Silly Ghosts Halloween Craft

Not all kids like the scary aspect of Halloween. This fun project features silly ghosts and challenges kids to experiment with different cartoon-style facial features. Affiliate links below. 

Silly Ghosts Halloween Craft

Materials: 

• cardstock or construction paper (black and white)
• patterned paper (orange, green, purple)
• scissors
• black Flair pen
• craft glue

Steps: 

Cut a piece of black cardstock into the size you want your finished art to be. Then cut squares of patterned paper to fill the background. My background is 8" with nine 2.5" squares, but you can make any size you want. Glue the squares in place. 

Cut ghost shapes from white cardstock. Try to vary the shapes, making them different sizes, with and without arms, etc. Then draw silly faces on each ghost. Play around with different eye shapes and mouth shapes, then add teeth or tongues to some of the ghosts. It could be fun to add silly eyebrows, mustaches, or other features too. Glue the ghosts in place. 

If you're looking for other ideas for Halloween crafts (or costumes or carved pumpkins), be sure to check out all of my Halloween tutorials. There are also a few ideas for Dia de Los Muertos. Enjoy!

Pacific Northwest Marching Band Championships

After not getting together with my cousins since 2019 and my aunt and uncle since 2022, we saw each other this year in March and July. Unfortunately, both times were for memorial services. While it was wonderful to spend time together, it was a bummer that it was for such a sad reason. Steve and I decided we'd make a weekend trip to visit them in the fall. We planned our trip around seeing my cousin Tim's son, Aiden, compete in the Pacific Northwest Marching Band Championship on October 11 in Mead, Washington.  

It had been about 3 decades since either Steve or I had seen a marching band competition and boy, have things changed! But before I get into that, I want to start with October 10, the day we flew into Spokane. It was a beautiful day, with blue skies. The weather was perfect as we enjoyed a walk around the lake where my aunt and uncle live. 

We had dinner at Das Stein Haus. Yum. 

Uncle Don, cousin Tim, Tim's wife Ginger, Steve, me, and Aunt Vickie. 

On Saturday morning, we headed to Mead for the competition. There were 15 schools participating and each school performed the same routine twice. We missed the first few performances driving, looking for parking, and getting settled in our seats, but that was fine since we saw them later. During the preliminaries, the smallest and lowest ranked bands (1A) performed first, working their way up to the largest, highest rank (for this competition, 4A). Then after a break, they performed again in reverse order based on their scores in preliminaries. 

From the first performance we watched (Highland High School performing "Hunger Games"), it was immediately obvious that high school marching band field shows are different than in my day. I hadn't seen large screens and banners on the field like that before, nor musicians in a pit. The pop culture theme surprised (and delighted) me. It was so much fun to watch the show!

West Salem's "Web of Dreams" was stunning. Look at all those cages! And the gigantic 7's. By the way, 

Ginger had gotten us perfect seats: high and directly on the 50-yard line.

"The Wildflower" by Central High School was absolutely gorgeous. I loved the color scheme, the interesting patterns, and the giant flowers that opened. 

Mead High School's "And Still... I Rise" was breathtaking. I loved the staircase props and how they moved and interacted with them. 

It was a fun surprise when they revealed that the stairs spelled out the name of their show. 

Next up was Aiden's school, Cheney High, performing "The Engulfed Cathedral." They also used staircases, but theirs were shaped differently and they interacted with them in different ways. That stage in the front right was for an electric cello solo. The performance was incredible. 

That's Aiden at the top of the purple staircase. 

We were mesmerized watching AC Davis High School set up that loooooong raised platform for their performance, "Seize Your Moment." 

Watching it transform during the performance was neat... 

... and it was a total surprise when the final piece opened up to make a star. 

The performance from Mt. Spokane called "Love, Ellie" was really neat. 

It was such a fun surprise when a single red balloon floated out of Carl's house and the band formed into a giant red balloon. I didn't catch those on camera, unfortunately. 

Lewiston High School performed "How Wonderful Life Is" - a tribute to Elton John. 

Ridgeline dazzled with "The Drop that Contained the Sea."

At the end of preliminaries, Ridgeline was in 1st. Aiden's school (Cheney) was 4th.

During the break, Ginger gave us a tour of the 'backstage' area. 

Most impressive: the Cheney band boosters raised enough money to buy their own semi, which is outfitted to carry instruments, costumes, and props. 

  

Each show they've done is on the wall inside the semi. The graduating seniors sign the panels. 

The boosters also have their own food truck to feed the students. A team was busy preparing huge amounts of yakisoba when we came by. It smelled delicious.  

This is where the band eats. Buckets and boards provide lots of seating.  

There's also a trailer for hauling gear. The students ride in three buses. 

After our tour, we used the rest of our break to find food... and shelter. You probably noticed the grey skies in all of my photos. We had had light rain - mostly sprinkling - on and off until this point, but then the rain became more steady. 

