The Horseshoe on Fire, and Other Halloween Tales

Happy Halloween, America!

Establishing headquarters in the Johnsons' driveway. . .

Like we've done the last few years, this Halloween we went a block or two over to Sweetbrier Terrace, where the Johnsons hold their annual Trick or Treat the Horseshoe.  The 'Horseshoe' symbolizes the U-shaped, enclosed streets of Sweetbrier, Highbrook, and Westbrier, which are chock-full of youthful families that are all big on Halloween and hand out tons of candy for kids.  This neighborhood feels like the 1980s, with kids clogging the street and running around from door-to-door in wild packs, just like you see in the movies.

The neighbor across the street had a HUGE smoke machine going. . . 

It's pretty awesome.

We've mentioned it before or time or two, but for this much-more-tame follow-up to our own Halloween Party, the Johnsons put out a spread of food in their garage, drag a fire pit onto their driveway, set up some chairs, and blast music all evening.  They hand out candy to all the kids that swing by, and offer beers and waters to the accompanying adults.  It only lasts for a couple hours - because Trick or Treating is only from 6 - 8pm, and it almost always falls on a frickin' school night - but it's a nice end cap to the month, for sure.

So here you go, folks - one more post for the month of October.

(You're welcome.)

Waiting to set out for candy - Ella, Harper, Ella's cousin Hazel, and Abby

The smoke from that guy's smoke machine (fog machine, whatever it was) rolled down the entire block, billowing across front yards as far as the eye could see.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, over on Bellaire Street, Alayna and her group of friends assembled over at her friend Cristina's house to go Trick or Treating (you know, because Alayna is 'old' now and doesn't like hanging out with her family anymore.)

Recreating that one Spiderman meme (off the Internet, I'm told) with her co-Spidermen, Cristina and Lexi.

About ready to set out into the neighborhood (you can spot a handsome guy in the background, off to the left.)

Not sure who Kris is talking to, here. . .

With Gabby, Ava, and. . . someone with a 'C' on their face for some reason. I don't get it, maybe they're trying to be funny or something.  Sorry for the quality of this pic - someone texted it to Kris and I got it off her phone.

Back on Sweetbrier, the smoke was getting out of control. . .

. . . to the point that the City Fire Department was called in to put out a 'fire.'  Seriously.

I guess a neighbor down the street called the fire department, due to all the smoke (not their fault, they didn't know what was going on), and you could clearly see the smoke rising from a few blocks away.  That must've been one hell of a smoke machine. . .

They were definitely threading a needle coming down this narrow side street, cars parked along both sides of the road, in their giant-ass emergency trucks.  Gave me a little anxiety watching the big rigs squeeze past my car (fortunately it didn't side-swipe it.)

(Kris is having the time of her life watching all this unfold.)

More fire trucks - including the big rigs - roll in to 'save the day.'  Basically they rolled in, ascertained that it was just some overly-zealous reveler, and had him shut off his smoke machine.  Definitely a first for this neighborhood. . .

My brother, Chris, and his fam had asked to Trick or Treat with us this evening (since they live out in the country and don't have 'neighborhoods,' per se), so we invited them out to the Johnsons.  As they have little kids and everything, their time was limited, so they parked about a block away and began trick-or-treating their way towards where we were all set up.  By the time they reached us, the chaos of the fire trucks was in full swing, which my nephews (Louis and Sam) definitely got a kick out seeing all the sirens and flashing lights.

After the smoke, fire trucks, extended family, and trick or treaters all dispersed, some folks hung out around the fire for a bit longer in order to have one more drink and get some more food.  The Collier and Griffin families showed up right at the end (like they did last year), and we all hung out with them for about a half an hour or so before I ended up driving Abby home (she had to get a shower in before bed, and it was pushing 9pm already.)

My nightcap for the evening (one of my favorite Halloween beers.)  We let the kids stay up until about 10pm or so, eating candy and watching old Treehouse of Horror episodes from The Simpsons on Disney+.  Another Halloween in the books, folks - see ya next time.

- Brian

All Hallows Eve

Happy Halloween, America!!!

Abby the Vampire

This is it.  The climax of October, the apex of Fall. . . which is kinda weird seeing how the day after our big Halloween costume bash we're pretty much done with everything 'Halloween' around these parts. 

