Dawn: Oh, well Vernon and I came to an agreement that it's not...really all that fair to make Paige share her birthday with the holiday, both for her or the lambs. The festivities sort of 'take away' the importance of her birthday, and we don't exactly want to force the other lambs to skip Sam Hain trick-or-treating for their little sister's birthday party. Something like that could create resentment or a feeling of favoritism there, and that's the last thing I want to do.
Vernon: I mean, it's not like Sam Hain is Yule 'er nothin'...but it's still one of them big seminal holidays fer pups as they grow up. Lot's a' fun memories made to look back on and such...*Chuckles* I know I got quite a few.
Dawn: So generally we usually celebrate our little miracle's special day either the weekend before, or the weekend after Sam Hain proper.
Vernon: Give's her birthday a lil' breathin' room...and while she can't really appreciate it right now, it kinda turns her birthday into a birth week in terms of presents arrivin' from the rest of the family. O'course, it's the same fer' our other pups, so again it ain't like we're given Paige special treatment...'er rather more special treatment than Alli 'er Eddie.
Dawn: Don't forget about multiple parties...*Giggles* The benefits of being part of such a large flock...er, pack, is that the rest of the family pulls us into attending little birthday parties of their own for our little lambs, so like Vernon said...birthdays really turn into birth weeks.
Vernon: Speakin' of, Paige's birth week this year had us traipsin' up and down Zootopia fer days. *Laughs*
Dawn: Lamb Shanks, our family certainly kept us and the pups busy. Friday visiting Trenton and Qali in Foxes Glenn where they had a modest little cake for Paige, then we all went back to the Ranch for Saturday and Sunday where Audrey and Dorian held this massive barbeque...
Vernon: Wade and Giselle met us up there, as well as Yuri, Ada, Ulric and Honey. Sadly Malcolm and Xave were too bogged down back in San Francisgoat to make it this time around, but they sent their gifts with Yuri and Ada.
Dawn: Which Yuri tried to claim as being all from him if I recall. *Laughs*
Vernon: *Donning a Yuri impression* "They didn't deliver 'em themselves, far as I'm concerned them gifts is forfeit."
Dawn: *Giggling* Oh it was a wonderful weekend, but so tiring...
Vernon: And Monday didn't give us much of a break either with Cam and Clover throwin' a lil' party for Paige as well.
Dawn: *Giggles* Well, it was at least a mild respite. It was a much more quiet affair with just the five of us, my Mother and my stepfather. Small cake, relaxing atmosphere...plenty of spaces throughout the day for the both of us to steal away and catch some shuteye in my mother's guest room.
Vernon: We were too tired to even try and fool around a lil'...
Dawn: Puppy! *Snickers* You hound you! You know I'd never do that in my mother's house!
Vernon: Hey, we fooled around at my Ma's house...it's only fair!
Dawn: You instigated! *Cackles*
Vernon: Tell that to a judge! *Laughs* One look at my little Honey Lamb and he'll agree with me that y'all went and bewitched me with yer...capridian wilds.
Dawn: *Swats at Vernon Playfully* Stt-aaaaHHp!
Vernon: Alright, alright...*Snickers* I'll dial it back...
Dawn: Down boy...Giggling*
Vernon: Steerin' thangs back on track, Tuesday, officially Sam Hain and Paige's real birthday was the first time in days we didn't have to so much as look at a birthday cake, o'course that was made up in spades with all the candy and other treats they had at that Sam Hain Street Fair they had in the South Meadowlands.
Dawn: We went as a family, and started out trick or treating together...but as it grew a little later in the day, we let Allison take Eddie around to do a little more intense and aggressive trick or treating while we hung back and took a more casual pace with Paige.
Vernon: Allison sold him on hittin' so many houses he'd have more candy than he could carry...and well...despite our reluctance we...we wanted to let them off the parental leash a lil' bit...give Eddie a lil' bit more...independence...*whines*
Dawn: Puppy...
Vernon: I'm fine, I'm fine...*Sniffles* Little pup's growin' up every day...
Dawn: Once Allison told Eddie she guaranteed if they went treating on their own to cover more ground, he'd end the night with more candy than he could carry...well, it was impossible to say no to those adorable pleading green eyes of his when he pleaded with us to go.
Vernon: *Sniffles* Puffin' up his little chest and tryin' to assure us he could handle it...That he was a b-big ram...
Dawn: It was Allison's assurance that she wouldn't let him out of her sight for a moment that sold us on the idea. I know I can trust Alli to keep her word...but what I hadn't anticipated was...well Edison really bringing back more candy than he could carry.
Vernon: Yeah, last year Wade was monitorin' them while me and Dawn were at the hospital, and so he was makin' sure Edi wasn't eatin' candy a'fore he could get it back to us to check it and limit how much he ate...
Dawn: And Allison wasn't really...paying attention to that...
Vernon: Needless to say, by the time the two met back up with us on main street in the early evenin' Edi was twitchin' like he was about to go sava-...er...wild...but I suppose every pup's gotta learn one way 'er another about their 'sugar limit'...and suffer the candy hangover the next day as payment. *Chuckles*
Dawn: I'm just glad we got him to sit still long enough to get that photo taken at that really cool Granger things stall, the one with that Vecmaw prop?
Vernon: I remember it Darlin'...
Dawn: They had lots of different horror displays down the main street, along with some fantastic food stalls, but I never expected to see a Granger Things Stall. It was like, the perfect coincidence since I had spent the last week trying to coordinate the entire family dressing as Characters from Granger Things for Sam Hain.
Vernon: We was aimin' to do a whole family from the shows bit, Hopper and Eleven, and Joyce and Will, with Paige playin' the role of a lil' Demigorgan. *Chuckles*
Dawn: I honestly thought I was going to have the most trouble getting Allison on board, but after some discussion, she agreed to be Eleven on the condition that she could be Jason next year...with excessive gore effects...*sigh* I'll be honest I'm not thrilled about it, but a deal is a deal...
Vernon: All that work and then Edi didn't wanna be Will cause he liked Dustin more.
Dawn: And there was no talking him out of it. *Chuckles* Still the photo turned out great...well aside from Edi gobbling up more chocolate like a little feral gremlin while my attention was on the camera.
Vernon: Yeah, it's pretty stellar, o'course that Vecmaw prop in the background really brought it all together...
Dawn: It was so lifelike I was actually afraid it would scare Paige, but she couldn't stop giggling at it...
Vernon: *Snickers* Our pup is a strange one...
Dawn: *Pauses* Puppy? Was...was that Vecmaw prop always...winking? I don't remember it being posed like that...
Vernon: Can't really remember to be honest...couldn't stare at that ugly mug fer too long myself...
WT: Happy Belated Halloween everyone! Sorry for the delay. I have a sinus infection and the antibiotics knocked me for a loop! I'll have a more substantial update later today...at least to fill in folks on whats happened. Until then, seeya...