Halloween 2016

Happy Halloween! Halloween silliness is in full swing around here today. Everyone's costumes are done and we're ready to head out tonight. The kids are looking forward to topping last Halloween's ginormous candy haul.

This year Miss K wanted to be a ghost. At first she wanted to be Slimer from Ghostbusters, but she quickly decided he wasn't cute enough. I suggested a Pac-Man Ghost, and she was sold.

The concept of the tulle over a clear umbrella was pretty simple, but sewing with multiple layers of tulle was a giant pain in the rear. (I decided to make the ghost translucent so she would be able to see while she was out trick-or-treating. You can't see it in the photo, but there's also a slit so she can reach out and get candy.) She liked it despite being called a jellyfish several times while we were trick-or-treating through town. Everyone over about 40 though, knew exactly what she was!

S is 12 now and decided he wanted to do his own costume this year. *Sigh.* Hard words for a mom to hear, but he and his dad worked together to solder his LED eyes. They just look white in the photo, but they are actually little lights. He's petty psyched about wearing them out when it's dark.

The silver lining about not making my son's costume was that for the first time in quite a few years, I had time to make a costume for myself. 

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While I many not have loved this summer's Ghostbusters movie, I did enjoy it enough to be inspired to build my own, sadly non-functional, proton pack. It isn't screen accurate, but it's prefect for Halloween and I had a great time channeling my inner Holtzman while building it.

The Brownie Box: A London Must Do

Not far from the apartment my mom rented in London, she and the kids discovered The Brownie Box - a lovely little "cake boutique."

Grandma took the kids there every day for cake; one piece of red velvet cake to share between the two of them. And if you were to stop my kids and ask them what their favorite part of the London trip happened to be...

It wasn't seeing Wicked or Big Ben, it wasn't the British Museum or Madam Tussauds or the London Eye, it wasn't even the tour of the film studio where they filmed their beloved Harry Potter, nope - not even close.

Both S and K agree, hands down, their absolute favorite thing about London was The Brownie Box. And it wasn't just that the cake was a-ma-zing. They really liked getting to know the sisters who owned the place; S and K loved learning that the owners moved to London from South Africa and that their parents had owned a bakery there, too. 

Plus, the people who worked there were so darn nice to them. Every day, either after lunch or after dinner, when S & K walked through the door, they were greeted by name and given the royal treatment. (Including the occasional special treat.) When they were recounting their trip to me, the kids literally couldn't stop talking about just how incredible the Brownie Box was.

So, if you happen to find yourself in the Earl's Court area of London and are feeling a bit peckish, pop into the Brownie Box for some red velvet cake. Be sure to tell them that those kids from Mackinac Island, Michigan, sent you.

Travelers

In September, my kids got the gift of a lifetime from their Grandma. (I giggle every thing I look at that picture of my daughter. It is exactly the kind of photo you would expect her 12 year-old brother to take!) 

Those lucky-ducks spent ten days searching for

The Doctor,

and making a new friends.

All while mom had to go to school...

Of course, there were educational stops along the way, 

but mostly, they just had fun with their Grandma.

It's No Myth

As  we were watching old episodes of MythBusters recently, it reminded me of when Allen and I were lucky enough to get tickets to hear Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage speak in Traverse City. Back in 2004 the show had only been on for a season or two, but it was still super cool to get to chat with them...