During the final round, we saw all of the bands compete, including the ones we had missed earlier. There were some fun themes: the Northern Lights, farming, coal mining, and the California Gold Rush. I didn't take a lot of photos due to the rain, but here is a sampling:  

There's Cheney again. They ended up placing 5th out of 15. If you're interested in seeing the scoring, including the 8 categories in which they're judged, you can see that here. 

On Sunday, we all gathered to celebrate Uncle Don's 75th birthday. 

Dessert was one of the famous apple pies that the Cheney band students make each year as a fundraiser. It was SO good. I'm disappointed they have to be picked up locally, but if you happen to live near Cheney and haven't had one, you should definitely order one. Or ten (they freeze well). 

Card games are a must when we get together. By the way, that's my godson Teagan standing to my left. He's a future member of the Cheney High Marching Band. 

All too soon, it was time for Steve and me to fly home. We had a wonderful weekend with family. And, despite the rain, we loved watching the marching band competition. We now have plans to watch one locally. If you have the opportunity to go to one, definitely do!

Brayden and Tulip, Munching Greens

I haven't shared much about our rabbits lately, so I decided it's time for an update. I'm happy to report that Brayden and Tulip are living their best lives as house rabbits in Casa deRosier. As a fully bonded pair, they spend a lot of time together, but they each have their own interests and hobbies, as well as their own favorite spots in their territory (our living room and dining room). 

Brayden is all about food. He lives to eat and is always thinking about his next meal. He loves every fruit, vegetable, or herb I've ever given him. He likes running through cardboard tunnels, lounging on a tile, and digging at fleece blankets. Brayden hates being groomed and will only willingly accept petting if there is a barrier between him and us. If I lie down on the floor, he will climb up on me almost immediately. He gives me frequent nose bonks when I'm not paying attention to him. 

Tulip loves to play. She particularly likes throwing things, like her set of baby stacking cups. She enjoys dumping water and food bowls (sigh), moving her litterbox, and tearing apart cardboard. She feels the most safe hiding behind the container where we store rice, tucked behind the china cabinet. Tulip is smart and persistent. She is the queen of flops and always sleeps with something overhead. Tulip is a dainty eater and is very reluctant to try new foods. She rejects many fruits and vegetables. She spends a lot of time doing Predator Evasion Practice and binkies frequently. 

Brayden and Tulip both love greens. I took this video of them enjoying a midday meal together. Turn the volume up to hear the munching. 

Aren't they adorable? And so full of personality! Brayden and Tulip bring us so much joy and we're so lucky they're a part of our family.  

Inspirational Rocks

The second craft we did during the Thriving Pink breast cancer survivors' retreat was to paint rocks. Can you tell which one is mine? 

If you don't recognize my handwriting or one of my go-to color palettes, perhaps you remember my One Little Word for 2025. The word felt right for my cancer journey, but I had no idea when I chose the word how appropriate it would be for this year of challenges and changes, including losing my dad. 

This was the first time I've done an art project with my One Little Word, beyond the tag I make each year. It was a great way to reconnect with my word and bring it to the front of my mind. As a bonus, the finished rock sits on my desk to serve as a physical reminder of the importance of adapting. 

Magazine Poetry

Six days after we got home from our epic New York trip and New England cruise, I attended a 2-day retreat for breast cancer survivors put on by Thriving Pink. It was a weekend of friendship, self-care, pampering, and healing. We did a lot of journaling, shared stories, and spent time reflecting on our own cancer journey. 

Of all the activities we did, my favorites were the crafts. The first was a magazine collage. We weren't given specific instructions about how to make our collages; most people collected images of things that represented them (or that they found particularly beautiful) and layered those onto their cardboard cake round (affiliate link). I went a slightly different direction. 

Rather than focus on my favorite things, my project is inspired specifically by my cancer journey. I found an image of poppies that spoke to me and used that as the background. Immediately before this activity, our group had talked about the role our loved ones have played in our recovery and how much our breast cancer has affected them, particularly the primary caregiver. In my case, that has been Steve. I am so grateful for his love and support through diagnosis, treatment, and beyond. He stands strong behind me, like the large poppy behind the slightly smaller one in the foreground. Other poppies surround them both, just as so many others have provided help and support to us both throughout my cancer journey. 

I collected words and phrases from the magazine that spoke to me about my path forward as a cancer patient. I arranged them and rearranged them until I had the short poem you see above. Finally, I added a border of torn magazine bits around the edge. The pieces aren't perfect, just like life isn't perfect. The best we can do is to create a life well crafted, savor memories, let it be, and believe.

Obviously, this project doesn't have to be about cancer. It could be about absolutely anything, from the serious to the frivolous. Each person's will be a unique reflection of who they are and how they feel at that moment. And this is not a project only for adults. Kids are capable of making beautiful and meaningful found poetry too.

