Green Teeth and Assassins

It was the weekend before Halloween, and the ghosts, goblins, and Disney characters were out in force at the Flindt residence.  When I arrived, on Friday, October 27, 2012, Spencer was busy planning a Halloween party for area teenagers, such as seminary students from the various early morning programs in the stake.  Callie, Spencer's date to the recent Homecoming dance, was helping.  Alyssa was eagerly awaiting getting her Minnie Mouse ears in the mail.

I traipsed, with Lisa and a few of the kids, to the fabric store to buy pink polka dot material for Alyssa's dress. We also chose some green yarn for me to crochet placemats for the Flindt dinner table.

On the way out of the store, we paused to admire the pumpkins.

The Flindts have had bad luck this year with their jack-o-lanterns.  It's so wet in Seattle that they're rotten before Halloween even arrives!

 

Michael was an assassin for Halloween.  Lisa said he made his elaborate costume himself, and had been planning it for months!

Grant was a cowboy. 

Grant provided the crown for Bryce's king costume.  Grant was not only elected president of the sophomore class at Eastlake High School, but he was elected duke of the Homecoming dance (the top spot for a sophomore).  Grant's date, Rachel, was separately elected duchess.  Grant's duke crown was recycled to make Bryce a king!

Lisa and I dropped by the Sammamish First Ward to check out Spencer's party.  Some fifty kids came to dance, eat, and show off their costumes.  Spencer was Michael Jackson.

Spencer's Homecoming date, Callie, held a cookie-making party earlier that afternoon to produce the refreshments.

Michael dropped by in his assassin suit, and then met friends to watch horror movies until midnight!

The costumes were great.  Kirsten was a French painter (and she'll be a mime when she paints her face white).  One of the Flindt pals was a werewolf and another was a member of the Blue Man Group. 

After leaving the dance, Lisa and I hurried to Krispy Kreme to pick up some doughnuts for the little guys, left at home with Kyle.

On Sunday, we dressed for Church, and then celebrated Halloween with a big Sunday dinner, followed by homemade caramel apples.

The Race

The highlight of my Seattle visit, the weekend of October 27-29, 2012, was Kirsten's race.  As a 14-year-old freshman, she has made the seven-girl varsity cross country team.  The team raced in a town north of Seattle, in a qualifying race for next week's state championships.  The race included teams from all over Western Washington, and only five would go to the state meet.  Grant is an alternate on the boy's varsity team, as a sophomore, and was at the race, although he didn't run.  A week or two ago, he won first place in a large junior varsity meet.

Of course, we needed a carb dinner to get Kirsten and Grant ready.  We headed into downtown Seattle, in the rain, to Buca di Beppo.  Each big kid chose a pasta entree, and the little kids were served first. 

Lisa wandered around the restaurant, taking fun photos of the tongue-in-cheek decorations and "house rules."  She also took photos of the light-hearted guests and servers celebrating Friday night.

 

 

The restaurant sign was a bright beacon on a dark, wet night.

When Lisa, Michael K, Bryce, Alyssa, and I arrived at Kirsten's race, on Saturday morning, the bleachers were full of people and the rock music was playing. Grant was in the stands, waiting with the boys' team, as we arrived with our umbrellas.

The Eastlake High team had a great position, right in the middle of the line, in their white race suits.

When the race began, we dashed around the field, searching for vantage points to see Kirsten and cheer her on, as she ran each lap.

 

 

 

 

 

We also cheered for Kirsten's team members, as they finished each lap.

 

 

 

Kirsten finished the race in 21 minutes.  She was disappointed with the time, but it was high enough to qualify the girls' team for the state meet.

 

 

"Kirsten needs to kick at the end of the race," Michael K and Kirsten's coach agreed.  Michael, who ran in the state cross country meet last year, knows how to "kick," or dash out front, during the last lap.  Kirsten is already running extremely well, but her coach thinks she can be even faster.

 

Of course, we celebrated afterwards.  There was a great Indian buffet in Bellevue.  Alyssa loves her naan...