Day 98: Trick-or-treat

31/10/2021

Saturday was a write-off, as we had to hang around the house waiting for electricians to come and not fix our induction hob. We think we are getting closer to solving the problem, although we are confused why we are the ones solving the problem.

This morning daylight savings has ended in the UK with clocks going backwards an hour to Greenwich Mean Time. There is now a 10.5-hour difference to Adelaide. We have updated the FIK clocks again. Most people in the UK probably cherished the extra hour of sleep, Eloise and Lachlan were not aware of this option.

Also, tonight, which is already tomorrow in Adelaide but will be tomorrow in the UK and yesterday in Adelaide by the time we post this, Australia’s international border has started reopening. We are looking forward to seeing you all.

This morning we all decided it was time to go swimming at the local Leisure Centre. Eloise was excited and we were unsure how Lachlan would react to his first swim. Turns out he was in full leisure mode and was very happy splashing about for an hour in the pool. We will have to come here often.

After the swim, we had all worked up an appetite. We decided we would visit the family favourite restaurant at Duck Bay. This time Liam did not even look at the menu and went straight for their signature slow-cooked steak and sausage pie. Sophie enjoyed the steak burger and the view. While Eloise devoured her tempura chicken after all her swimming this morning. Lachlan, like always, was annoyed he can smell the food but cannot taste it. It was nice huddled up in the warm restaurant watching the clouds rolling by, sadly no seaplanes, although there were some crazy swimmers, we were not brave enough this time. You could see Balloch Castle from across Loch Lomond. Eloise was getting a bit too much in the spirit of Halloween so we figured it was time to move on and go for a short walk along the loch.

After a big week, Liam crashed in the Dad’s chair as soon as we got home, must be nice. Once Eloise had eventually woken Liam up we frantically had to get ready for the family’s first Halloween trick-or-treating. Eloise was excited to get dressed up again and Lachlan cackled a lot about being dressed up as a Koala.

We made it to our friends’ house with enough time for Eloise to play with her bestie. Eloise was very comfortable and made herself feel at home, we had to remind her this was not our house. Lachlan enjoyed some warm cuddles and continued to blow raspberries, his new trick of the week.

With matching pink trick-or-treat buckets and a bounce in our steps we were all off. Halloween is much larger in the UK, well in Glasgow at least. We worked out quickly that once you knock on the door, the wee ones have to say a joke before they get given sweeties. Lucky for the internet.

“What do birds say on Halloween? Trick or tweet”

Eloise and her bestie were thrilled that their buckets were quickly filling up. It was incredible the sweeties they were receiving, it seemed everyone was well stashed. At the beginning, we told them to only ask for one, but people were giving out massive packets of sweeties. Some people were even handing out money! This was quickly becoming Eloise’s best night of her life. Koala Lachlan seemed confused, fair enough.

It was nice seeing so many groups of kids of all ages running about the streets, mostly with a parent not far behind. There was so much laughter with the younger generations full of sugar. Eloise and her bestie worked out their biggest problem was having enough time to eat their chocolate and clean their face before knocking on the next door.

It was then back to the house to empty their buckets and hopefully get some dinner in them. Eloise was sad to leave, we are sure there will be many more playdates. It was not a long drive home but long enough for Eloise to fall asleep with her sweeties after an exciting night.

On a side note. Jeez, these guys do play quite a bit