Happy Hall-snow-een

2011 has brought New Jersey some very strange weather. In a two week period we had the earthquake in August, followed by Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, and a tornado watch. If a band of locusts had been seen in the area we would not have been shocked.

While my West Coast friends were complaining about cold rain, fall brought New Jersey beautiful California-like weather. It was easy to want to spend days outside enjoying the weather. It was also easy to forget that Halloween was sneaking up on us.

About a week before Halloween, it suddenly felt like fall. Then two days before Halloween winter hit.

It rained, snowed and sleeted all day Saturday the 29th. We were very fortunate. In the end, there was about 3 inches of snow on the ground, no lost branches or trees, and only lost power for about 20 minutes. Nearly a week later some friends are still without power.

Fortunately the day before the snow I took Ashley to Little Acres for her annual Halloween picture:

As she did last year, Ashley created her own costume.

This year we did not do a family costume, though we popped into the firehouse and saw the Perry family. Jen made all four costumes from scratch. Amazing!

A week before Halloween, Ashley's school hosted "Trunk or Treat." It was a terrific night! After a few cold days, the weather was perfect for Trunk or Treat. As it should be for a 4th grader, Ashley barely said "bye" to us as she dashed off to hang out with her friends. At least she let me snap this picture.

Onto the main event -- Trick or Treating! We were still in shock that it snowed before Halloween. The snow looked pretty, but it felt more like a scene out of "Nightmare Before Christmas" -- "when two holidays collied!" Fortunately it was a nice night on Halloween.

Before meeting up with Ashley's best friend, Emily, we visited a few neighbors.

Ashley prefers trick or treating with friends. As has been our tradition the past 3 Halloweens, we met up with the Weingartner and Steege families to trick or treat on their side of the neighborhood. As the next day was All Saints Day, a day off in Catholic schools, Ashley, Emily and Kirsten had a chance to hang out for another hour before we headed home.

The piles of candy are overwhelming. Last year's pile lasted Ashley until this Halloween. This year, with Trunk or Treating, we seem to have enough to last us until Halloween 2013.

Happy Halloween! Hope yours was Spooktacular!