It’s officially mid-November already, and Halloween is over.  Because Halloween is one of our family’s favorite holidays, we try to take advantage of doing every Halloween-related activity we can, which often stretches the season.  We began on the Tuesday before Halloween at the mall.  They held a weather-proof (good thing too, the weather on Tuesday was so awful our tornado sirens were activated) trick-or-treat event in the mall, with costumed kids going from store to store receiving candy.  Our kids had a blast, and our little guy got the hang of trick-or-treating REALLY quickly!  He would receive his candy, and his way of saying ‘thank you’ was to give a little wave – it was adorable – see for yourself!  He’s the one in the Blue’s Clues costume:

At first he was afraid of some of the scary masks, but he was quickly over that too.  The rest of the week stayed relatively Halloween-free, until Friday, when we had planned a Halloween-themed game night.  We requested guests to wear costumes (any excuse to dress up in a costume for Halloween – I really like to participate as much as I can!!), and we had quite a variety: from an escaped inmate (Hubby) to Flo the Progressive Insurance nurse, a nerd, a couple of hippies, a professor, a zookeeper on safari (me) – even a few members of the “real” Mafia made an appearance (we frequently play a game called ‘Mafia’ at game night and it’s tons of fun!  A few of the regular game nighters decided to dress up as Mafia as a shout-out to the game).  Fun was had, and we were able to rest up for Saturday, which was the annual community Halloween party.  My kids loved the hayride, complete with monsters that jump out of the brush and chase the wagon, and we rode 3 times.  There are all kinds of things to do at the community party, and it’s all free: from gourmet slushes (best wild berry slush ever!), cotton candy, hot dogs, and popcorn to carnival games, bouncy castles, and a maze for the kids, it’s all so much fun!

After that was time for Trick or Treating, and we had fun even if Hubby wasn’t feeling so well (he is better now – thanks for your thoughts and prayers!).  Let’s see…  don’t think I mentioned the kids’ costumes: my oldest (almost 11 already!) was a cowgirl, 6-year-old Sammie was a princess, 4-year-old Disney was a witch at the mall who switched to Dora for Saturdays’ events, and 2-year-old Christopher was Blue from Blue’s Clues.  We had fun Trick or Treating, and Hubby and I chose an old favorite movie of ours to watch afterward: The Uninvited – not totally scary (we usually try to watch a scary movie together on Halloween), but we both felt like a great thriller more than a horror movie this year.  Here is my little boy dressed as Blue:

Sunday saw church, and we had a blast in Sunday school as usual – except that poor Hubby had to stay home.  Also, we were very tired on Saturday after trick or treating, so we didn’t get a chance to get our annual picture of the kids in their costumes sitting on the couch.  But we got one of all 4 of them in the mall, so here it is:

Overall, a very fun 2010 Halloween, one that I can’t believe came and went so quickly – SO quickly in fact, that it’s already been over for weeks!  Unbelievable!!  Hope your Halloween was safe, fun, and happy, and that your Thanksgiving will be the same!!

Today was a rather hectic, busy, but ultimately rewarding day.  The Sunday before the opening of any show I have ever been in (no matter the venue) is known as Tech Sunday (or as I like to refer it… Hell Sunday).  This day was much different than ones I am used to.  Today involved trying on the rented costumes which we just acquired… I am happy to report that my costume fits nicely.  After trying on the costume, I helped hang three drops that will be flown from the rafters of the Huber.  FINALLY, the tech rehearsal began.  Microphones tried for the first time… some successfully, others… well, we were promised that they would be worked on.  Good to know!!!  the rehearsal was much more for the lights and sound cues as we just rushed through lines, songs, everything.  I have every confidence that the dress rehearsals will go magnificently beginning tomorrow… The best of times; the worst of times.

I am happy to say that my ticket count continues to grow.  Today, I had to pick up two for opening night.  For Saturday night, I have already purchased 4 and tomorrow I have been asked to pick up 4 more.  Glad to know that I am contributing to the audience count.

After rehearsal, I needed to get the tickets to Megan and Carol.  Megan and I decided to make the final showing of The Uninvited.  A very suspenseful movie that I will not dwell upon since taylhis has already done so.  I, too would find it hard to post a full review as there is just so much good stuff packed into the 90 minutes that it would be hard not to give anything away.  Excellent movie.  But I am pleased to say that we both enjoyed all the twists and turns and even were getting to the point of overanalysis while eating at Pizza Hut which I can now tell I will be paying for.

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I stopped my blog posting of reviews for every movie I’ve been watching – you’ll know why when you read a post I’m writing for next week called Farm Frenzy.  But I saw a movie last night that is totally worth mentioning – “The Uninvited”.

The movie has a really bad title, I’ll admit that.  But what a good suspense thriller it turned out to be!  The best one I’ve seen in a long time; maybe one of the best thrillers I’ve ever seen!  The movie is scary at times, creepy at others, and constantly fast-paced and riveting.  The movie was not at all what I expected when I came in, and I left the theater very pleasantly surprised.  The plot centers around a teenager named Anna who is just getting out of the psych ward after a 10 month stint as a result of  a suicide attempt.  10 months earlier, her mother was terminally ill and bedridden, her father was having an affair with her nurse, and there was a terrible fire that took the life of her mother.  When Anna gets out of the hospital, her father’s girlfriend (her mother’s nurse) has moved into her house, and it doesn’t take long for Anna to begin to suspect the new woman in her family’s life is up to no good.

I can’t begin to explain the mind-bending plot – there’s much more to it than I’ve explained, but I really don’t want to go into too much detail.  The point is, I highly recommend this movie.  Especially if you like suspense thriller movies, this one is a must-see.  Seriously, with respect to its genre, it’s a near-perfect movie.  My only problem with it is its weak and undescriptive title – good movie, bad title, but a must-see, nonetheless!