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Neighborhood Halloween Party

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Contributed by: Gregory Johnson on 10/28/2007

Nowadays people don't really know their neighbors. Everyone is so busy working and doing things that they don't have time to have fun or play with their kids. I have met many of the kids and found out they don't have much respect for adults.

My wife and I recognized the need for these kids to have a "father figure," as many of them are in single mom homes, or else their dads simply don't care. We wanted to reach out and befriend them but we weren't sure how to do it.

My wife's father passed away this past July after our formal wedding, so I decided to throw a pizza party for the kids while she was gone -- about eight kids showed up. We had soda, pizza and popsicles. Soon, the kids would come over to talk to me, and I would pass out popsicles and soon became known as "The Popsicle Man." It's a really good feeling knowing I'm helping these kids, and many of them run up to my car when I get home just to say hi (and sometimes to see if we have any popsicles!).

With Halloween coming up, we wanted to throw a party for them so my wife made some invitations and I passed them out. She went shopping the night before for decorations, snacks and sodas. We've been saving aluminum cans to help "fund" the Popsicle Man's "outreach," and cashed in $9 this week. Every little bit helps!

Honestly, we weren't sure how many kids would show up, so we waited to put food out until they came. Shortly after 1, our house was full of kids! We were happy because she was really stressing that no one would show since they had such late notice.

Luckily,everyone helped set up the canopy and tables, and we soon got to carving pumpkins. We also waited to see how many kids were here before ordering pizza -- we had five large pizzas and only two slices were left over. Thankfully, my wife's friend, Angie (she was a bridesmaid), ran to the store to get more pumpkins because we had way more kids than we thought would show. My wife baked the pumpkin seeds and they were such a hit that the kids asked to take some home when the party was over. Even the hot apple cider was a big hit.

After pizza, we bobbed for apples (my wife had to show them how to do it and got drenched!), then played some football. The costume contest winners were Garett (Spider-man) and Baylee (lion) and they won trick-or-treat sacks. For dessert, we had ice cream, cupcakes and popsicles (of course!).

A family in the next unit over helped us immensely -- Janet and Eric, and their little boys Christopher and Matthew had fun playing with the big kids. It was nice to meet our neighbors, too. Janet and my wife talked about planning a block party for the neighborhood, so we're looking forward to doing that. Angie was a big help, and her daughter Jordan took some of the pictures.

I had to leave at 4 to go to my part-time job, but the kids stayed a little longer. My wife told me when I got home that several of the kids came back to thank us for throwing the party and how much they appreciated it and had a lot of fun. That made it all worth it! They also asked when we could do it again -- we're hoping to do a little something for Christmas!

Here are some of the kids' names and ages who participated. We had them put their names and ages on some paper so we could put their names with the pictures. I hope we matched them up correctly!

My kids, Shantel, 13; and Mathew, 9.
Angie's kids, Garett, 6; Jordan, 14 (almost 15); and niece, Baylee, (age?).
Janet and Eric, with their kids, Christopher and Matthew
Merage Dunlar, 8, and Quaraan Dunlar, 11
Jourdain Espinoza
Dante
Shantize
Brianna
Jeraithe
Dominique
Sylkin Barksdale, 11
Caleb and twin brother, Kalvin, 11
Jasmine

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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments

Submitted By: Jo Smith

posted on 11/1/2007 @ 4:25:15 PM

Rated Story

Loved the photos! Especially the one of Stephanie drowning herself -- I mean bobbing for apples! You guys are great for making such a special day for the neighborhood kids!

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Submitted By: Mark Merchant

posted on 11/1/2007 @ 9:31:59 AM

(Not Rated)

Very nice story. You are an inspiration to all of us to get involved.

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Submitted By: Kecia Seyb

posted on 10/29/2007 @ 10:06:51 AM

Rated Story

This is a perfect YourHub story! And what a great time it sounds like you all had. Those are some good-looking pumpkins, too. Now comes the hard part -- selecting a cover photo out of the 60 fabulous ones you posted! Thank you!

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Submitted By: Angie Weddle

posted on 10/29/2007 @ 8:43:25 AM

Rated Story

Awesome story. It was a lot of fun and those kids really had a good time! It was nice to see them interacting together in a positive, wholesome and neighborly way! Great job Greg snd Steph!

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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments

CONTRIBUTOR INFO

Gregory Johnson

Colorado Springs , CA

Gregory Johnson has posted 5 stories and 1 comment since joining on 10/8/2007. Gregory Johnson 's average story rating is 5.

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