New England and Canada Cruise, Part 8: New York City and Returning Home

This is my eighth and final post about our New England and Canada cruise aboard the Enchanted Princess. I recommend reading the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh posts from the trip before this one. Because I blog about educational travel, I received complimentary admission tickets for some of the places we visited during our trip. Other places are free for everyone; we paid full price for the rest. This has no bearing on my reviews. 

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New York City and Back Home

After a wonderful week of sailing, our cruise ended in Brooklyn on Friday, September 20. Steve, Trevor, and I were headed home that day, but our flight wasn't until 7:00 pm. (Jonna was staying for an extra two days of sightseeing.) If you've ever been on a cruise, you know that disembarkation happens really early on the final day. It's not like a hotel, where check-out is at 11:00 am or noon. On a cruise ship, disembarkation typically starts at 7:00 am and ends as quickly as they can get several thousand people to shuffle ashore. And unlike a hotel, you can't store your luggage on the ship while you go sightseeing all day. Fortunately, most cruises offer a post-cruise shore excursion that fills the gap between the early morning disembarkation and a late afternoon or evening flight. 

As soon as we got off the ship, we loaded our luggage into a bus and began a 7-hour tour of New York City. Our guide was outstanding, keeping us informed and entertained every minute as we made our way to Manhattan and to Battery Park City. 

From there, we made our way on foot to the 9/11 Memorial. It is a powerful tribute to the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives on that terrible day.  

  

Each day, a white rose is placed next to the victims born on that day. Christopher Hanley was 9 days short of his 35th birthday when he died on the 106th floor of the North Tower. He would have turned 59 the day we visited. 

It was inspiring to see the Survivor Tree and the dozens of messages of love, peace, remembrance, and hope. 

We walked through the Memorial Glade, but unfortunately did not visit the Museum. Someday. We also saw The Sphere and One World Trade Center (the Freedom Tower). 

  

Next, we went to the FDNY Memorial Wall. It is dedicated to the 343 members of the New York City Fire Department who died on 9/11. 

  

We walked to Zuccotti Park, where we had time to get coffee (no thanks) or just look around. 

  

We re-boarded the bus and headed toward Rockefeller Center. Along the way, we learned about all sorts of interesting sites. Unfortunately, the bus had a wrap on it and taking decent pictures was completely impossible. That was annoying.  

Once we got to Rockefeller Center, we had an hour to do whatever we wanted. 

Our top priority was getting lunch. We ended up at 5 Acres, under 30 Rock. It was fantastic. 

After lunch, we had a few minutes watching people shop at CJ Hendry's Flower Market. The flowers were all stunning and it was so fun seeing the different bouquets that people put together. 

As we left Rockefeller Center, our guide was on Google Maps, trying to decide how to show us as many sights as possible while avoiding the streets that were closed in preparation for the parade the following day. Our driver was an absolute rock star, driving us safely and confidently as the guide called out changes from the planned route. We saw a lot more of the city, but didn't make any more stops until we reached the airport at 2:30. And with no acceptable photos from the bus, I don't have anything more to share from our tour. 

At the airport, we said goodbye to Jonna and headed to security. Things were flowing nicely until suddenly... they weren't. It turns out some yahoo five people ahead of me tried to get through security with brass knuckles. I did my best to eavesdrop and learned that TSA has to file paperwork when that happens. 

Eventually we got through and went to our gate. Terminal A at Newark is newly redone - it is really nice (spacious, clean, and comfy) and really big. Naturally, our gate was the farthest one. Also naturally, two minutes after we sat down, there was a gate change to the opposite end of the terminal. Then 15 minutes later, there was another gate change and the plane was delayed for 2 hours. Sigh. We'd arrived at the airport at 2:30 for a 7:00 flight which didn't take off until almost 10:00 pm. We had plenty of time to answer all the trivia questions on the gate sign (a nice touch!) and view the New Jersey Hall of Fame embedded in the children's play space. 

  

  

Two hours into the flight, a woman in the row in front of us collapsed. She had almost no detectable pulse. There were three doctors on board who jumped into action. Fortunately, the plane was not full, so the flight attendants moved everyone else from the row. One doctor stayed with the woman, monitoring her. Since we were only about 31 inches behind the situation, it was impossible not to hear what was going on and to see the amount of work that the doctor did during the remaining 4 hours of flight time. I would like to thank him, and all other doctors and medical professionals, who selflessly help others in situations like these. I'm guessing he'd been planning to relax and possibly sleep on what had turned into a red-eye, but instead he worked to save a life. 

In the end, our plane landed safely in Sacramento with no additional delays. There had been talk of an emergency stop, but the doctor decided it wasn’t necessary. EMS was waiting for us on the tarmac. I'm glad the woman was in good hands and am optimistic that she is ok.