Today's social get-together over at the Johnson residence is definitely a more scaled-down affair that what we held last night, but it's still a hell of a lot of fun.  The kids go out Trick-or-Treating the 'horseshoe' neighborhood (compromised of Sweetbrier, Hanover, etc.) while us adults hang bang in the their driveway around a fire pit, drinking beer, passing out candy, and gorging on food.  Then, unfortunately, everyone's back to home by frickin 9pm so that we can all get up and go to work the next morning.

Seriously. . . who the heck schedules a Halloween on a Sunday night?  C'mon, America.

So yeah. . . here's this year's installment of Hough Halloween-ishness. . .

Getting ready to head out.  Alayna refused to get a picture of 'just her,' so this is what you get, folks.  Teenagers suck.

Settin' up shop at the Johnson's, with dads out in the driveway and moms touching up kid costumes indoors.  Like God intended. 

Some of the children of the assembled adults, posed in the Johnson's front yard.

Abby, in the back left, wearing her candy bag on her head. . . 'cause why not.

Alayna had nothing to do with any of this evening's activities - Kris dropped her off at her friend Christina's house so that she could Trick-of-Treat with her friends instead.  You know, like a cool kid.

These are all anime characters.  This is seriously the nerdiest shit ever.

Abby runs out to meet her mom (in the distance), who is bringing along a zip-up fleece she told Abby not to forget at home.  Kids are awesome.

Assembled children, ready to head out.

I'm not huge on ciders, but this one was pretty awesome.

Hours later, Abby and Sophie come stumbling in, weighted down with pounds of sugar.

Dividing up the spoils.

Good to know kids are still just as cut-throat with trading collected candy as they were in the '80s.

A little while later, Abby and Ella passing out by the driveway fire.

Mitch and Ryan showed up towards the end of the night and joined Erik and I hanging out in the Johnson's garage. . .

. . . aaaaand they brought their wives.

A whoop-ass nightcap at the end of the night.  Happy Halloween, jerks.  

- Brian

All Hallow's Eve

Happy Halloween, America!

Honestly, this has been pretty anti-climatic for the Houghs, seeing how the pinnacle of our Halloween season is our annual Halloween Party and all.  The girls have classroom Halloween parties and a costume parade at school, we take them Trick or Treating, and thaaaat's about it.  Nothing super crazy, it almost feels like an Epilogue at this point in the grand scheme of things.

Still, we have to jump through the hoops with it all, because our kids - unlike Kris and I - look forward to Halloween itself moreso than our party.  I assume it's the candy.

So yeah.  Here's how All Hallow's Eve went down in 2018.  Behold. . .

Kris took the day off so she could swing into the school and help out in the girls' classrooms, take pictures, and watch the costume parade.

Alayna's 5th grade classroom (she's towards the left.)

Alayna and some of her squad (Maddie, Christina, Noah, and Jazmine.)

Abby, Larkin, aaaaand I don't know the other kid.

Back in 3rd Grade. . .

Abby shows off her 'Haunted House' shoe box.

Some of Alayna's 5th Grade Class.

Post-Halloween party.

Not sure what's happening here.

These must be out of order or something - this looks like when Abby's classroom was actually making their Haunted Houses.  Kris' phone must be messed up.

I had a half-day at work, so I was able to walk down and pick the girls up from school (this pathway that leads to the school playground is like a block from our house, which is super convenient.)

A few hours later, a couple pharaohs all ready to start Trick or Treating.

 

Ready for plunder.

Our friends, the Johnsons, host a 'base camp,' so to speak, during Midland's Trick or Treating hours.  They have a fire pit in their driveway, they cook up a bunch of hot dogs and appetizers, and otherwise just hangout while trick-or-treaters frequent their house for candy.  We parked our van over by their house and dropped off our cooler (filled with my designated Halloween-ish craft beers) before setting off around the block with the kids.

Eric stayed back, but Courtney and their daughter accompanied us and a group of others through the neighborhood.

The crew.

The Cannonball, hammin' it up as usual.

 

Houghs, Johnsons, and Davises.

After an hour or so of Trick or Treating, I headed back to the Johnson's to drink a few beers around the fire with a few of the other dads.  Eventually, the women and children returned from their Trick or Treating venture - bags filled with hard-earned candy - and we grazed on the spread that was set up in the Johnson's garage.  Around 9pm, we headed home, where I cracked open the final Halloween beer of the year - an offering from Michigan's own Vivant.

While the girls watched a Halloween movie (Casper, this time around), they ate, sorted, and organized their scores.

Watson had to be restrained.  He was pretty excited about the kids' newly-acquired loot.

  

. . . and that was Halloween 2018.  See ya next year, America.

- Brian