Halloween '16

Saturday's Halloween celebration began at the Salisbury House in Des Moines.

 In case you didn't know much about the location (I didn't), here's some info from Wikipedia:

"Salisbury House in Des Moines, Iowa is a Tudor, Gothic and Carolean style manor home. It was built by cosmetic magnate Carl Weeks and his wife, Edith Van Slyke Weeks, between 1923 and 1928. Salisbury House was modeled after the King's House in Salisbury, England, contains 42 rooms and measures just over 22,000 square feet. The property is owned and operated by the Salisbury House Foundation and is open to the public for tours, public events, and private rentals."

The event is called "Mysteries at the Castle." I don't know if the Salisbury House is really a castle, but it is impressive.


The front:

The back:

I don't identify other people's children in my blog, but Char had a friend to play and pose with.

Be careful, Vampire! That sword looks like a cross! (FYI: I hate balloon animals/ swords.)

But I really liked the portico (porch). 

The ceiling beams are cool.

My favorite part was the outside radiator. I'd bet that baby pumps out a lot of heat. That makes this a three-season portico... pretty forward thinking for a house built in the 20's.

The artwork and knight sure give you a castle vibe.

There was story time in the common room.

Once you name your daughter Charlotte, you will see her name everywhere.

Steven King once said, "Nobody likes a clown at midnight." I agree, and I think nobody likes to meet an eight-foot-tall mascot in a narrow hallway. That's where a friendly wave looks sinister.

We darted out of the hallway, and ran into a box of monster ears. "Char, I dare you to touch them!"

She did dare.

We took an ice cream break.

And then it was time to jump in the bounce house.

This year Charlotte wanted to design the pumpkin all by herself. She had a plan...

FYI: If you mess up your permanently marked design, you can erase the lines with Goo Gone.

"Don't forget, Mom, we need to save the pumpkin guts."

So, what was her plan?

It's a puking pumpkin! 

I took Charlotte to the Kids Halloween Concert performed by the Central Iowa Wind Ensemble on Sunday. 

This is why we were there. It's too bad the camera's focus was off. 

Char was excited to see Mom's name in the program.

Here are Charlotte's comments about the concert. A smiley face means "Yea!", a straight mouth is "Okay...", and a ? means "What was that?" Everone's a critic.

The Harry Potter music was her favorite. 

The focus was also off for this picture of Char posing with her candy haul. It was too late for a retake when I noticed. Trick or Treating on a Sunday night is weird, but Des Moines' tradition of Beggar's Night (you trick or treat the night before Halloween) is weird, too.

Oh well, the candy still tastes good!