Happy Halloween from The Clarks!

Halloween 2007

(Click above to see photos!)

We actually got to celebrate Halloween 2007 twice. Over the weekend we went camping with my parents and friends up in Concrete WA. The KOA there offers Trick Or Treating the weekend before Halloween, which also coincides with their season's end (they close up after the weekend is through). One would think that camping in October would be an affair with few friends. However the Grandy Creek KOA sells out their Halloween event every year, which tells me there is no shortage of people who want to camp even into the foul weather season here. And to look at the Halloween displays put up by some people is nothing short of inspiring. Words can't even describe the smoky graveyard with a ghoul cutting up someone in a coffin - in full motion. Incidentally, this was Jacks first time up for the Halloween trip.

Unlike last year, bad weather wasn't something we had to deal with this time around. The sun was out and the sky was clear - albeit cold. Getting to Concrete from Bellevue - through rush hour congestion...on a Friday evening - isn't the easiest or fastest trip. It took us about three hours, about double the time that it took for us to get home. On the way there we say our neighbors' minivan on a hook, headed for the wrecking yard. This is the very same van that was hit by a tree during a windstorm; what were the odds that we would see it on the freeway?? They have a nice new van now, so this one was being hauled off.

We got to the campground and set up after dark on Friday; thankfully my folks had already gotten there and my Dad helped me get the Jayco pop-up trailer unfolded and plugged in. These things are an amazing exercise in compact necessity. By the time we were done, it was bed time! So Jack and I (plus my CPAP machine) slept on one side while David and Sherry slept on the other. On Saturday morning we couldn't help but to get up and drive down the road for espresso (some habits die hard). By the time we got back from picking up a few food items, our friend Jen had arrived with her two girls - JaeLin and Amarrah - to join us at our campsite. We got her tent set up and sent JaeLin and David up the road to play at the big bouncy pillow near the playground ($2 all day per kid). Jack and Amarrah just cruised around the campsite and found all sorts of fun stuff to play with. Eventually it was nap time for the little ones, so Jen put Amarrah to bed and I took Jack out for a "nap drive" to Newhalem in an effort to get a good train picture like I did last year; no luck...they had put a chain link fence up around the old steam locomotive.

When we got back it was time to go Trick Or Treating. Cousin Eric had arrived with his parents - my sister Jan and husband Larry. Eric got into his black costume with a screaming mask (not sure what movie it's from). David went as his favorite character from the movie Cars - Lightning McQueen - and Jack went as a pumpkin (not original but he looks oh so cute as a pumpkin). JaeLin was a gypsy and Amarrah went as a giraffe. It took an entire hour for us to move our way through the campground and all the campsites. David ended up with two bags of candy; Jack's bag was almost overfull by the time we finished. Then it was time to eat some dinner and head up to the Hay Ride (told you this was some kind of event). When it was all over, Jack was cranky (a clear sign that it's bed time), and David was zoning out at the fire. Eventually he wanted to hit the sack as well, so the entire Clark gang was in the trailer by 10pm (some kind of record). Eric stayed in my parents' trailer while Jen's clan slept soundly in the tent next to us.

The next morning was filled with pancakes, sausage, and coffee - lots of coffee. We got packed up and had the trailer hooked to the van by 11:30am, and then headed straight home. It was a great trip and a good excuse to get out of town.

For Halloween this year David convinced Sherry to be a rock star, so she obliged. Sherry contends that she isn't very original when it comes to costumes; that might be the case, but if she isn't original she certainly is good at getting the details right. Her costume was so convincing that when she walked into one of her management meetings today nobody recognized her. That's good stuff. For the record I went to work as a motorcyclist, but then that's what I do every day ;)

David went again as Lightning McQueen for Trick Or Treating around the neighborhood tonight, while Jack stayed home and helped me give out candy. He's a great helper. Sadly we only had about 10 kids this year; last year there were kids everywhere, but for some reason the traffic tapered off for 2007. The number of kids we get year to year really varies and defies all predictions. David actually got some full size candy bars this time around, rather than "fun size" ones. This seems to be a trend when the number of kids is lower; people choose to spend more on the big bars instead. David will be having a chocolate festival for the next two weeks, based on what he got in his two buckets from tonight alone - plus what he got in Concrete!

Is this our last year for Halloween camping? Might be. Our church has a Halloween Party and "Music Sunday" the very same weekend as camping, so we may be staying home next year to attend the church function. But we still have great memories from the last two years...that's for sure!

Enjoy! Kurt