Jakarta Halloween

We never got to fully experience the spectacle that is Halloween in Jakarta so this year, our first Halloween as a family in the States, we pulled out all the stops.

It started with several pumpkins being bought a few weeks before Halloween to decorate our porch and get the festive atmosphere set. It was nice except for he fact that the same squirrel tandem that has reeked havoc o by yard digging for grubs also laid waste to the pumpkins. I like animals in general but I do not like these squirrels. They are precocious and quite "cheeky" nonchalantly ignoring my verbal tirades, which forces me to get physical. Typically I end up throwing something at them which usually suffices in sending them scampering a few feet away where they, bristle and run to the backyard to dig p more grubs.

The official Halloween festivities began when we carved several pumpkins. We thought that Emmerson would be really into it but she thought it was gross and avoided the entire ritual. So Alicia carved one and I ended up carving the first pumpkin in my life and then another. I was quit proud of my tow pumpkins and kept them inside until the actual Halloween day to avid the squirrels form getting at them.

The Brookfield chamber of commerce organized "Monster o Mainstreat" where local business open their doors to trick or teeters offering Emmerson a test run of the real thing. It was funny to see Emmrson bellied up to he bar of the local tavern in her bumble bee suit loading up her pumpkin shaped satchel.

She did well in the test run and I was excited to take her out Halloween evening for the real thing. I came home from work and expected her to be waiting expectantly at the door in her bumblebee outfit ready to go - but such was not the case. She did not want to go. Eventually, I convinced her to fire up and get her suit on so we could go and get some loot.

Once we hit the firs house and she realized what this was all about - getting candy, she was full on into it. At the second house we hit the lady ladling out the goods cooed about Emmerson get up but then said "oh she must be so cold without any socks on". It was indeed a chilly night and in the rush to get going I forgot to pt socks on her. I offer Emmrson my socks but she was in the zone and flitted off to the next potential source of treats.

It took her a few run through before she got the "Trick or Treat" chant in order - at first she would ring the door bell and then say "Trick or Treat" before anyone came to he door - but eventually she go the hang of it. We loaded up, so much so that I had to carry her candy laden pumpkin bin and it was a good time overall.

These are actually the second Halloween in Brookfield as evidenced by the recycled bee suit from Emmerson the year before.