The school that the kids go to was making some repairs, and therefore the children were off of school for the day. Which meant that these lucky little monsters had NO SCHOOL ON HALLOWEEN!!!
Lizzy and her three munchkins came over in the morning and we all played basketball and UNO, of course. Paloma was the only one missing as she went to the nursery school that morning, but we were joined by my kid's cousin Felix (who is absolutely adorable). Lizzy and I made lasagna for the kids! But of course Marta refused to eat it because it had cheese in it (what a weirdo...) and Anna tried not to eat it because Marta didn't. Classic. But Danny had 5 servings of it, so I would say that overall, it was a success!
After lunch, we watched Hillary Duff's first movie, "Casper Meets Wendy" which is the far less scary sequel to "Casper the Friendly Ghost". I had never seen it before, and in truth, I never hope to see it again. I know she's only like 10, but Hillary Duff sounds like she's on helium the whole movie. Who knew girl's voices changed so much when they hit puberty??
The kids had a fun time watching the movie, and afterwards, it was time to get ready!!!
So here's the rundown:
Lucas (mine) was Darth Vader.
Marta was Elsa from Frozen.
Jaime was a Cowboy.
Paloma was a Fairy Princess.
Danny was a Robber.
Lucas (Lizzy's) was a Super Hero.
Anna was a Princess.
Lizzy was a Salt Shaker.
I was a Pepper Shaker.
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| Anna and Marta |
Oh my goodness gracious, they had so much fun getting ready! We even did some face paint makeup on the girls- they loved it! Pilar came home early with Paloma and waited with the kids while Lizzy and I ran to the park to set up the games.
Of course, what Halloween Party goes without Pumpkin Carving?!? Angela had to pre-order us pumpkins from the grocery store, and although they weren't terribly big, they worked. We also had donuts hanging off strings, which for those of you who had miserable childhoods and don't know, this game is where you try to eat the donut without letting it fall to the ground while not using your hands. I got to say, Anna was quite the champ. She and her little friend dressed like Dracula really went for it.
Angela tells Anna's friend, "Wow! You really look like a vampire!"
Anna says to her mother, "No he doesn't. He looks like Prince Charming."
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| Anna and her Prince Charming |
The kids had fun carving pumpkins, but didn't care too much for the bobbing for apples. Angela's sister and 3 year old son came as well, and we had fun taking pictures of all the kids together with their pumpkins.
As the evening drew to a close, we bribed the kids with candy to help us pick up the pumpkin seeds (god, we are awesome nannies...) and headed home. I returned to join Lizzy and her place before setting out for Halloween in Downtown Madrid!
We took the subway into Sol, and I swear, I have never seen more people with fake blood and sticthes in my entire life. There was a band of college kids heading to the bars, and they asked us what we were.
"We are Salt and Pepper Shakers!"
"Oh, I see! Wait, I don't get it, that's not scary..."
"Well, in the States, people don't always dress up as scary things. It's a night where you can be anything you want to be! Most costumes are just clever or funny."
"Right..." They looked at us like we were crazy.
HEY! I'M FROM AMERICA AND YOU'RE NOT SO STOP TRYING TO STEAL OUR HOLIDAYS AND CHANGE THE RULES AROUND THIS IS NOT OKAY!
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| From Left to Right: Danny, David (cousin), Alvaro (Anna's friend), Anna, Lucas, Lucas, Jaime, Marta, and Paloma |
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| Salt and Pepper's Here! |
Phew. ANYWAY... Throughout the night, we got quite a few weird looks because we weren't scary. Whatever, I thought our costumes were inspired. We actually got the idea from one of the books that Lizzy reads to Anna every night by Kevin Henkes called "Chester's Way." It's about these two boys, Chester and Wilson, who do everything together. At one point, they show Chester and Wilson's Halloween costumes from the past few years which included Salt and Pepper, Two Peas in a Pod, and Mittens. So we thought we would do a Chester and Wilson costume because Anna loves it so much, but also because we really do come in a pair like they do. We bought cheap t-shirts from the grocery store and black and white felt for the letters from the cheap-o Chinese Store around the corner along with two army helmets. We covered the helmets with aluminum foil (your welcome Mom, for not saying Tin Foil. She's such a Chemistry Teacher...) and then stuck black felt to the top and the holes in the shaker. I have to say, I thought we looked pretty good!
Anyways, we had fun dancing and made sure to take our picture in front of the Madrid Bear eating the Strawberry Bush, which marks the center of Madrid and Spain! We had a really great day and night for our very first Halloween away from home.
The next day, Pilar and Luis took the kids and I to Chinchon.
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| Paloma and Luis in Chinchon |
FUN FACT #44: Chinchon is a town right outside of Madrid with only 5,000 people. Neolithic remains have been found in the area which makes this place pretty freakin' old. The Plaza Mayor, or the Main Plaza, is used as a bull fighting ring during the month of October. When the festival is over, the temporary ring is taken down and the Plaza continues to be used as outdoor seating for restaurants and donkey rides for kids.
Now unfortunately, because my phone was stolen, I no longer have the pictures from this day. But we had lunch at a restaurant right on the bull ring and then took a quick stroll to a play ground that overlooked the city. I have one photo of Paloma and Luis as we walked back down from the play ground back to the car.
The next day, Sunday, Pilar and Luis took the four kids plus Lizzy and I to a Real Madrid Basketball game! We had a great time- especially because Madrid kicked Valencia's butt. Again, phone is gone, but I have one picture of the court from our spot in the nosebleed's. (That was a fun expression to explain to Pilar and Luis...)
