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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Happy Halloween!

4 new blog entries in one day--I fear I was a bit behind...

Halloween this year was filled with lots of pumpkins (and thus lots of pumpkin seeds and pumpkin stew...yum), good friends, spookiness and dog poop (yeah...we'll get there).  Just the way we like it (well, except for the dog poop of course).

We figured we better get the pumpkin carving, and pumpkin stewing, and pumpkin seed baking out of the way on Sunday, just in case we lost power with the storm. Success! (Although, I think my pumpkin looks a little more "Whatever! What's wrong with you!" than "Ooooo...I'm scared!" as was my intention... but "whatever". Maybe it's fitting :) I really don't understand anything Tim Burton.)






On Halloween we enjoyed a quick dinner of cheesy broccoli soup, and then headed out with the Kennedy's for a fun and spooky ghost tour of Old Town (which was packed with cute trick or treaters, and dressed up puppies which Amber loved, and storm troopers which Brian loved). So much fun!


The tomb of the unknown Revolutionary War soldier.


To wrap up the night, we decided to stop at the Halloween House so that Ju and Joey could get a peek--just as cool the second time.

His face is a foreshadowing of things to come...
We also decided to pull over and investigate a suspicious smell as we drove away from the house. It's possible that one of the dressed up doggies enjoying the pirate festivities left a little treasure for Brian to step in, and then smear all over his car mats. I had to laugh as we drove home with the windows open (poor Bri...he has a penchant for stepping in doggie doo doo). The remaining activities weren't nearly as pleasant as the rest of the evening had been, what with the scrubbing and disinfecting by the light of a flashlight--but what's Halloween without a little trick to go with the treat, right? Memorable. Simply memorable.

Preparing for Imprisonment: Annapolis Style

The Saturday before Frankenstorm (aka Hurricane Sandy, aka Superstorm Sandy, aka The Perfect Storm, aka the crazy, gusty storm we miraculously managed to survive with power intact, aka the-million-other-names-the-24/7-storm-coverage-teams-have-dubbed-it), Brian decided to get me out of the apartment for a fun day in Annapolis. I'm not sure how much his choice of Saturdays depended on the fact that neither the BYU nor South Carolina games could be viewed on ESPN3 that week, and how much depended on the fact that he knew we'd be hostages for the next few days and wanted to get me out of the apartment (I'm like a puppy. I need my regular outings and walks)... but regardless, I think his plan to spend the day in beautiful Annapolis was brilliant, sweet and perfect.

The colors were gorgeous, the history was scenic and the strolling made for the perfect day away.

The stroll down this quaint street was the perfect intro to the city...
except that passing a pub we saw the Gamecocks all gathered
around a very injured Marcus Latimore. Not good. Brian did a
good job at ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach so we could
go on enjoying our day, but we both feel for the guy.
 

An old tavern that's been here since pre-Revolution times, and
the cute old fashioned looking street signs I loved.
 

If we ever spend the night in Annapolis, I want
to stay here.
 

On the steps of the oldest, continuously operated State Capitol
 building in the country.
 
He surrenders! He surrenders!
 

The State Capitol
 

 

 
 
 

After strolling, popping in shops and touring all day, we headed to a nearby restaurant for a yummy gluten free meal of Nandos Peri Peri Chicken, and then started the drive home, via a gluten-free bakery, Happy Tart, that I've been dying to try forever (I'm telling you... Brian spoils me). Lucky for us, Brian took a wrong turn, and we ended up driving past the most amazing Halloween house I've ever seen. After reaching the bakery and loading up on cupcakes, cake pops, cookies and sweet buns (Brian insisted we were preparing for the storm with food storage and I should go crazy), we drove back to explore. Seriously. Amazing. Photos don't even begin to do it justice. Pirates, pirates everywhere! Music. Dry ice bubbles. Scene after scene of revelry. I felt like I was in Disney!  Such a fun end to the perfect fall day.