Halloween and things

Geez, I just realized that I have a lot to blog about today. Better get started.

I wanted to talk about Halloween. It's a holiday I hate, but one that is interesting and fun too. I hate it b/c when I was little, my family and some other families (teachers my parents used to teach with) would go on annual hayrides. (Mind you, Central NY even around Halloween is FREEZING-sometimes snowing- and hayrides and trick-or-treating sometimes get ruined b/c it is so cold out that you want to go back inside and have hot chocolate... and kids can't even show off their costumes b/c they have to wear a winter coat over them). Anyways, one year we went on a hayride and I was sitting on the back of the cart thing. It was pitch black out and we were riding through this forest with scary things at every corner. One guy in a Jason mask came out of NOWHERE, started his saw, and pulled my leg. I thought I was going to fall off the cart and no one was going to be able to rescue me. Since then, when I was 8 yrs old or so, I have been terrified of people in masks, and of the dark. Funny how things stick with you.....

This Halloween was fun. I went trick-or-treating with my coworker's kids who I babysit for. They were dressed up as Cinderella, some person from the Winks (what is that?), Superman, and a Hello Kitty thing. They loved having me there to run up to the houses with them, which I didn't mind b/c I like looking into peoples' houses to see how they decorate. hahaha There were three really good quotes that night that the kids said:

1. One of the kids said to another kid "what are you?" and the other kid said "I'm just a samurai!". I guess you had to be there b/c it was funny how he said it and then walked away shrugging his shoulders.
2. My coworker said "go to that house over there-it's all lit up" and one kid said "COUNT ME IN!" and ran full speed. hahaha
3. When one kid went up to a house, the people handing out candy missed her bag, so they gave her extras b/c they fell on the ground. The kid said "LOOK I GOT EXTRAS!"

Maybe those aren't really that funny, but I was dying laughing.

Halloween is fun b/c you can be something totally different that you always wanted to be for a day, but then again it's scary too, at least for me.
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**** I also wanted to say that the Prince and Princess of Asturias (Felipe and Letizia) had a baby. Leonor will be the next in line for the throne of Spain after her dad Felipe. The line of succession is incredibly interesting, and how the laws and Constitution reflect changes in the monarchy (especially since the first born of Felipe is a GIRL!). This site has great photos, and the royal family tree. Click on "La familia real" and then "arbol genealogico". What is interesting too is that now Britain is trying to get Tony Blair to reform their laws to have a WOMAN take over as queen if she is the first born instead of the throne being patriarchical. Take a look at an article in The Guardian about equal gender rights in monarchies. : )

That's all for now. Happy birthday to my mom today too, and let's celebrate the Mexican Day of the Dead!