Like trying to catch water in a lace hanky

the days are rushing by.

Last week was a little slower for us as far as doing family things together.

We had good friends over for a play date /cookie making party
We went to the library and were fortunate enough to snag How the Grinch Stole Christmas
We made popcorn and cereal strings and hung them on the tree outside for the birds to eat (unfortunately we're in Monsoon season here in Vancouver so they quickly became soggy strings)
I went to the public Yule ritual

My brother made a surprise stop for a few days and we took him to Bright Nights in Stanley Park. It was the absolute wettest trip to the train we have ever experienced, Our luck with good weather for train rides is usually fantastic, this time not as much but it wasn't cold and we did get to see "our" Santa. We've been going to see this Santa since the Peanut was 5 months old, he's the same Santa every year and that helped with getting Peanut to feel comfortable enough to sit on his lap for the very first time. We took our second family photo with Santa and were pleased to donate to the Burn Victim fund.

The train itself was beautiful again this year.

Journey into the underworld

Normally Thursdays are set aside for Thousand Word Posts here, but this week is a little special. Take last night for instance.

The Peanut and I got up from our nap yesterday and immediately started packing up and bundling up to get out the door. We met the third member of our family group at the sky train station and headed of for a quick trip into the mysteries of the underworld via the Stanley Park Ghost Train.

It's a family tradition for us, and a fun way to get into the Halloween spirit. This year's theme had more of a story line than the last few we've been to and a lot more live performers too.

Zombies. Voodoo gods. Wild Women of the Woods. Three-headed dogs.
Mexican witches' brew. All these and more are in store for those who
dare to climb aboard this year's Stanley Park Hallowe'en Ghost Train.

Just ask Georgie—if you get a chance! Georgie is on the run, dodging
and ducking an international group of ghouls and ghosties that
inhabit the underworld. Will the mischievous child outrun the Wild
Woman of the Woods, outwit the voodoo god Obatal, outsmart the
Goddess of Death Kali? And can Georgie stay one step ahead of
the man with the child-sized sack, Gentleman Jack?

Since 1999, the Ghost Train has become an annual tradition for thousands of families craving thrills and excitement. Reinventing itself each year with new themes, sets, costumes and many more surprises conjured up by the creative team at Mortal Coil Performance Society , the Ghost Train is a uniquely wonderful and fun experience every trick-or-treat season.

taken from the Ghost Train website

I did take my camera, and I did take some pictures, but not of the ride itself. I like to step out from behind the camera every now and then and to experience an event as a participant as opposed to being an observer, plus any pictures I would have taken would have been flash lit and taken away from the dark spooky atmosphere that the ghost train is all about. To properly photograph the ride would involve being off the train with my tripod and the participation of the players; which would be cool, but not going to happen any time soon. So I captured some of the non-train activities and decor.

The gateway into the underworld

In addition to the Ghost Train, Mortal Coil the company that puts on this event, and the park sets up some fantastic props and other activities to set the mood and keep the impatient (read: 3 year old) busy until it's time to catch their train. There is face painting, Hole in the Head Wooden photo props and this year a shadow puppet workshop. We made a bird puppet and had fun making shadows on the screen and watching the skeletons, snakes, ghosts and dragons shadows other people were making come to life on the screen.

We arrived early enough to take a leisurely stroll through the Haunted Farm Yard for more spooky fun. There were ghastly beach scenes, and creepy figures peeking out at those brave enough to venture past the gate, and of course, scariest of all; in the darkest part of the barn, were

BUNNIES!!!

This portion of the evening is not for the faint of heart.

The peanut took a shine to one of the Llamas, the sheep and the pony.

Halloween is getting closer

and you can tell because:





not only that but we're going on the Ghost Train tomorrow night. It's a family tradition for us, we started when the peanut was an itty bitty bit and we unaware that she was hanging out inside my belly and we've gone every year since. Since the Peanut is nuts about trains and has been for most of her life it's a treat on many many levels, not only does she get to stay up extra late but she gets a ride on the train, and a chance to see the petting zoo animals and there's a possibility of peacocks and raccoons. (We of course have raccoons in our neighborhood but they don't share space with peacocks) and I'm not even going to get into the face painting and extra chance to dress up. It's going to be a good night.