Watching our neighborhood grow up… a Hallmark Life is a Special Occasion Post.
Maybe it’s because the oldest “kid” on our block left us for college this year…
Or that my son no longer wants to dress up for Halloween…
Or that our group of “kids” at our annual Halloween “Boo in the Bubble” neighborhood party is dwindling more and more each year…
But I’m feeling so wistful lately.
The neighborhood is growing up.
I see our neighborhood changing form…
In the lower voices that emit from our basement where the kids hangout.
In the increase in number of cars in the driveways, because those babies we once knew are driving now!
In the homecoming dresses, the dates being had, in the fewer bubbles being blown and driveways being covered with chalk, replaced by makeup, sports and cell phones.
Our neighborhood is growing up…
And I’m thankful we’re growing up with them. Our neighbors are our family. Our tribe. Our people.
And as much as I’m wistful for the days of past…
I am so thankful for the here and now… because these neighbors we have… they know us.
They are there for us.
They are family.
We are blessed.
Just because everyone is growing up, doesn’t mean we’re too old for fun and Halloween decorating. My friends at Hallmark sent me some of the cutest Halloween decorations, available on their website as well as in stores. Decorating for us normally doesn’t go much beyond carving pumpkins, but my kids LOVED having some actual Halloween themed decorations up this year! They especially had fun with the Drop n’ Greet Spider and…
Tricks the Toe-Tappin’ Treat Bag. He’s about as cute as they come, right?
We’re also super excited to send our friends Halloween Cards in the mail this year… how fun is that? I don’t usually think of Halloween as a “card sending” holiday, but imagine what a treat it would be for someone to receive a special note that you care when it’s not a typical card sending time of year. I think we should turn it in to a card sending time of year…how ’bout it?
We hope whatever your plans are this Halloween, you have a super sweet, spectacular time! Enjoy!
Disclosure: A special thanks to my friends at Hallmark for sponsoring this post. All opinions expressed are my own. For special discounts, product offerings and news about Hallmark, feel free to sign up for their newsletter. Thanks for supporting brands that help Dine & Dish to be possible.
I love this! I hope when I have kids that my neighborhood is just like this 🙂
It’s a great place to live!! Thanks, Sues!
What a walk down memory lane!! They were all so cute… Just when did they get so big?? Boo in the Bubble were some of our best memories from living in KS. We miss you as neighbors, and most importantly, as dear friends. Happy Halloween to our KS friends!!
I can’t believe how much they’ve grown, Laurie! Seems crazy.
We miss you guys, especially this time of year! Give your family hugs from us!
What a nice post 🙂 Watching people grow up is always bittersweet and filled with nostalgia! 🙂
It really is bittersweet, isn’t it? Feeling a lot of that lately for some reason!
Halloween has never been a big holiday in our house, but now that Stephen and I are expecting a little one, I’m already imagining the ways we can dress up the baby next year. I hope we’re as lucky as you to have such a fabulous neighborhood in which to raise our family. Such wonderful memories, Kristen! <3
I can’t wait to see your little one grow up!!
Fun post—-sigh, Kids do grow up. I think of my own kids—-I like them older, but sometimes I would like to go into the closet and pull out a 3 or 4 yr version who wants to cuddle and read stories.
Love this post, the pictures are adorable!
Stop it. You’re going to make me cry in a ball!
I want to cry…for a second I thought my son might not want to dress up this year. But SO GLAD he did. Not ready for that!! I feel like my job as a mom lately is to keep everyone young and fun! 🙂
I love getting cards in the mail…and what a treat to get one for Halloween.
Beautiful post and photos, Kristen. {sniff, sniff}