Edgefest 2020

Here we are at another Edgefest, the trunk-or-treat spectacular that we've been going to for quite a few years now.  For Madison, it all started here for her taekwondo.  It was at this very same trunk-or-treat event a few years ago that she first came to Edge ATA.  Now she's on her way to the black belt, a seasoned professional!

One wonderful blessing of the evening was a complete lack of surprise with the weather.  We've never had it rain on us, but there's frequently been the threat of a downpour, and with last year's event, it was just about miraculous that it didn't rain on us.  We had a ton of rain with Zeta yesterday, and that sort of pushed all the moisture off and away.  It was still cool outside, but we'll take that.  It's supposed to be cool in late October, right?

As you can see, Madison was dressed as Princess Leia tonight.  And you can also see the continuing theme of Mary Poppins.  I had no idea that Bart and Chris would be dressed up as Mary Poppins and Bert!

Earlier today, I carved a pumpkin for them, one you can see in the dark here.  It looks great all lit up.  It took me a little time to get this one, but the lettering and so on were a bit more precise than your standard pumpkin.  Anyway, it turned out well, and it looked great on the deejay table tonight.

Madison brought a friend from school, Sophie, and the two spent the night gathering candy and running about from station to station.  Madison broke the thickest board yet, using her fist to crack it.  She was quite proud of that one, and of course we get to keep the wood afterwards.  Which is a nice way for Bart and Chris to clean up afterwards!  But seriously, she did great with that, doing something I saw many others struggle to get through.

Her favorite station had to be this one here, themed to "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?"  This mom had a themed scavenger hunt going on, one where you had to take a selfie with a princess, or find a mummy and so on.  If you collected all the items on the list, you got a special prize, which of course Madison and Sophie did.

There were plenty of cars out there, plenty of decorated cars with themes of Mario or Wonderland or Starbuck's.  That last one was a favorite with the adults.  The deejay kept the music going, and there were a lot of people in costumes here tonight.  I think being cooped up all year has really made this fall season explode when it comes to these outdoor events.  There are still many, many things being cancelled due to the pandemic.  So when things like this come along, I think there's a bit of a "resistance movement" going on.  

The girls got a lot of candy, of course, and it was a fun time for all.  I had my camera with me, taking a whole lot of pictures for the family social media site.  I'm sort of the unofficial photographer for the studio, but at the same time I like going around and snapping photos for everyone.  

But Madison was snapping photos too!  Part of that was for her scavenger hunt, but she too also likes to take pictures, and had about twenty or so when the evening was done, including this one above.  Of course, she didn't take this one, but it was on her phone.  She's sitting there, posing with Bart.  Or Bert.  It's up to you.

Here's just one costume of the night, and I loved it because it is a Mandalorian armor completely made out of cardboard.  I'm not sure if the Armorer would think "this is the way."  Which is a nice way to tie-in to what we did when we got home:  we saw the premiere of season 2 of "The Mandalorian."  It was a great new start to a new season, and we're pretty excited about the possibilities.  I'm a huge fan of Boba Fett, the Tusken Raiders, and even R5-D4, so let's just say today's episode was just amazing.

When we got home, there was a birthday surprise for me on the table, a little early.  Nana and Mommy had a few things set up for us on the table when we got back, including a few presents too.  I got some ties and an ornament, along with a few other things as well, very nice!

Nana was struggling a bit in the morning, so we were out and about at the local plant nursery, and then over to Kinsey Farms to look around, and get another pumpkin too.  We fed the animals there for a bit, which was nice for Nana.  It was cooler today, but the sun was shining, and it wasn't so bad if you were wearing long sleeves.  It's just a sudden shift from hot to fall-like weather.  

Madison had a great day at school - it was a costume day for the students, with a donation of one dollar.  Which begs the question about costumes, of course.  What is a costume, and what is considered something you could wear every day?  I mean, aren't the kids already wearing masks all year round?  I'm not being serious of course.  Madison was Princess Leia at school, and for tonight too, all dressed up for the day.

Mommy and Nana were watching "Enchanted" while we were away, snuggling on the couch under the big blankets.  We have nice, warm blankets!

We said our prayers late tonight, and it wasn't much longer after that we were asleep.  It was quite a full night!