Once again we continued a tradition and went shopping for after Halloween specials. We had a lot of success but felt the pickings overall were smaller than they had been in recent year. Perhaps the retail stores did not order as much this year as they had in past years (or maybe they all had a banner year and there simply was not a whole lot that did not sell during the Halloween season).

Our stops included Spirit Halloween, Halloween City, Walmart, Home Depot, and Michaels and despite there not being as much as previous years we believe we have one of our better hauls which included a creepy doll, a John Doe prop which rises up, snoopy in a pumpkin, another slimer, several Pennywise items, and a net full of skeleton fish for our skeleton boat.

Lots of fun and a good start to the 2020 Halloween season Continue reading “After Halloween Sale 2019” →

We had one of our best Halloween turnouts this year and the weather, despite weather alerts, held on long enough for a great evening of spooks and goblins. While there was a little rain, it was light and very manageable.

For the second year in a row James helped hand out candy and did a really good job getting into the festive spirit of the holiday. James had only a half day of school today so he took the time to carve a pumpkin which was really haunting and truly the icing on the cake for this years display.

As we had done in the past we brought out more decorations from the house for the trick or treaters and we received many compliments on the display.

Continue reading “Trick or Treat 2019” →

James just hosted his 9th Halloween Party and everyone had a blast. Once again the Magic Mirror was the big hit, along with a creepy rocking horse. Some of the new items this year were the skeleton boat (which took up the whole back room), the new Pennywise (just like in the movies, a new Pennywise comes out every 27-30 years or so), and a flying witch (who we named Rhiannon after the Fleetwood Mac song). The party went on most of the afternoon with people coming in and out all day so it never got too crowded. Playing the “IT” movie also kept some of the kids upstairs which also freed up space in the bedroom. We noticed that if there was a theme this year, it would be “IT” as a couple kids dressed up as the clown, there was an IT cake, and the movie played three times upstairs (to different audiences). I guess its true, everyone loves a clown.

James hopes to see everyone next year Oct 17th, 2020 for the big 10th party! Continue reading “James Halloween Party 2019” →

The first week in October has traditionally been the day we set up the outside decorations, and thankfully the weather held out and we were able to get everything up and the garage cleaned up as well.

Once again we are using the spider and the horse and carriage but this year we have the luxury of not having to work around the lamp post which was removed when we had sod put in a couple months earlier. We think it makes it look more balanced without the post and are very happy with the results.

The indoor decorations are up as well and can be seen in the promotional video for James Halloween Party.
Continue reading “2019 OutsideHalloween Decorations” →

Today James took his last swim in the swimming pool as the weather is starting to get a wee bit chilly especially in the evening as the Fall season begins to take hold.

The haunted garage sale has sure come a long way and we were glad to be there for the ride. When we first went there it was in Belleville, then it moved to an Ice Rink in Canton, this year it moved to the Dearborn Community and Performing Arts Center – the same location James Dad graduated from some 40 years ago.

The parking was much better than the ice rink (plus so much closer to our home than either of the other two locations) and we had a blast there checking out the new and old Halloween decorations We did not buy alot (no room to put the stuff) but as always enjoyed the atmosphere as there were many people dressed for the occasion including Pennywise. James got a couple Goosebump Books, Mom got some funny Halloween artwork, and Dad got a Godzilla T shirt.

Continue reading “Haunted Garage Sale 2019” →

When Donald W Kleiber was born in 1933, in Michigan, his father, Benjamin, was 39 and his mother, Mildred, was 36.

He has two sons (Donald “Mike”, and Bruce) and one daughter (Sandy) with Mary Ann Chmura between 1954 and 1962.

He had three brothers and two sisters (Charles, Raymond, and the baby who died at childbirth are the three brothers, the two sisters were Dorothy and Virginia).

Donald Kleiber is James’ Great Uncle and lived for decades within walking distance of James Great Aunt Louise in Trenton and they both attended the same church, St Timothy Church just off West Road.

Donald and his wife Mary Ann are also James’ Dads Godparents and have been a strong influence in his life as their kindness to everyone they met was inspirational.

Continue reading “Remembering Donald Kleiber Born 1933” →

James celebrated his birthday at Buffalo Wild Wings with Grandma and Dynamike (who was performing there doing magic tricks and making balloons for kids). James got to open gifts at the restaurant and at home.

Everyone had a great time and Mom, Dad, Grandman, James, and Dynamike all enjoyed the evening and especially the food.

James felt a little under the weather when we got him home and he had a small cold which he shook off quickly, however he constantly reminds us of it as he thinks he should get compensation for being a little sick on his birthday, smart kid finding loopholes in everything.

With that in mind we thought we would give James his bonus… Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear James, Happy Birthday to you. Continue reading “James Birthday 2019” →

We saw this beautiful butterfly on some of Mary’s flowers in the back yard and could not resist taking some pictures of the beast.

Continue reading “Butterflies Are Free To Fly 2019” →