All Saint's Eve

This year we were in town and were invited to a Halloween party by friends of ours.  Since my crew is getting a bit old for "dress up" clothes, we had to be a bit more creative with our costumes.  I think we did pretty good putting together ideas from everyday items we already owned.  

Lauren was a "Rock Star" with attitude.

Lauren with one of her "fans"

Maya was an "80's party girl" with shoulder pads and all. 

Preston and I decided to "spice" things up and go as Salt and Pepper!  This was the best costume we have had in years and it took all of 30 minutes to put together!  

Check out our "hats"

John was so into his character as a "spy", I never got a clear shot of him!

We all had a good time at the party and there were other creative costumes there as well. 

Southern Lawyer and Nudist on Strike

Ceiling Fan!

80's girls are very popular!

But the best part was hanging out with friends and eating candy.  Preston was even able to bring some American favorites back with him that we generously shared with our friends like Nerds, Sweettarts, and Laffy Taffy since we can't get them here in France.  The candy corn however, did not make it to the party.  I am not that generous.  It is my all time favorite Halloween candy and I had not had any in 2 years.  I had a hard enough time sharing it with my children.

Where's John?  Still in character, hiding in this pic!

Bewitched!

Host and Hostess with the most!

Creepy garage dance party!

DID YOU KNOW?

Trick-or-Treating and Halloween are not widely practiced here in France.  American and English expats are really the only ones that have Halloween parties.  It is difficult to find decorations for Halloween parties or even pumpkins for Jack o Lanterns.  There is one village in our area that has a party every year, but they are a rare exception.  November 1st, All Saint's Day or Toussaint is the holiday and it is observed here in France as a national holiday and businesses and schools are closed for the day.  Most people take time to remember love ones that have died and buy Chrysanthemums to place on the graves, making Mums more of a funeral flower and not a fall decorative plant like we use at home.

Winning isn't everything...

As I mentioned in a previous post about John fencing, he selected this activity last school year, so when he wanted to continue, I didn't hesitate to sign him up again.  Since this would be his second year, he was given the option to participate in competition.  Now this was an answer to prayer for me.  First of all the tournaments are held one Sunday per month, so although they last all day, it wouldn't be every weekend.  Secondly, I felt John needed to learn how to lose and not give up.  

I love my son, but he doesn't take losing well.  He is very competitive and has a Ricky Bobby mentality of "if you ain't first, you're last."  I have tried to talk to him by saying things like, "it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, but how you play the game," or "as long as you try your best, that is all that matters", but it doesn't seem to help.  This is a kid that gets made at the Wii game and accuses it of cheating if he loses.  He is also prone to quit an activity or game that he continually loses instead of listening and learning new strategies to improve his skills.  I was hoping that competition in an activity that he enjoys would not only push him to learn a new skill, but also teach him to not give up just because he is not the best.  I really wanted him to learn that through practice and hard work, he can achieve things as long as he doesn't give up.

Well, the first competition was perfect for teaching him how to lose.   Unfortunately he lost every single match that day.  Disappointed doesn't even begin to describe how he felt.  Not only was he not first, he was actually last.  Preston and his coach were very encouraging, reminding John that this was his first competition and some of his opponents were in their third year and had previously competed.  All I could do was give him a hug and pray that I didn't have to drag him to fencing practice for the rest of the year.  

Fortunately, John is maturing and learning to not give up.  He returned to class the following week determined to learn what he needed to improve in order to do better in the next tournament.  And it paid off!  One month later, John placed 3rd out of 20 in his category.  Competing against fencers from all over the region, he only lost one match in the entire tournament!  John was so proud of himself because he worked hard and it paid off.  

Winning isn't everything, but boy does it feel good!  

John and his coach preparing for the match

John (right)

3rd place medal

look at that smile!