all started with the week before Halloween at school which was Red Ribbon week – where they have all sorts of dress-up days and it culminates at the end of the week with the Fun Run. Luckily, I was able to attend to see Sheff and the whole second grade run, and we did get some cute pictures with the neighborhood kids on their walk to school that week. Sheff did great during the Fun Run – he got the most laps in second grade! For lunch that day, B and I got to try Slutty Vegan over in Woodlawn. It was pretty good, and we even stumbled upon a thrift shop down there where B got some records.
That night, we took advantage of an opportunity for Sheff to wear his costume, and we hit up the Hoover Public Library for their Double Double Toil and Trouble event. And they did such a great job! They had sections for Harry Potter, Salem and stuff for the younger kids. They had a sorting hat – Sheff got sorted into Ravenclaw after the hat detected he was smart – a really fun photo booth where the kids could dress up and get their pics taken and then get the photo strip afterward – they made Rememberalls, got butterbeer Chex Mix and fun little plastic wands. In the downstairs part of the library, it was decorated for Salem, which meant Hocus Pocus fun! Sheff met the Sanderson Sisters – got a picture with the black flame candle and made a Sarah bookmark.
The next day we went over to a friend’s to watch the AU game while B did the Tour de Brewers bike ride downtown. We had snacks, watched AU lose and then came back to the house to get ready for our neighbor’s party. I really wish I had more pictures of the actual food spread and the decorations, because they were just amazing. We all got into our costumes (me a fox, B and DJ soccer refs, Catherine was David from Schitt’s Creek, B’s co-workers were Ghostbusters who matched Sheff who was also one, and Z was a zombie cheerleader), and headed over for food and fun. It was a great time, and glad we got to spend some extra time with our neighbor friends.
We got to take it easy on Sunday, because it rained and Sheff’s baseball game got postponed. So we lounged around the house watching football. I made French toast with brioche bread, and that is a total game changer. It was so good. Then Sheff and I started a dog diamond painting (thanks Nadine for the rec on those!) – we had dinner and all climbed into bed pretty early.
Halloween was that Monday – and the kids at school had to dress up as book characters. Sheff picked Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter. I’ve started picking up the illustrated Harry Potter books for Sheff and I to read. I love sharing that love of Harry Potter with him. We did trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, which was great! We ran into two SMES teachers and a TON of his classmates. He came home with a huge haul – it was a blast. That Tuesday, we had an impromptu chili and drinks night at our house with a few of our neighbors. It was so fun to chill around the kitchen table and just hang out – hoping to do that a lot more in the future! Then on Wednesday we headed to the Dia de los Muertos festival down at Sloss Furnace. This was the first year it was held down there, and it was just…..different. It felt like a taco fest with
some ofrendas scattered in. The ofrendas were beautiful as always, but it just had a different feel to it. Also instead of waiting in line for an hour for tacos, we headed over to Back Forty for burgers, beers and World Series baseball to end the night.
That about wraps up a crazy event-filled two weeks. It didn’t slow down from here either – I’ll return with the stuff from this past weekend and week soon!
You guys sure can pack in a LOT in a short span of time! Love the costumes! Hoover Library event sounds way more fun than the Trussville one. We just walked around collecting candy. Zoe did get to chose a book to keep at the end, which was pretty awesome. But we were in and out in less than 10 minutes. So glad that you guys are enjoying Diamond Art. Is it not the most relaxing and gratifying thing ever??? I am obsessed!